Oral hygiene

Question 1

Which three things should you do when teaching oral hygiene techniques?

Answer 1

• Sit at the same level as the patient (sit next to them)
• Have good eye contact
• When demonstrating on a model make sure the patient can see what you are demonstrating

Question 2

How often should you change a manual tooth brush?

Answer 2

Every 2-3 months

Question 3

What is the best manual handbrush to use?

Answer 3

Small headed medium nylon

(smaller makes access to difficult areas easier)

Question 4

Which area is most often missed for right handers?

n.b. this is opposite for left handers

Answer 4

Lower right lingual area

(best to teach them to start from here)

Question 5

How long should you brush each quadrant for?

Answer 5

30 seconds

Question 6

How long should you brush each surface (e.g. linguals) of each quadrant for?

Answer 6

10 seconds

Question 7

What is the bass technique?

Answer 7

Angle bristles towards gingival margin at 45 degrees

Keep parallel to gingivae

Use small circles to distrub plaque & move onto next tooth

(ADULTS)

Question 8

What is the modified Bass technique?

Answer 8

Rolling the brush head towards te occlusal surface following the bass technique

(ADULTS)

Question 9

What is the scrub technique?

Answer 9

Similar to the Bass tecnique but short scrub action instead of circular movement

= recommended in scientific basis of dental education

(ADULTS)

Question 10

Are longer or shorter scrubs/circles better?

Answer 10

Shorter

Question 11

What is Fone’s technique?

Answer 11

Close teeth (in occlusion)

And move in large circles over buccal surfaces

Scrub the remaining surfaces

(CHILDREN)

n.b. as manual dexteruty improves (e.g. start handwriting this should be modified to bass) and as permanent teeth erupt

Question 12

Up to which age should children be supervised when brushing?

Answer 12

Age 7

Question 13

What are the two types of electric toothbrush?

Answer 13

• Oscillating rotating
• Sonic

Question 14

Which is better…

Rechargeable electric toothbrush or battery powered electric toothbrush? and why?

Answer 14

Electric toothbrush

As batteries run down the toothbrush will become less effective

Question 15

Which angle to the tooth should an electric toothbrush be held?

Answer 15

45 degrees

Question 16

How long per tooth should an electric toothbrush be held?

Answer 16

1-2 seconds

Question 17

How often should you change your oscillating electric toothbrush head?

Answer 17

2-3 months

Question 18

How often should you change your sonic electric toothbrush head?

Answer 18

Every 6 months

Question 19

Where should you floss?

Answer 19

Areas without bone loss that you cannot clean with an interdental brush

Question 20

When (5) should you use interspace brushes (single tuft)?

Answer 20

• Partially erupted teeth
• Furcations
• Around implants
• Around fixed appliances
• In severe periodontal pockets

​n.b. can be used to clean all teeth around gingival margin - especially in periodontal patients

Question 21

When are superfloss and floss threaders used?

Answer 21

To clean under bridges and around fixed appliances

Question 22

What is superfloss?

Answer 22

Has one end that is stiff, thicker than normal

Question 23

What is a floss threader?

Answer 23

A plastic needle the the floss is passed through the eye and it is taken under the bridge to clean the area

Question 24

What is the flossing technique?

Answer 24

1. Take 20cm of floss
2. Wrap one end around each middle finger
3. Use thumbs and index fingers to manouvre, gently side forwards and backwards between contact point
4. On reaching the curve of the gingival margin curve the floss into a c shape around the tooth surface
5. Move up and down a few mm under the gingival margin

Question 25

What is the loop flossing technique?

Answer 25

Tie the ends of the floss together with two knots on top of each other to make a loop of 5-6cm in diameter

Question 26

How do you choose the right sized interdental brush?

Answer 26

Expands and contracts as it goes through the tooth

(should have some resistance when pushed through the interdental space)

Question 27

What is the technique for using interdental brushes?

Answer 27

• You should place it in the interproximal space by pushing /twisting through gingival margin
• Move it in and out a few times angling in different directions

Question 28

How regularly should you change interdental brushes?

Answer 28

2-3 weeks

Question 29

What are tongue scrapers used for?

Answer 29

To remove plaque from the dorsals surface of the tongue (a reservoir for plaque bacteria) to reduce halitosis

Question 30

What are water picks used for?

Answer 30

• Remove food debris
• Irrigate periodontal pockets
• Sometimes chlorhexidine is put into resevoir

Question 31

How do water picks work?

Answer 31

Pulsating water action

(n.b. still doesnt break up biofilm)

Question 32

Where should you clean first when brushing?

Answer 32

Interdentally (so fluoride in toothpaste can penetrate interproximal areas)

Question 33

Should your toothbrush be wet or dry when you start brushing?

Answer 33

Dry

Question 34

How much toothpaste should under 3s use?

Answer 34

A smear

Question 35

How much toothpaste should over 3’s use?

Answer 35

Pea sized amount

Question 36

Why should you not rinse after brushing?

Answer 36

So you dont remove the fluoride residue which will continue working for many hours

• if you do have to rinse put toothpaste around after!

Question 37

What is the chemical adjunct in corsodyl mouthwash?

Answer 37

Chlorohexidine