Have you ever stared at the huge selection of toothbrushes and toothpaste at the store and wondered what your dentist uses or what you should be taking into consideration? In today’s post Boise dentists Dr. Crump and Dr. Harker share what they use at home and why.
Dr. Crump
Toothbrush – Nimbus®
Toothpaste – Colgate Total® (gel) and 3M Clinpro 5000® (not at the same time – obviously)
Floss – Glide® by Oral B
Dr. Harker
Toothbrush –Nimbus®
Toothpaste – Colgate Total® (paste)
Floss – Glide® by Oral B
Toothbrushes
Does it surprise you that neither of them are using Sonic Care® toothbrushes? Well, in the spirit of really spilling the beans, both of them have Sonic Care® brushes languishing in bathroom drawers. The common reason they aren’t using them is that the brush head wore out and they never got around to replacing it. But Dr. Harker admits he prefers a regular old-school toothbrush and has no intention of switching back. The key to getting your teeth really clean with a manual toothbrush is taking the time to brush well and not skipping any surfaces.
Chances are you’ve never heard of Nimbus® toothbrushes. (Unless you’re already a patient at our office. Then you know all about them because you went home with one after your cleaning.) The Nimbus® toothbrush was created by a periodontist and has extra soft microfine bristles that are exceptional at getting into all the nooks and crannies in your teeth and gums without doing any damage. Most people don’t know how damaging the medium or hard bristles are on the tissues of the mouth and even the teeth themselves. The quality of your brushing is not improved by brute force. Less is more! Where can you get Nimbus toothbrushes? The easiest way to try one for free is to come in for a cleaning and go home with one afterwards. If you aren’t in the Boise area you can order them directly from Nimbus, or from Amazon.
Toothpaste
It was a surprise to both Dr. Crump and Dr. Harker that they both use Colgate Total® toothpaste. One of the things that makes this toothpaste so effective is a tiny percentage of an antibiotic called Triclosan. The Colgate website explains:
“Colgate Total® is the only toothpaste on the market that has undergone the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s rigorous New Drug Application (NDA) review process for efficacy and safety, including periodic reviews of scientific literature and safety information. As recently as November 25, 2013, the FDA continues to affirm its support for the use of Colgate Total® toothpaste to fight gum disease. Colgate Total® is the only toothpaste that is both approved by the FDA and accepted by the American Dental Association as safe and effective in helping to prevent gingivitis.”
If you’re not a Colgate user there’s no need for major concern though. Most mainstream toothpastes are just fine and will get the job done. In reality, good brushing technique will do more for keeping you cavity free than the toothpaste you choose. So just get a paste you think tastes good and brush your teeth well.
The 3M Clinpro 5000® is another great choice though that you won’t find in your store. It’s a prescription strength toothpaste that has a higher level of fluoride than “over the counter” toothpastes. It would be good to ask your dentist for if you are prone to cavities and want to take another step in cavity prevention. For that reason Dr. Crump makes his kids brush with it nightly and keeps it in the rotation with his Colgate Total®.
Dental Floss
Glide® by Oral B is a terrific dental floss that both our doctors heartily recommend. It’s a thin finely textured ribbon more than a string; and it glides easily between the tight spaces of teeth, hence the name. The ribbon has a few important clinical benefits. First, it tends to be less likely to snap between your teeth abruptly and cut your gums. Second, the fine texture on the ribbon does a great job of grabbing small bits of whatever may be stuck between your teeth. The width of the ribbon is important too because it provides a larger surface area for debris to attach to and be carried away. That means you get the job done faster and with fewer passes. A free sample of Glide is another goodie we always throw in the baggie our patient’s go home with after a cleaning.
Hopefully next time you run out of toothpaste or are due for a new toothbrush you can head down the aisle at the store with a little more confidence knowing what our dentists buy and why. After all, knowledge is power!
