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September signals the beginning of the Colgate Oral Health month. Colgate, in association with the British Dental Association (BDA) are running a programme UK Wide to help promote the importance of oral health. It is an initiative to educate the UK public, through communication between professionals and the public. Road shows and mobile units will be touring venues throughout the month teaching people good brushing techniques and promoting ‘prevention in practice’.
Majority of practices in the UK have taken part in the initiative this year and will be displaying their promotional materials throughout their practises to highlight and increase awareness of the campaign.

www.colgateohm.co.uk.

Brushing your teeth properly can be a saviour when it comes to having fresh breath and keeping your teeth healthy. But most people don’t actually use good technique or even brush their teeth for long enough! Below is a short guide to help you clean your teeth properly.
For good brushing techniques follow these very simple rules:
1.    Brush for a least 2 minutes (120 seconds)
2.    Make sure your brush strokes are short and gentle
3.    Pay special consideration to your gums, the teeth right at the back of the mouth that are hard to get to, and any fillings or crowns or fixed teeth.
4.    Make sure your brush is tilted at a 45 ̊angle and follow this guide
•    Outside upper
•    Outside lower
•    Inside upper
•    Inside lower
•    The tops upper
•    The tops lower
•    Clean your tongue to get rid of bacteria and have fresh breath!

The Braun Oral-B 3D Excel Pulsating Toothbrush is probably the one of the best electric toothbrushes that is on the market at the moment. At around £65 (I think you might be able to get it from Argos for a little bit cheaper!) it is at the top end of the range, but being one of the better toothbrushes around it is worth it.
Electric toothbrushes all significantly remove more plaque than normal brushing (but if you’re lazy it doesn’t do it for you!!!). With the Braun Oral-B 3D you get two colour indicating brush heads (both interspaced to clean on and around the teeth) that after 3-4 months will fade to indicate you need to change your brush head. Each head has a different coloured ring on it (so for example the brush can be used by a couple – each having a different coloured brush head). It has two speeds and a pressure sensor to stop you damaging your gums.
It also has a non-slip grip on the base, timer, carry case and a charger.

There could be a new way to help teach your children about good dental hygiene.
Mum, Rachel Stephens, invented the ‘Wash & Brush Timer’ after directly experiencing the constant struggle to get her own children, 4 and 7, to brush their teeth for longer.
A marketing and PR specialist, Rachel could see there was a gap in the market and so produced the idea to help children slow down brushing their teeth and to learn how to clean properly.
The product is easy to use with clear buttons, you press one for brushing your teeth and a green LED light comes on (for 2 minutes – the recommended time) and when the light goes red the children know its time to rinse.
The ‘Wash and Brush Timer’ also has the same system for teaching children to wash their hands properly (the timer lasting 30 seconds for hand washing).
Launched in July of this year it is already available in some stores and Rachel is hoping to sell it in dental practices throughout the UK too.
It has a suction pad so it stays put in the bathroom, but can also be portable too. It is a very reasonably priced – check out www.trendykid.co.uk for more details.

Listerine Total Care Mouthwash is probably one of the more popular mouth washes around.
At a very reasonable price of £2.19 for a 250ml bottle is it very middle of the road (price wise).
Here are the pros:
1.    It claims to reduce plaque and tartar helping the teeth stay white
2.    Kills up to 99.9% of the mouth bacteria
3.    Strengthens the teeth against decay
4.    24 hour fresh breath
You are meant to use the mouth wash twice a day after brushing, swilling it round for about 30 seconds. Word of warning though, don’t smell the mouth wash or breathe in through your nose when using as the very potent minty smell can make your eyes water slightly!
All reports on review websites are good, and most say that they buy the product regularly.
If you are a fan let me know.