ApaCare Dental health guide

The right toothbrush

There is no longer any doubt: machine, electric toothbrushes clean better than manual toothbrushes, from toddlers to senior citizens. manual toothbrushes. This is mainly due to the fact that the rapid bristle movements clean better and the difficult manual brushing technique required for manual toothbrushes is partially the difficult manual brushing technique required for manual toothbrushes.

Manual toothbrushes are 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 of medium hardness (ApaCare 3D Sensitive brush heads) and should be replaced every 2 months at the latest. 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 by itself.

Mono (inter) brush attachments are also available as a useful addition. These allow you to reach far into the interdental spaces, under bridges, ideal for implants and good for removing young tartar.

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

Expert tip
Mechanical brushing (electric toothbrush) is better than manual brushing with a manual toothbrush.

Why toothpaste? Which one?

Toothpaste contains gentle cleaning agents and important additives that improve cleaning with the toothbrush and at the same time influence the tooth surface. the tooth surface at the same time. The most important additive is natural fluoride with a content of up to 1,500 ppm in adult toothpastes and 1,000 ppm in children's toothpastes. This binds calcium from the saliva to the tooth surface in a thin (invisible) layer and promotes the natural remineralisation of the teeth. Very modern toothpastes such as ApaCare toothpaste also contain liquid enamel (medical hydroxyapatite) to build up a smoothing protective layer of enamel on the tooth surface with each brushing. This heals small tooth defects, reduces hypersensitivity and brightens gently.

ApaCare OraLactin toothpaste also contains important probiotic active ingredients: prebiotics (natural dietary fibres and amino acids), which selectively promote the growth of health-promoting oral bacteria, especially natural blood pressure- lowering and diabetes-preventing oral bacteria. Postbiotics are bacterial biomodulators that inhibit pathogenic bacteria. Both together, prebiotics and postbiotics, support the restoration of healthy oral flora when used regularly.

Expert tip
Fluoride and liquid enamel!
We recommend ApaCare dental care products with fluoride and liquid enamel, not least because they are well tolerated and do not contain any controversial additives or preservatives. ApaCare OraLactin also contains probiotic active ingredients that promote oral and general health.

Dental plaque. What to do?

If you don't brush your teeth regularly and carefully, you run the risk of plaque, discolouration or tartar. Other common causes of tooth discolouration, which is usually dark, are the regular consumption of colour-intensive foods and stimulants, such as nicotine, coffee, tea, red wine, etc.

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

ApaCare Polish tooth polish is used 1-2 times a week instead of the usual toothpaste and thus supplements it. This allows you to continue professional teeth cleaning at home.

Older plaque must be removed by the dentist by means of professional teeth cleaning.

Expert tip
Polishing pastes such as ApaCare Polish complement the use of daily toothpaste and are the dentist's extended arm into the home bathroom after professional tooth cleaning. Polish your teeth 1-2 times a week.

White teeth without a guilty conscience

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

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

This is not the case when using tooth repair pastes such as ApaCare Repair Intensive Repair: The enamel surface is permanently smoothened and permanently thickened by depositing highly concentrated liquid enamel from the repair paste (see ApaCare Guide to white teeth and bleaching).

This also changes the reflective behaviour of the enamel towards naturally white and brighter teeth. And this is permanent.

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

Perhaps the most important thing: new probiotics

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

New probiotics such as OraLactin contain health-promoting, live bacteria that use inhibitors or enzymes to selectively inhibit or kill the growth of specific pathogens. At the same time, they improve the body's barrier function and stimulate the immune defence. A healthy oral flora is often restored after just 2-4 weeks of regular use of the probiotic. Ideal as a 30-day cure in the form of chewable pastilles or sachets (see Pro-, Pre- and Postbiotics guide).

The probiotic effect

Prebiotics are natural substances (selective nutrients for the good guys) that promote the growth of healthy oral bacteria. Postbiotics are inactivated bacteria and bioactive substances that can restore the balance of healthy oral flora by selectively inhibiting pathogenic germs.
Both are contained in the new OraLactin toothpaste and the ApaCare OraLactin Liqiud, so you can benefit from them every day.

Expert tip
Prevention and health promotion without extra effort - when brushing your teeth every day. ApaCare OraLactin Probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics.

Dental health and nutrition

"Sugar is bad for your teeth" - you learn this from kindergarten onwards. The regular consumption of sugar not only promotes the development of tooth decay, but also favours the development and progression of inflammation in the body, such as gum recession and periodontitis in the mouth. Sugar promotes the development and progression of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, as well as cardiovascular diseases, and leads to faster ageing and even blemished skin and acne.

Incidentally, almost all sugar substitutes (with the exception of xylitol) and fructose have a similar effect. Often the hidden sweeteners are mainly found in drinks, including light drinks and ready meals.

Speaking of fruit: these and acidic drinks can favour tooth wear and enamel erosion, which is why you should not brush your teeth for up to 2 hours after consuming them. But food can also heal, even reduce inflammation: The quickest way to do this is to reduce the total number of calories consumed each day (e.g. minimising carbohydrate consumption and avoiding "sweet" snacks in particular).

It is also advisable to select fats (e.g. cooking with rapeseed oil, favouring 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 substances, such as spinach or blueberries, which can also improve oral health if consumed regularly.

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

Are (dental care) chewing gums useful?

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

Incidentally, this effect takes effect after just 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 that are sweetened exclusively with xylitol (birch sugar) (in large quantities), such as ApaCare Gum Anti-Caries Chewing Gums, are particularly recommended. Used regularly, it can be very effective in preventing tooth decay.

Expert tip
Several times a year:
Xylitol chewing gum cure (30 days each ApaCare Gum).
Adolescents (from the age of 12) and adults: chew 1 ApaCare Gum chewing gum 3 times a day.
Children (from the age of 3) up to the age of 12: chew 1 ApaCare Gum chewing gum once a day.

Dry mouth. When your mouth and tongue burn.

Saliva is a multi-talent. Normally, between 700 ml and 1 litre of saliva is produced during the day. More with chewing, less at night. You cannot eat without saliva, as food sticks to the mucous membranes and cannot be swallowed. But the mineral balance of the teeth is also maintained by remineralisation from the saliva, acids are neutralised, flavour and immune substances are transported and much more.

Dry mouth can severely impair quality of life, including painful burning mouth and tongue, and favours inflammatory diseases.

The causes of dry mouth can be many and varied: Lack of fluids, mouth breathing, stress, stimulants such as cigarettes or alcohol, medication intake, hormone status through to the after-effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, autoimmune diseases and cancer. If symptoms persist, you should always seek medical advice (see dry mouth guide).

Relief can be achieved by drinking regularly and sufficiently throughout the day, especially at mealtimes, reducing the consumption of coffee, alcohol and cigarettes and avoiding spicy or salty foods. Chewing gum and chewing pastilles also promote salivation.

Expert tip
Regular use of hyaluronic acid preparations as a mouth spray or rinsing solution 4-6 times a day (ApaCare OraLactin Liquid or Gengigel Spray from the pharmacy) is particularly helpful. The natural hyaluronic acid binds water and moisture to the upper layer of the mucous membrane and keeps it supple.

What to do with sensitive teeth

The actual body of the tooth (the dentin) is permeated with many small fluid-filled canals right up to the "nerve" inside the tooth. The overlying enamel is thin or patchy, especially at the neck of the tooth.

Ice, but also sweet foods or stimulants that come into contact with the neck of the tooth can trigger shooting pain via the tubules to the "nerve". The tooth and the nerves do not suffer, but those affected do.

Permanent relief is achieved when the tubules are permanently sealed on the surface. The most sustainable way to achieve this is with liquid enamel, preferably in the ApaCare Repair tooth repair paste or using ApaCare mineralising tooth varnish (see guide to sensitive teeth).

Expert tip
If you have sensitive teeth, apply ApaCare Repair tooth repair paste to the sensitive tooth necks after every brushing, especially in the evening (the easiest way to do this is with your finger) and leave to work. In the case of severe discomfort or extensive sensitivity, it is best used in conjunction with a dental splint (ApaCare dental splint) or by means of ApaCare mineralising dental varnish.

What to do if your gums are bleeding or receding

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

Diseases of the periodontium very often begin unrecognised and progress gradually. Only a 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 becomes inflamed and irreversibly degraded by the body.

Ultimately, only a dentist can prevent further progression of the disease by examining the periodontium at regular intervals and carrying out so-called supportive periodontitis therapy. This is more than a normal professional tooth cleaning, as gum pockets and tooth root surfaces must also be treated in depth (see ApaCare Periodontitis guide).

Expert tip
Home dental care alone cannot stop the progression of 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 progression and risk of the disease).