Good Dental Hygiene

By Setina Evans RDH

May 23,2020

What Is Good Oral Hygiene?

When the Dentist, Dental Hygienist or other dental healthcare professionals examineyour teeth then say to you , ¨oh you have good oral/dental hygiene¨, it is their way of telling you that based on observation and examinationthey can see that you are doing a good job in taking care of your gum and teeth. It means that your mouth is looking good and is healthy as a result of your efforts at home.

This means that in your mouth there is:

No bleeding when pressure is applied to the gum, while brushing or flossing.

The teeth are clean and free from dental plaque, calculus (tartar) or food debris.

There is no bleeding when checking the depth of the spaces between the gum and the teeth (periodontal probing).

Measurements on periodontal probing range from o mm-3 mm with no bleeding.

The gum is firm and coral pink (naturally darker with variations of melanin pigmentation ).

The breath smells fresh or is odorless.

The tongue is clean.

The gum has stippling ( the appearance like that of an orange peel).

The gum has a scalloped appearance around each tooth.

The gum fills and fits the spaces between the teeth.

The gum is firmly attached to the teeth with the gum narrowing to ¨knife edge¨ thin at the free gingival margin.

No broken teeth or open cavities.

No loose or shaking crowns, bridges or teeth.

No gum recession or bone loss.

No presence of yellowish pus-like fluid at the gum line.

No presence of swelling gum.