Brushing technique

Good oral hygiene is essential to keep teeth and gums healthy. Carrying out a correct dental cleaning is not an innate skill in man, but rather it must be learned. Good oral hygiene involves knowing the appropriate techniques as well as the instruments necessary to put them into practice.

Fones circular technique

The brushing technique according to Fones is the easiest to learn for inexperienced patients, so it is indicated for children, patients with motor difficulties and patients without relevant dental problems.

For this technique, a brush with a multi-level head should be used, which correctly cleans even the interproximal area. The Fones technique consists of brushing the outer surface of the teeth with the mouth open using small circular movements on the gums and teeth with the brush placed at a 90° angle. The circular movements should be repeated 5 to 8 times for each pair of teeth, exerting enough pressure so that the bristles reach the interdental spaces. The inside of the teeth, on the other hand, should be cleaned with the brush as vertically as possible using zig-zag movements. For the occlusal side, small circular movements are again used to achieve optimal cleaning of the fissures and the more ineffective left-to-right brushing movement can be abandoned.

Bass Technique

The Bass technique is especially indicated for patients with severe gingivitis or periodontitis because it allows for good cleaning of the gingival sulcus area, which is particularly important in the presence of these conditions. Used correctly, this procedure allows the brush bristles to penetrate into the groove and clean it thoroughly.

To clean the inner and outer surfaces of the teeth, the brush is placed at a 45° angle with half of the bristles on the tooth and the other half on the gum so that the bristles enter the gingival sulcus. Small vibrating movements are then made, ensuring that the bristles remain inside the groove at all times. In this way it is possible to detach the plaque and eliminate it using a sweeping movement towards the dental crown. The occlusal surfaces should be cleaned using circular movements.

Modified Stillman technique

The modified Stillman technique is the one that presents the greatest degree of difficulty for the patient. This method should only be recommended to those patients who really need it, since with this technique the level of cleaning of the gingival sulcus is usually not satisfactory.

Remember to brush your teeth 3 times a day, and if you can after each meal. Remember to brush your tongue, use dental floss to remove food remains between your teeth and don't forget to use mouthwash.

The most important brushing is at night before going to sleep, since the flow of saliva decreases.