summercomfort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
summercomfort) wrote2012-05-17 11:55 pm
summercomfort) wrote2012-05-17 11:55 pm
Teeth and brushing
So I went to the dentist recently, and she told me I didn't have new cavities! This is a really exciting moment for me because it used to be that I'd get at least a couple new cavities every year. I've always had bad teeth since I was a kid -- seeing frowny dentists is pretty standard for me. I have an average of 2 fillings per tooth. And over the years, I've pretty much just resigned myself to having crappy teeth that have lots of "texture" that the gunk sticks to.... Until my epiphany about a year or two ago that: I've been brushing my teeth wrong!
Now, when I was little, my parents taught me how to brush me teeth -- the proper forms and ways to direct the toothbrush. There were also various dentists who showed me when I was young. By the time I was a teenager, most dentists would just ask "how often do you brush?" and I'd say "twice a day" and they'd just go back to frowning at my teeth again. I also tried lots of different brushes -- big, small, hard, soft, electrical, etc. None of them worked especially well. I was pretty sure that I knew HOW to brush, so I figured that brushing was just pretty useless for my teeth.
It turns out, however, that what I DIDN'T know, was HOW LONG to brush. Yup. No one ever told me that you're supposed to brush your teeth for at least 2 minutes. WOW!! In my past 20 years of "brushing" I would just go through the motions and make sure each tooth has touched the brush, once or maybe twice. D: So now instead of brushing more times, I brush for a longer time, and my teeth have been getting fewer cavities!
What's also interesting, is that it turns out that my parents didn't know about the 2-minute thing, either. So it's made me think -- how do you learn these basics of brushing if you didn't have family modelling it when you were a kid? When I learned brushing from my parents, they spent a lot more time teaching and modelling how to fill up my cup with water and how to rinse my toothbrush with the water in the cup. Jono recently observed that this is a strategy that is very useful in a place where water faucets are limited/communal. So the primary thing that I learned about brushing as a child was how to manage water resources and not actually how to increase teeth cleanliness. So, this has made me think: If you are introducing modern teeth-brushing to a new culture, how do you do it? What are the basic expectations of societal competence and how do immigrants and immigrant children learn them?
Now, when I was little, my parents taught me how to brush me teeth -- the proper forms and ways to direct the toothbrush. There were also various dentists who showed me when I was young. By the time I was a teenager, most dentists would just ask "how often do you brush?" and I'd say "twice a day" and they'd just go back to frowning at my teeth again. I also tried lots of different brushes -- big, small, hard, soft, electrical, etc. None of them worked especially well. I was pretty sure that I knew HOW to brush, so I figured that brushing was just pretty useless for my teeth.
It turns out, however, that what I DIDN'T know, was HOW LONG to brush. Yup. No one ever told me that you're supposed to brush your teeth for at least 2 minutes. WOW!! In my past 20 years of "brushing" I would just go through the motions and make sure each tooth has touched the brush, once or maybe twice. D: So now instead of brushing more times, I brush for a longer time, and my teeth have been getting fewer cavities!
What's also interesting, is that it turns out that my parents didn't know about the 2-minute thing, either. So it's made me think -- how do you learn these basics of brushing if you didn't have family modelling it when you were a kid? When I learned brushing from my parents, they spent a lot more time teaching and modelling how to fill up my cup with water and how to rinse my toothbrush with the water in the cup. Jono recently observed that this is a strategy that is very useful in a place where water faucets are limited/communal. So the primary thing that I learned about brushing as a child was how to manage water resources and not actually how to increase teeth cleanliness. So, this has made me think: If you are introducing modern teeth-brushing to a new culture, how do you do it? What are the basic expectations of societal competence and how do immigrants and immigrant children learn them?
no subject
Part of my "get sick less" program was to start washing my hands like doctors do, since I read about someone who's health improved just by doing that. The recommendation is usually to wash long enough to sing Happy Birthday in your head twice. ( http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/ )
no subject
Teaching kids how to brush teeth has challenges.
First you have to teach them not to eat the toothpaste (this is why training toothpaste exists, which is safe to swallow) and also how to hold the brush. Like holding a pencil, this skill requires crazy motor control that most kids are still developing.
Then you have to instill the process in them as a habit.
And THEN you have to get on them about proper technique.
Some teaching aids I've seen and liked:
a toothbrush with a little light (some play music) that indicates the proper amount of time
a fluoride mouthwash that stains plaque green so that kids can see if they've brushed properply