Oral health: The 6-step method to freshen your breath and minimise disease – hygienist

Children's Oral Health

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As well as a qualified dental hygienist, DiFoggio runs a YouTube channel where the US-based RDH (registered dental hygienist) shares her mouth cleaning tips, including a six-step routine for day and night.

According to DiFoggio, the first thing that should be done once one has arisen from sleep is to remove their night guard and retainer if they have them.

After both implements have been left out to dry until the evening, the first of four brushings must then take place before a single morsel of food has been consumed, swallowed, or chewed.

Following this act of pre-breakfast cleansing, DiFoggio recommends the use of a tongue scraper to “get all of that morning breath gunk off your tongue”.

Tongue scraping, though an unusual sounding way to start the day, can help to remove bad bacteria from the mouth and prevent bad breath.

Returning to the routine, once tongue scraping and brushing have been dispensed with, it’s time for the floss to be deployed follow by a mouth rinse.

The final step in the morning routine is to brush after breakfast, but not for at least half an hour as, says DiFoggio, “brushing too soon may damage your enamel while it’s in its weakened state from the acids from the foods that you just ate”.

However, should that 30-minute window not appear, DiFoggio recommends a mouth rinse followed by anti-cavity mouthwash.

The evening routine follows a different pattern of brushing followed by flossing, tongue scraping, rinsing (with a gargle), water flossing, rinsing, and the return to the mouth of the night guard and retainer.

While these routines may not be to everyone’s taste and may not be suitable to the daily or evening routines of all, they provide a professional backed insight into a thorough way to maintain oral health.

Meanwhile, in the US, a new study has found that a popular mouth-based habit could cause gum disease.

Vaping has risen in popularity in recent years as an alternative, or as a way to move away from smoking.

Although vaping is not an entirely harmless endeavour, it is far less dangerous than smoking or chewing tobacco.

A new study has found that vaping could cause gum disease by changing the unique community of bacteria inside the mouth.

The data showed those who vaped had a unique community of bacteria that has been linked to gum disease.

Although this is not a positive result for vapers, the study nevertheless showed that the mouths of vapers, while not as healthy as non-vapers or non-smokers, was healthier than those who used tobacco.

Professor Deepak Saxena, of the NYU College of Dentistry, said: “To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study of oral health and e-cigarette use.”

The professor continued: “We are now beginning to understand how e-cigarettes and the chemicals they contain are changing the oral microbiome and disrupting the balance of bacteria.”

Gum disease is a common condition, with most adults in the UK affected by it.

Treatments for the condition will depend on the nature and extent of the gum disease.

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