Chapter 20- Oral Hygiene for the Periodontal Patient: Beyond the Basic

Oral hygiene self-care- also known as oral physiotherapy or oral home care, defined as physical therapy for the mouth or oral cavity

Patient Education provides the patient with the necessary information and skills for the prevention of dental caries and periodontal disease

Primary prevention- describes preventive measures taken to prevent disease from occuring

Secondary prevention- if PD is already present in an individual, the goal of treatment changes from preventing the occurrence of disease to preventing the disease from progressing further or preventing the recurrence of the disease after treatment

Mechanical Plaque control- involves the regular removal of oral biofilm from the teeth and adjacent oral tissues and the prevention of its accumulation

Toothbrushes

Manual toothbrushes

Power toothbrush

Interdental Care

Dental Floss

Dental Tape

Single-Tuft Brushes

Exposed furcations, root concavities and Type II and III gingival embrasures are best used with a single tuft brush

Rubber-Tip Stimulator

Wooden Toothpick

Dentifrices

Considered to be either cosmetic or therapeutic

Cosmetically, they function in cleaning and polishing teeth, removing extrinsic stain, and freshening the oral cavity

Therapeutic agents are used to reduce caries, reduce gingivitis, plaque and calculus

Dentifrice components

Reducing or eliminating tooth sensitivity: Potassium Nitrate, Strontium Chloride

Sodium pyrophosphate for calculus inhibition

Triclosan for plaque and gingivits control

Humectants (20-40%) are vehicle into which agents are incorporated to prevent hardening

Binder(1-2%) prevent the separation of the solids and liquids in the dentifrice

Flavorings include essential oils

Colorants (1%) are dyes added to the dentifrice to enhance its attractiveness without staining or discoloring teeth or oral tissues or causing harm on ingestion