I was lucky to have a dad who was strict about brushing teeth twice a day since I was young. I remembered blaming my dad for being too strict about brushing my teeth no matter how sleepy I am. My dad stood beside me in the morning and before bed just to make sure I brush my teeth. I thought my dad is crazy at that time lol!

Growing up, I’m always afraid of tooth decay. I had nightmare that I lost all my teeth all the time. Freaks me out big time. Even till now I still had this kind of scary dreams. I must really thank my dad now as I have straight, healthy rows of teeth.

From previous annual dentist trip I found out I had a decay on one of my wisdom tooth. My heart dropped hearing that. But I was told it’s pretty normal as wisdom tooth is far at the back where no toothbrush could reach. My dentist taught me one simple step which I still practice until this day. Although there are some who know about this but still not many people are aware so today I thought of sharing this with you.

This post is NOT going to be a complete A to Z guide for you to take care of your teeth. If you need one please visit your dentist for advice ya. This post will be just a simple tips sharing so please take note.

I’m always eyeing on Colgate Total Professional Clean toothpaste promotion. One day while strolling alone at Carrefour I stumbled upon a “Buy 2 Get 1 Free” promo and I snag 2 sets. There are a few types of Professional Clean range. The difference is with the paste; either it’s in gel or paste (normal). I’ve tried all but prefer gel instead.

Everyone use just one toothbrush but I’m using two. I won’t elaborate much here as that’s what I wanted to talk about below.

Beginning of this month I’ve changed my toothbrush to Systema 0.02mm. There are 3 types which is Compact (Medium Soft), Comfort (Medium Soft), Full Head (Medium Soft) and Bi-Level (Medium Soft). I’m using Comfort which is just nice for me. The bristle are as thin as 0.02mm as advertised and it can get in between my teeth to clean all that is hidden including in the gum. Although it is 0.02mm it’s not as soft as you think. I notice that Systema toothbrush also last longer. The bristle worn out slower than normal toothbrush. Totally a good investment.

My second toothbrush is a kid toothbrush. I have 4 perfectly grown wisdom tooth. Never realized my toothbrush didn’t reach the back of my wisdom tooth so I had a decay on one of it. My dentist advise me to extract it immediately while they can still grab the tooth but I didn’t feel any pain or whatsoever so I just do normal patching. The patching doesn’t last forever. It’s just the matter of time when it will fell off. That as when my dentist told me to get a kids toothbrush just to brush the inner back of my teeth. Only kids toothbrush could reach in. I bought Oral-B Mickey for Kids (Soft) because of the brand and the cute Mickey Mouse haha.

Being a lazy bum, I only use Oral-B Mickey for Kids at night after I’m done brushing with normal toothbrush. You must be thinking “does this works”? I can tell you YES IT DOES. I went for another check-up earlier this year and my new dentist said everything looks fine around my wisdom tooth. She wonder how I managed to keep my wisdom tooth clean. I told her about the kids toothbrush trick and she agreed that’s a smart way.

I’m someone who’s not fond with doctors, dentists and tooth extraction. It has been near to 20 years that I didn’t extract any tooth until earlier this year.

One midnight I was awaken with a sharp pain on the decayed tooth. I remembered tears are flowing down my cheek as it’s really painful. Took 6 Panadol but it doesn’t work. The next morning I went to office, went online to Google for a good dentist at Kajang (my current dentist is forever full), applied half day leave and off I go. It turns out I cannot do extraction when I’m having toothache. Toothache happen because there’s infection. And this infection will dissolve all the anesthesia that was injected. If I proceed with the extraction I will be in lots of pain. Scared of dentist and extraction…I was sent home with a week of medication for the infection. A week later I still have toothache so I went back for a follow-up treatment and was prescribe with another week of medication. Finally after 2 weeks of pain and medication I went back for extraction. I suppose I looked like I was about to pee in my pants so my dentist injected lots of anesthesia which numbed the whole of my mouth and the numb lasted till night LOL. With a push on the wisdom tooth, I heard some crackling sound and my dentist said “it’s out”. That’s it. So fast and simple but it’s one scary experience for me so I will never ever wanted to go though this again.

There you have it. Implement a kids toothbrush in daily dental care to prevent tooth decay at the back of the mouth. The toothbrush will reach edges and sides where no ordinary toothbrush will reach. All you need is to spend a few RM, extra 5 minutes each brushing and that would prevent unnecessary pain and trouble with your teeth in the future. Keep smiling everyone!

The post Tips: A Very Simple Step to a Healthier Gum & Teeth appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona