Cleaning Bridges

Bridges cannot be flossed in the normal way, as they are firmly attached to the teeth on one, or more commonly, both sides of the gap that they are replacing.

Enter Super- floss… Superfloss by Oral B is a specially designed floss that anyone who has a bridge should have, and more importantly use.

One side has a firmer plastic end, which can be threaded underneath the bridge and pulled through, so the thicker part of the floss rests on the gum under the bridge. This can now be manoeuvred along the underside of the bridge to remove any food, plaque and debris that has collected.

Regularly doing this- at least every few days, will help prevent decay and gum disease around abutment teeth- those supporting your bridge.

Cleaning Occlusal Splints

Dental splints or night guards to prevent grinding can be cleaned and stored in the same way as a denture.

In the morning take it out, pop the plug in your sink basin and add a bit of water, so the splint/ guard doesn’t fracture if you drop it. Have a toothbrush just for your teeth and a separate one for cleaning your splint. Just give it a good brush and rinse out under the tap- you can use a little soap if you want- which is better than using an abrasive toothpaste.

Cleaning Bleaching Trays

Like with night splints, have a separate toothbrush for cleaning your bleaching trays. Just wet the toothbrush and do your best to get in there and remove all the bleach from the inside surface of the tray.

Store them in the little box that they came in.

Cleaning Dentures

Different types of dentures require a slightly different approach to cleaning. In denture care– we go through each type and show you the best way, so if you have a denture you really should check out this section.

Cleaning Implants

A single tooth implant is cared for in the same way as your natural teeth i.e with proper tooth brushing and flossing.

If the implant doesn’t flow smoothly to the crown on top i.e. it is at a bit of an angle, then dental tape or superfloss may be needed to clean under the overhanging crown margin. As with normal teeth, where there is a slightly larger gap, then interproximal brushes should be used instead, or as well as floss which can of course become a little redundant in the larger space.

If you have an implant retained bridge, then you may need to get superfloss in there just as you would for a normal fixed-fixed bridge. (see above)

If you have an implant retained denture then it’s important to take it out to clean the implants in your mouth; then clean the denture in the same way as you would clean a cobalt chrome denture.

Professional cleaning- the high glaze of the porcelain or polished gold surfaces tend not to collect plaque and calculus and so professional cleaning is often not required.

If there is calculus, plastic instruments should be used where possible and not the metal tipped ultra-sonic instruments and steel hand instruments used for routine scaling, which can potentially damage the titanium abutments. Often the abutments, ( the bit that connects the implant itself to the crown or visible tooth) are low enough to prevent any exposure of the titanium surface of the implant, so this problem does not arise.

Resources

Thanks to the scientific basis of dental health education: a policy document (revised fourth edition)
Part 1
Part 2