WHAT gives your teeth the best clean- manual or electric? It depends on how conscientious you are. A manual tooth brushing is fine if you are skilled in the art of brushing. Sadly, “probably only 10% of people know how to brush their teeth properly,” says Dr. Rod Marshall of Australia’s University of Queensland. If you brush under sufferance, or do not have a lot of time, an electric brush may be the better choice – it can deliver a polished smile in two minutes, half the time of a manual brush. Electrics can also motivate kids to brush regularly.
Where the small headed electrics really excel is in hard-to-reach places. It also stops you from brushing too hard. The right way to clean? Brush in small circles with the bristles angled towards the gum at 45 degrees. For tricky areas, keep the same angle, but do a mini scrub back and forth.
Here are some useful information on toothpastes. All pastes contain a polisher and an abrasive. Baking soda is both. Choose baking soda if you prefer the taste. Whitening pastes will not get your teeth as if they’d been bleached, but whitening pastes will brighten the teeth more than a standard toothpaste. Kids do not need their own toothpaste, except if they prefer flavored-toothpaste. Calcular deposits or tartar do not develop until puberty, so a fluoride paste is enough for kids. For sensitive teeth, potassium nitrate on the label means this paste
According to a study by Japanese researchers published in the journal New Scientist, chocolate fights tooth decay. Antibacterial agents in cocoa beans offset the high sugar content of chocolate and reduce the chances of having cavities, although the agents are most plentiful in the cocoa bean husk – the outer part of the bean normally thrown away during chocolate production.
The researchers now believe the husk extract could be put in mouthwash or toothpaste to fight tooth decay. Tooth cavities start when the bacteria that can cause tooth decay, streptococcus mutans, produce a sticky molecule called glucan. This helps the bacteria anchor themselves to teeth and form dental plaque. Within plaque, bacteria converts sugar to acid which eats away the tooth enamel (outer covering of the tooth).
Japanese researchers from Osaka University found that when Cocoa bean Husk (CBH) extract was added to a culture of streptococcus mutans it blocked glucan production. The research led by Takashi Oshima concluded that it is possible to use CBH extract in a mouthwash, or supplement it to toothpaste.CBH can even be added to chocolate confectionaries to make it better for the teeth.