Podcast: Home use of devices for cleaning between the teeth (in addition to toothbrushing) to prevent and control gum diseases and tooth decay

Many people use toothbrushes to remove the plaque that builds up on the surface of teeth, but what about getting to the plaque between the teeth? Should we be using dental floss or interdental brushes to help? The relevantCochrane Review was published in April 2019 and we asked the lead author, Helen Worthington from Cochrane Oral Health at the University of Manchester in England to let us know the answer." To keep our mouths and teeth in good health depends a lot on removing the dental plaque that builds up every day and, as Monaz said, most people use toothbrushes to do this. But toothbrushes can ’t reach in-between teeth, which is where periodontal (or gum) diseases start and develop, and that’s where dental floss and interdental brushes might help. We’ve examined whether using these interdental aids helps prevent or reduce gum disease, plaque and tooth decay, and have found some, alb eit low quality, evidence that they do.There were quite a lot of studies. We identified 35 randomised trials, with nearly 4000 adult patients, and these found no severe adverse events caused by the devices. Floss was tested most. Its use alongside toothbrushing was compared to toothbrushing alone in 15 trials, to interdental brushes in 9 trials, and to oral irrigators in 5 trials. Floss was also compared to interdental brushes and cleaning sticks, which were made of wood or rubber or elastomer. These devices were also compared with toothbrushing alone and another comparison was between ...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news