ApaCare Dental Health Guide

The right toothbrush

There is no longer any doubt: mechanical, electric toothbrushes clean better than manual toothbrushes from toddlers to seniors. This is mainly because the fast bristle movements clean better and partially compensate for the difficult manual brushing techniques required for manual toothbrushes. Manual toothbrushes are now only preferred in individual cases with particularly sensitive teeth, very advanced abrasion or after dental surgery.

The brush head should not be too large and should be medium-hard (ApaCare 3D Sensitive brush heads) and should be replaced at least every 2 months. The brush is held at an angle against the tooth and gums and only pressed lightly (the gums just become slightly whitish). The brush does the rest on its own.

If you wish, you can rotate the brushes slightly on the spot or wipe out towards the open mouth. Back-and-forth movements across the row of teeth worsen the brushing result and can cause damage to the neck of the tooth or gums (please avoid).

Expert Tip:

Machine brushing (electric toothbrush) is better than manual brushing with manual toothbrushes.

Why toothpaste? Which?

Toothpaste contains gentle cleaning agents and important additives that improve cleaning by the toothbrush and at the same time influence the tooth surface. The most important additive is natural fluoride with a content of up to 1500 ppm in adult toothpastes and 1000 ppm in children's toothpastes. This binds calcium from saliva to the tooth surface in a thin (invisible) layer and promotes the natural remineralization of teeth.

Very modern toothpastes such as ApaCare toothpaste additionally contain liquid enamel (medical hydroxyapatite) to build up a smoothing protective enamel layer on the tooth surface with every brushing. This heals small tooth defects, reduces hypersensitivity and gently whitens.

Expert Tip:

Fluoride with liquid enamel. We recommend ApaCare dental care products with fluoride and liquid enamel, also because of their good tolerability and the consistent absence of controversial additives or preservatives.

Dental plaque. What to do?

If you don't brush carefully on a regular basis, you risk plaque, discoloration or tartar. Other common causes of mostly dark tooth discoloration are regular consumption of color-intensive foods and stimulants, such as nicotine, coffee, tea, red wine, etc..

Medication or mouth rinses, e.g. chlorhexidine-based, can also lead to tooth discoloration if taken or used regularly. This can be prevented and often removed with a tooth polishing paste such as ApaCare Polish, especially in the early stages.

ApaCare Polish tooth polishing paste is used 1-2 times a week instead of the usual toothpaste and thus complements it. In this way, professional teeth cleaning by the dentist can be consistently continued at home. Older plaque must be removed by the dentist by means of professional teeth cleaning.

Expert Tip:

Home polishing pastes complement the use of daily toothpaste and are the dentist's extended arm into the home bathroom after professional teeth cleaning. Polish teeth 1-2 times a week.

White teeth without a guilty conscience

Our tooth color is genetically determined and is mainly determined by the dentin inside the tooth. Light reflection effects on the tooth surface as well as the individual light transparency of the whitish tooth enamel allow the yellowish dentin to show through more or less depending on the thickness of the enamel. At the neck of the tooth, the enamel is thinner and therefore the teeth there appear more yellow. With advancing age, the layer thickness of the enamel decreases, which also leads to a more intense yellowish tooth color.

During bleaching, the enamel prisms are roughened and the tooth surface becomes porous. Less light reaches the inside of the tooth and the tooth appears duller and whiter. Over time, these changes heal through remineralization from saliva, which is why bleaching effects only last for a period of a few weeks to a few months.

The situation is different when using tooth repair pastes, such as ApaCare Repair Intensive Repair: the enamel surface is smoothed and permanently compacted by the addition and incorporation of highly concentrated liquid enamel from the repair paste.

This also changes the reflective behavior of the enamel to naturally white and brighter teeth. And this is lasting.

Expert Tip:

Apply ApaCare Repair tooth repair paste in the evening after brushing (e.g. with your finger or toothbrush) and leave to work overnight. If you want to accelerate or intensify the effects, use ApaCare Repair with a tooth splint (ApaCare Repair tooth splint set).

Perhaps the most important: new probiotics

New scientific findings make us rethink: many previous antibacterial oral hygiene measures inhibit both the pathogenic and the good bacteria and thus can neither preventively stabilize the balance of a healthy oral flora nor restore it after illness.

New probiotics such as OraLactin contain health-promoting, living bacteria that selectively inhibit or kill pathogens in growth by means of inhibitors or enzymes. At the same time, they improve the body's barrier function and stimulate the immune defense. Often, a healthy oral flora is restored after only 2-4 weeks of regular use of the probiotic.

Probiotics such as OraLactin can of course also be used preventively, so that pathogenic germs do not overgrow in the oral flora in the first place.

By the way: probiotics are suitable for all age groups and are completely harmless except for people with severely reduced immune function due to illness or medication.

Expert Tip:

Carry out a probiotic "cure" several times a year, e.g. let OraLactin melt on the tongue as a sachet or lozenge once a day for 30 days. During this time, antibacterial mouth rinses should be avoided.

Dental health and nutrition

"Sugar is bad for your teeth" - you learn this from kindergarten onwards. Regular consumption of sugar not only promotes the development of caries but also favors the development and progression of receding gums and periodontitis. Impure skin and even acne are also associated with a high-sugar diet, and the development and progression of metabolic diseases, including diabetes, can be accelerated.

By the way, almost all sugar substitutes (except for xylitol and erythritol) and also fructose have a similar effect. Often, the hidden sweeteners are predominantly in beverages, including light drinks and convenience foods.

Speaking of fruits: these, like acidic drinks, can cause tooth wear and enamel erosion, which is why you should not brush your teeth for up to 2 hours after eating them.

Food can also heal, even reduce inflammation: the quickest way to do this is to reduce the total daily calorie count (e.g., minimize carbohydrate consumption and avoid "sweet" snacks in particular).

At the same time, it is recommended to select fats (e.g. cooking with rapeseed oil, preferential consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids in fatty sea fish, avocado, nuts, etc.) and to avoid the consumption of saturated fatty acids of animal and vegetable origin (palm kernel fat, coconut fat, etc.). Many plants and herbs contain so-called secondary plant compounds, such as spinach or blueberries, which can additionally improve oral health if consumed regularly.

Expert Tip:

Check your food and beverages for hidden sugars and try to minimize snacks, including sweetened drinks. Eat a portion of berries (e.g. blueberries) or spinach more often.

Are (dental care) chewing gums useful?

Chewing gum stimulates the flow of saliva and thus the immune defense in the mouth as well as the remineralization of the teeth and is therefore highly recommended. However, chewing gum containing sugar should be avoided.

By the way: This effect occurs after only a few minutes, regular continuous chewing (several times a day for more than 10 minutes) can overstrain the chewing muscles and contribute to temporomandibular joint disorders and muscle pain. Chewing gums sweetened exclusively with xylitol (birch sugar) in high amounts, such as ApaCare Gum chewing gums, are particularly recommended. Used regularly, they can be very effective in preventing tooth decay.

Expert Tip:

Several times a year:
Xylitol chewing gum cure (30 days of ApaCare Gum each).
Adolescents (from the age of 12) and adults: Chew 3 x 2 ApaCare Gum chewing gums daily.
Children (from the age of 3) up to the age of 12 years of age: Chew 1 ApaCare Gum 3 times daily.

Dry mouth. When your mouth and tongue burn.

Saliva is a multi-talent. Normally, between 700ml to 1 liter of saliva is formed during the day. More with chewing, less at night. Without saliva, you can't eat because the food sticks to the mucous membranes and can't be swallowed. But the mineral balance of the teeth is also maintained by remineralization from saliva, acids are neutralized, flavor and immune substances are transported and much more. Dry mouth can severely impair the quality of life up to painful burning of the mouth and tongue and promotes inflammatory diseases.

The causes of dry mouth can be manifold: Lack of fluids, mouth breathing, stress, stimulants such as cigarettes or alcohol, medication intake, hormone status to after-effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, autoimmune diseases and cancer. If symptoms persist, a medical examination should be carried out in any case. Relief is achieved by regular and adequate drinking throughout the day, especially with meals, reduced consumption of coffee, alcohol and cigarettes, and by avoiding highly spiced or salted foods. Chewing gum and lozenges also promote salivation.

Expert Tip:

Regular use of hyaluronic acid preparations (such as Gengigel from the pharmacy) as a mouth spray or rinsing solution 4-6 times a day is particularly helpful. Gengigel contains natural hyaluronic acid, which binds water and moisture to the upper layer of the mucous membrane.

What to do with sensitive teeth

The actual body of the tooth (the dentin) is crisscrossed with many small fluid-filled tubules all the way to the "nerve" inside the teeth. Especially at the neck of the tooth, the overlying enamel is thin or patchy. Ice cream, but also sweet foods or stimulants that come into contact with the neck of the tooth can cause shooting pain through the tubules to the "nerve".

The tooth and the nerves do not suffer, but those affected do.

Permanent relief can be achieved by permanently closing the surface of the tubules. The most sustainable way to do this is with liquid tooth enamel, preferably in ApaCare Repair tooth repair paste.

Expert Tip:

In the case of sensitive teeth, apply ApaCare Repair Tooth Repair Paste to the sensitive tooth necks after every brushing, especially in the evening (the easiest way is to use your finger), and let it take effect. In case of severe discomfort or area sensitivity, best used in conjunction with a dental splint (ApaCare Dental Splint Set).

What to do in case of bleeding gums or receding gums

Bleeding gums and receding gums are common symptoms of periodontitis, which can lead to tooth loss if left untreated.

Very often, diseases of the periodontium begin undetected and proceed insidiously. Only the dentist can rule out such a disease or treat it effectively, which is why a dentist should be consulted promptly in the event of gum changes, before the bony periodontium is inflamed and irreversibly broken down by the body under certain circumstances. Ultimately, only the dentist can prevent further progress of the disease by examining the periodontium at regular intervals and performing a so-called supportive periodontitis therapy. This is more than a normal professional tooth cleaning, because gum pockets must also be treated up to the fundus.

Expert Tip:

Home dental care alone cannot stop the progress of the disease in periodontitis. However, it is very important to extend the regular check-up and cleaning intervals at the dentist to sensible intervals (e.g. 1 to 3 times a year depending on the disease progress and risk).