America's Constant Companion: The Toothbrush
The toothbrush is an important, hygienic tool throughout the human life cycle. Different toothbrushes are designed to enable the proper cleaning of teeth at every stage from baby teeth to dentures. As a result, the toothbrush in its many different forms becomes a device that grows with us and its proper use is expected at every stage of life.
Brushing as a Baby
Parents are encouraged to begin brushing their baby’s teeth as soon as they begin to emerge, which usually occurs anywhere from six to fifteen months. Specially fabricated baby toothbrushes are designed for the parent’s hand and allow for the gently cleansing and massaging of baby teeth (http://www.oralb.com/). Around two years-old children should begin to brush their own teeth. Aside from the common theme of Disney characters to encourage brushing, toothbrushes for toddlers are made to teach proper brushing technique. Oral-B makes specific toothbrushes for this age that have a narrower brush head to accommodate smaller mouths, softer bristles to protect tender gums and an easy-grip, chunky handle that makes the toothbrush easy to maneuver (www.oralb.com).
Parents are encouraged to begin brushing their baby’s teeth as soon as they begin to emerge, which usually occurs anywhere from six to fifteen months. Specially fabricated baby toothbrushes are designed for the parent’s hand and allow for the gently cleansing and massaging of baby teeth (http://www.oralb.com/). Around two years-old children should begin to brush their own teeth. Aside from the common theme of Disney characters to encourage brushing, toothbrushes for toddlers are made to teach proper brushing technique. Oral-B makes specific toothbrushes for this age that have a narrower brush head to accommodate smaller mouths, softer bristles to protect tender gums and an easy-grip, chunky handle that makes the toothbrush easy to maneuver (www.oralb.com).
Toddlers: Learning to Brush Alone
Learning to brush one’s teeth is an important lesson for young children. Many kids are rebellious against the practice, but eventually the process becomes a habit and later a necessary process in order to fit in with society. As children reach the ages of five to seven years old they not only improve their brushing skills, but also begin to lose their baby teeth. Oral-B’s description of its toothbrush made for this age group shows a fundamental shift from a purely hygienic tool to a socialized process: The “Princess Manual Toothbrush” includes a “tongue cleaner to promote fresh breath” (www.oralb.com). Although proper brushing techniques should prevent bad breath, the emphasis on the expectation of fresh breath makes brushing as much about dental hygiene as it is about social norms.
Adolescence: the age of braces
Once all baby teeth have fallen out and all of an adolescent’s permanent teeth have grown in many American youth get braces to straighten their teeth. According to the Toronto Orthodontic Association, “orthodontic problems can lead to tooth decay, gum disease, bone destruction, chewing and digestive difficulties, speech impairments, tooth loss and other dental injuries (http://www.torontoorthodontics.com/). However, the first benefit of braces the association lists is “an attractive smile and improved self-image” ((http://www.torontoorthodontics.com/). Although having a straight smile does improve dental health in that straight teeth are easier to clean with the toothbrush, many Americans choose to undergo the painful and expensive process of having braces in order to improve their aesthetic appearance.
Brushing your teeth with braces is also a more difficult process. With brackets and wires, the possibility of getting food stuck in one’s teeth is much greater. As a result, dental hygiene may suffer if the individual does not increase and improve brushing habits. Kids (or adults) with braces are encouraged to “Brush thoroughly at least four times a day: after every meal and before you go to bed” (http://www.gittessbraces.com/). In the long run braces will enable easier brushing and flossing than before as teeth are straighter and therefore decrease the amount of crevices that allow for the build-up of plaque to occur; however, during the period in which the individual has braces he or she must take extra good care of their teeth. As a result, companies have designed special toothbrushes for those who have braces. Oral-B created a toothbrush with “’V’-trimmed bristles for effective cleaning around brackets and wires” (www.oralb.com), other toothbrushes for braces are smaller and circular so that they can maneuver around brackets and most dentists recommend toothbrushes that have softer, more flexible bristles.
Brushing in Adulthood
Once braces are removed proper dental hygiene is much easier to achieve. As a dental adult brushing is still important to prevent plaque and oral disease as well as maintain an attractive, white smile. There are a huge variety of toothbrushes that can provide the capability to maintain a healthy smile. The most complex toothbrushes claim to afford the best cleaning capabilities and can cost over two hundred dollars. For example, the DiamondClean Recharcheable sonic toothbrush is advertised to “remove up to 5X more plaque than a manual toothbrush, improve gum health in only two weeks, whiten teeth more than 2X better than a manual toothbrush, [and has a] sensitive mode that provides gentle teeth and gum cleaning” (http://m.usa.philips.com/). However, this toothbrush has a retail price of $219.99 while manual toothbrushes can cost a few dollars. While complex, electronic toothbrushes may offer superior plaque removal and a variety of different brushing modes manual toothbrushes also provide adequate hygiene.
Elderly Dental Hygiene
As people age the wear and tear of daily use may take a toll on the teeth and it is common for elderly people to lose some or all of their teeth. Tooth loss occurs due to “excessive tooth wear that happens over time, loss of the bone mass that contributes to the periodontal disease, an increase in difficult to restore dental caries, or impaired oral hygiene due to the neglect or medical problems” (http://dentureinfo.blogspot.com/). In order to be able to properly chew food and keep up appearances, many elderly people or those who suffer from tooth loss will use dentures to replace missing teeth. People may have partial or complete dentures depending on how many teeth they have lost. A partial denture replaces a few teeth that have fallen out, but requires remaining teeth to keep it in place. Complete dentures are used when all teeth have fallen out. An alternative to removable dentures is the permanent procedure of dental implants. Although dental implants may make life easier in some ways as the patient does not need to worry about removal, they are much more expensive and provide no greater health benefit (http://www.webmd.com/). Many denture wearers are concerned with aesthetics of the alternative of having a smile with missing teeth or no teeth at all. Other aesthetic concerns are the look and smell of dentures. Products like polident are denture cleaning agents that “kill 99.9% of odor causing bacteria” and help maintain a bright, white color to the dentures (http://www.mypolicare.com/). Denture wearers are also encouraged to brush their dentures to prevent the same oral hygiene problems plague real teeth: plaque, bad breath and food particles.