... to not want to floss in the lounge?!

I'm with Ana. They do get to the bits missed by the toothbrush. And you can use them lots of times- usually until they get too 'bendy.' That's why you get a little cover with them for hygiene purposes. They wd work out far too expensive otherwise.

I hate going to the Dentist but do try to go for my check-ups. I have only visited Hygenist twice, I would refuse to go if my new Dentist suggested this, I found it more painful than a visit to the Dentist.

Used floss years ago, lost a filling, don't use anymore.

I know they're only doing their job but I don't need another Health Professional giving me "advice", stop smoking, avoid alcohol, lose weight, avoid sugar etc. I've heard it all before, I eat a healthy diet, smoke 2/3 cigarettes a day, have occasional glass of wine & struggle to lose weight due to impaired mobility

My dentist asked me if I flossed and I said No and then added that I'd read recently that it was a waste of time. She showed me a plastic device, a sort of triangle with a stalk, a bit like a catapult and demonstrated it on a model of a mouth. She said I have tartar/plaque between my teeth and dragging this thing between my teeth would remove it. Also that my gums might bleed at first but not to worry. My gums haven't bled so I must have done it wrongly so I've given up. My daughter sees a different dentist at the same practice and he said these plastic things aren't much good (the practice sells them) and to use brushes. My teeth seem OK at every check-up.

This thread has made me feel very guilty. My gums are receding (I'm literally getting long in the tooth, as my perky young hygienist put it ), and I've got some little grey and red brushes that have rarely seen the light of day. I've got them out ready for Poldark tonight - I'm sure he'll be impressed.

I've also just had an experimental go at oil pulling, which I'd never heard of, so thanks for that, those who've mentioned it. I do realise I should be doing it first thing in the morning, but I just wanted to try it out. Nothing ventured, and all that.

Using the brushes every day (in the bathroom) and they have cured my gum infection. I think the hygienist was trying to put across how easy it was and that it is so simple it can be done anywhere.

I had awful gum problems for years until they started selling little brushes (teeth too close together) I used a range of sizes & the problems cleared up. It saved my teeth. My mother lost all her teeth in her early 60s through gum disease.

I have been using them for years with great results (so the hygienist tells me anyway), but despite all her encouragement I flatly refuse to use more than 3 colours or I would be in the bathroom for most of the morning!

Stella I realise that ... but it's not her job to tell me where to be when I'm poking in my teeth!

Get an Air Flosser, they're brilliant. Used one for a year now and don't any more trouble with my gums or teeth. I only use it when I brush and floss before going to bed.

I'd continue seeing the dentist but not make arrangements to see the hygienist if I could do so with diplomacy. Perhaps if the hygienist is mentioned again just say, 'another time, perhaps', knowing full well that you really mean 'no'.

Peaseblossom, I wasn't talking about flossing...

Lewlew One of the hygienists at my dental practice told me it was better to use interdental brushes than a WaterPik. I said my dentist recommended it! If you do use one I think you still need brushes as well. I don't think they clean as well as the brushes, but they're good if you have a small gap the brush will not go between.

Ana dental floss isn't recommended any more, apart from where the gap is so small you can't get any brushes between your teeth.

As for knowing which brushes to use, you use whichever one fits that particular gap. I have about four different sizes that I use in front of the bathroom mirror and it's no big deal and works far better than floss.

Surely she was just doing her job.

DH has been using them for years (as recommended by the dentist and dental hospital).

They're a lot cheaper on Amazon than either your dentist or chemists though!

I don't think they're 'the latest thingy'. I've been using interdental brushes for years (at least 4) as recommended by the hygienist at my dental practice.

Me too! I think they are obsessed with them

Grannyknot Thu 06-Jul-17 10:18:17 As others have said, it's the latest thingy. We go every year and this is the first time I have been told of them. I cannot floss properly with stiff fingers and 'tight teeth'. I have very little plaque and use a sonic battery brush, so I just am honest and say I don't get on with the brushes at my gum line as they hurt. I actually have good teeth in spite of now having two cracked molars and having crown work. (ugh).

They are given guidelines... it's up to you whether to do it or not. I am considering getting what used to be called a Water-Pik if it will help. More gentle!

Is it something to do with our age that these young things think it's fine to give us patronising lectures?! They could just suggest to us, like normal people, of the latest helpful ideas ......

My teeth hygiene routine developed over years of suggestions is as follows. Brush teeth before breakfast, 2 minutes, or more, without brushing too hard, with electric toothbrush. Forget using a circling motion on each tooth ......! Any sugars eaten at breakfast are already eroding the dentine and brushing after increases the erosion. So I use the interdental brushes, in the bathroom, after breakfast to remove the remains, and just rinse off the interdental brushes. I then use a plastic tongue scraper ever since I suffered a mouth infection - not nice.

Before bed I use dental tape before brushing my teeth. The interdental brushes don't slide through the top ends of the adjoining teeth, whereas the tape does. And finish with a tongue scrape.

Weekly I soak the toothbrushes, interdental brushes and tongue scraper in a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide (obtainable at pharmacies), and all sorts of bits float away as the peroxide fizzes. Some time ago we are told that we should not use toothbrushes for more than 3 months in case of some bacterial infection that could infect the heart. Just in case my toothbrush lasts more than three months, as well as the rest of the bits and pieces, I hope the relevant bacteria are killed off in the peroxide solution.

Mouthwash has been recommended, but they set my mouth afire, except one flavourless one (can't remember its name)which costs a ridiculous amount, so not used except when infection/gum disease threaten. Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a mouthwash, but even a weak solution sets my mouth zinging too much.

Despite lack of mouthwash, no false teeth and my dentist gives a very occasional brief scrape of accumulated tartar - that is what flossing and interdental brushes have achieved, through efficient mouth hygiene. And nowadays we are all persuaded to have bridges and implants, not available on the NHS, instead of false teeth which presumably still are, at less cost.

sarahellen no there aren't any hard and fast rules. But I'm definitely not going to stand in the bathroom for 15 minutes fiddling with different coloured brushes whilst referring to a colour-coded diagram either, life's too short.

Re the coconut oil, I wrote about coconut oil on these forums a while ago and someone said about the "oil pulling" - I've done that ever since, when I remember (but not for 20 minutes, just until it changes consistency) and it is brilliant, for some reason it makes one's mouth feel very clean. Plus I am certain that it is whitening my teeth.

Grannyknot. You are far to sensitive. I would have had to say to the dentist 'do you recommend any particular programme?
I wish my grumpy old man of a dentist was as friendly as yours. Do your flossing in the bathroom if privacy is the issue. Are there any hard and fast rules?

Your hygienist or dentist should advise which colour brushes to use for different gaps in teeth.

But at £3.50 a pack I reuse mine as much as I can.

I also get asked if I floss etc.

It is a good idea to use these brushes as flossing alone won't remove all the debris.

I've been using interdental brushes for over 15 years, as instructed by Guy's Dental hospital, and do it while watching TV. I was told that between the flossing and the interdentals and the brushing etc it should take me 15 mins to clean my teeth at night, of which 4 mins is brushing.
I don't find flossing my teeth interesting enough to do it without the TV or something. I live alone, but guests have to endure it when they come to stay.

Our dentist recommended those coloured interdental brushes to me and my husband and we both use them daily. The colours are the different sizes to go between different gaps in your teeth and help to get rid of plaque better than ordinary dental floss does. We were told to use them once a day straight after brushing our teeth in a morning. It takes just a few minutes only. It is completely different to using dental floss which our dentist shook his head at. You can buy these brushes at some supermarkets as well but initially get them from your dentist as they tell you the correct sizes needed to use to suit your teeth. As a result of using these we are now just having 9 months check ups instead of 6 and no longer need to see a hygenist as the brushes have made a lot of difference.