Dr.Rai Tariq Masood
Tooth Brush
 The toothbrush is an instrument consisting of a small
brush on a handle used to clean teeth through tooth
brushing
 Act of cleaning your teeth with the tooth brush is
called Tooth Brushing
Tooth paste
 Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a
toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics and
health of teeth
Functions
 Used to promote oral hygiene
 Aid in the removal of dental plaque and food from the
teeth on all the surfaces
 Elimination and/or masking of halitosis
 Deliver active ingredients such as fluoride or xylitol to
prevent tooth and gum disease (gingivitis)
 To clean the tongue
Amount of paste applied?
Introduction
 The bristle tooth brush appeared 1st in china in 1600
 They vary in size, design, length, hardness and
arrangement of bristles
 Hence recommending a particular tooth brush, the
ease of use by a patient as well as the perception that
the brush works well are important
 Each brush has a Handle, a Shank and a Working end
Components of a Toothbrush
Handle
Working
end
Ideal Properties of a Tooth Brush
 Should remove all the calculus and plaque
 Should access all the surfaces of the tooth
 Should not injure the Gingiva
 The bristles should be soft
 The bristles should not deteriorate/ or should have
long working life
Tooth Brush Design
 The bristles are grouped in Tufts
 Usually 3 or 4 rows of tufts
 Bristles are obtained from Hogs or artificially from the
Nylon
 Two major types : manual & Electric
Manual & Electric
Soft and Hard Bristles
Which is the better one?
Force for Brushing
 The amount of force used is not critical for effective
 vigorous brushing can lead to
-Gingival recession
-Bacteremia
-Wedge shaped defects in the cervical
area of the root surface
Tooth brush Trauma
Techniques
 Stillman , Charters & Bass
 Modified Stillman & Bass technique
 Fones technique
 Leonard technique
 Scrub technique
Stillman Method
 A toothbrushing technique that incorporates gingival
stimulation and dental cleansing, in which the
toothbrush is held against both the gingival and the
dental surfaces and manually vibrated
Continued……
 The bristles ends are placed at 45 degree with the
bristles directed apically on the gingiva and partly on
the cervical portion of the tooth
 when the bristles are in position a gentle but firm
vibratory motion is applied to the brush with the
bristles remaining in the same position
Stillman’s
Modified Stillman’s Technique
 A occlusal stroke is also added in the movements
 The occlusal stroke is used after every vibratory
movement.
 For Cleaning areas with progressing gingival recession
and root exposure to minimize abrasive tissue
destruction.
Charter’s Method
 A method of toothbrushing utilizing a restricted
vibratory motion with the bristles inclined coronally at
a 45 degree angle.
 Used when the interdental gingiva does not fill the
embrasure spaces
Continued……
 The bristles are placed at 45 degree towards the
occlusal surface
 The bristles are placed interproximally and then
vibratory movement is used while keeping the bristles
in the position
Charter’s
Bass Method (intrasulcular)
 Toothbrushing technique for controlling plaque
involving placement of the bristles in the sulcus at an
angle of 45° to the tooth's long axis and vibrating the
bristles in a quick manner from side to side
 Most widely accepted method for removal of plaque
Continued……
 The head of the tooth brush is placed parallel with the
occlusal surfaces of the teeth and the bristles are
directed apically into the gingival sulcus at 45 degree
angle along the long axis of the tooth
 A firm pressure is applied in apical direction and by
making short vibratory strokes.
 The short back-and-forth motion is easy to master.
 It concentrates the cleaning action on the cervical and
inter-proximal portions of the teeth, where microbial
plaque is most likely to have accumulated.
Bass Method
Modified Bass Method
 The modification consists of sweeping the bristles
downward over the tooth surface occlusally
Fone’s Technique (circular
Method)
 A toothbrushing technique in which, with the teeth
occluded and with the brush at more or less right
angles to the teeth, large sweeping, scrubbing circles
are described. With the jaws parted, the palatal and
lingual surfaces of the teeth are scrubbed using
smaller circles. Occlusal surfaces are brushed in an
anteroposterior direction.
Continued……
 Brush is placed perpendicular to the tooth
 Teeth are clenched and large circular movements are
given with the toothbrush
 Not recommended now because injury to gingiva
usually occurs
Leonard’s Technique
 A method of teeth cleaning that advocates a vigorous
drawing of the toothbrush up and down across the
teeth. The teeth are held apart, so that each section is
brushed separately.
 Also known as vertical toothbrushing.
Roll Method
 Brush is placed over the gingiva with the bristles
placed apically
 The jaws are separated
 The bristles are pressed against the gingiva and with
continued pressure the brush is slowly rolled down
over the surface of gingiva and tooth by rotating the
wrist
Continued……
 Most easy method
 But the gingival sulcus may not be cleaned by this
Horizontal scrub Method
 The bristles are placed 90⁰ to the tooth and move
horizontally.
 Most widely used method but not recommended.
 Can cause gingival recession.
Brushing the Occlusal Surface
 The bristles are placed at right angle on the occlusal
surface with the ends of the bristles deep into the pits
and fissures
 Vibrate the brush while keeping in the same area
 Next give it the circular movements
Occlusal Brushing
Brushing the Tongue
 Place the bristles at a right angle to the tongue
 Apply pressure on the tongue and give to and fro
movements
Mouth Rinsing
 Very important
 Done to flush away the debris that was loosened but
not removed
 Water or Mouth wash
Introduction
 Simple toothbrushing cannot clean all the surfaces
 For ideal plaque removal certain aids must be
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supplemented which assist in cleaning the remaining
portions
Dental floss
Interdental toothbrushes
Mouth washes
Disclosing tablets and solutions
Dentifrices
Dental Floss
Continued……
 Slowly push the floss interdentally, Don’t force it
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otherwise gingival trauma may occur
Start from the base of gingival sulcus
Move in up & down motion
Move along the tooth surface
Do it slowly to avoid trauma
Flossing technique
Interdental Brush
Usage
Disclosing tablets & Solutions
Disclosed plaque