Tag

Dental

Browsing

Supplementary dental insurance is a great help, especially if you have children. The little ones often have problems with their teeth and may even need braces.

The purchase is associated with high costs, between 2,000 and 7,000 euros are calculated here. A large sum that not every family can afford.

Dental insurance benefits

If you have taken out additional dental insurance, this can cover up to 80% of the price, which is an enormous relief for the household budget. However, this only applies up to the age of 18, all subsequent treatments cost more, but it still makes sense to have such insurance. Around 20-30 percent of the costs for treatments for the whole family are covered.

In addition to the supplementary dental insurance, there are of course health insurance contributions. If you are legally insured, this contributes to the costs. This means that despite a certain age, at best you get 95% reimbursed, so you only have to pay 5% of the original costs yourself. Since there are many different providers and therefore different tariffs, you should first make a price-performance comparison.

How expensive is dental insurance?

Of course, a family must also pay attention to the additional costs, no matter how useful such insurance is, if there is never anything very expensive with your teeth, you pay an unnecessarily large amount of money for it. The tariff, i.e. the monthly contributions, depends on the selected offer and the age of entry of the insured person. Previous health damage, such as missing teeth or teeth that have not been replaced, also plays an important role in how high the contributions are in the end.

It’s worth signing up early

A little tip: the premiums are often lower if you take out insurance early. This means that if a child under the age of 18 takes out such insurance, they usually only have to pay 1-3 euros a month. For an average adult, this amounts to about 10 euros per month.

For workers and employees

If these are below a certain compulsory insurance limit of the gross salary, which is around 48,600 euros per year, the statutory health insurance company must pay the contributions. However, if you are insured with a private health insurance company, you can put together your individual insurance package when you take out the insurance and add this service if required. Almost everything can be insured here, whether simple basic care or the assumption of expensive treatments. On the other hand, statutory health insurance follows its prescribed service catalog. As a rule, this is the simplest way to protect and restore health, i.e. your teeth.

Children are especially important

supplementary dental insurance makes a lot of sense in almost every case. The low contributions and high power offer optimal protection of the teeth. Children in particular often have to use these for braces or the like, here the costs are reduced to a minimum rate and thus do not tear a hole in the household budget.

Useful tips for brushing your teeth and instructions for proper dental care. Some daily activities seem so normal to us that we do them without even thinking about them. Who thinks about how they sit, how they stand up, or how they brush their teeth.

Brush your teeth properly and effectively

However, it is often precisely these everyday things that are worth taking a second look at and finding out whether we are doing them correctly. After all, it’s the things we do frequently that can have the greatest impact. For this purpose, you will find tips on how to brush your teeth correctly below. This guarantees that your mouth stays healthy and bright.

1. Brush your teeth gently

This point is particularly important. Each of us has our own way of brushing our teeth. However, some of these techniques cause more difficulties than others. Teeth should be brushed gently as vigorous scrubbing can damage teeth and gums. Avoid sweeping, use gentle, circular motions instead. A well-known tip is to brush your teeth as carefully as you would brush valuable antique furniture. To check if you’re brushing too hard, just pay attention to your toothbrush while brushing. Are the bristles bent backward? If so, you’re probably brushing too hard.

2. Brush your teeth for at least 2 minutes

While most people know that 2 minutes is the recommended brushing time, most brush too little. It is of course possible to buy an hourglass or egg timer and use it to control yourself. However, if you don’t want that, you can use another trick. Turn off the tap. It turns out that the running faucet subconsciously causes people to brush their teeth faster. Another method is to listen to music while cleaning. A nice way to keep track of the time.

3. When brushing your teeth, don’t start in the same place every time

Most of us always start brushing our teeth in the same place. However, this can be a mistake. As one nears the end, one is often bored and unfocused. The passage that comes last receives less attention. This can have a beneficial effect on future problems. So take turns.

4. Wait at least 30 minutes after the meal

Brushing right after eating can be harmful to your teeth. This is because, after a meal, the pH in the mouth is lower than usual and therefore more acidic. Brushing your teeth can damage your teeth, especially the enamel, as a result.

5. When brushing your teeth, make sure you use the right toothbrush

It’s common for people to use toothbrushes that are either too big or too small for their mouths. As a result, these people are unable to reach all areas of the mouth. Another problem is toothbrushes with bristles that are too hard. We recommend soft brushes that do not injure your gums when brushing correctly.

6. Pay attention to insides and molars

It may sound logical, yes, even self-evident. Still, most people pay more attention to the front of their teeth than the rest. Even though they may be less visible, they still need the same attention. This is also because the insides of the teeth and the molars are the places that your tongue presses against most often. The exchange of bacteria is thus even greater.

7. Keep your toothbrush clean

Even if the toothbrush looks clean after brushing, it is a great place for bacteria to grow. It is therefore advisable to always rinse the toothbrush under cold, clear water after brushing. It is also recommended to keep the toothbrush in a cup, as bacteria often form on the sink or other shelves.

8. Replace your toothbrush every 2-3 months

This point builds on the last one. Even if you clean your toothbrush properly every time, it is advisable to replace it every 2-3 months. This prevents it from getting dirty over time and saves you from doing daily cleaning with a frayed, ineffective brush.

9. Floss daily

Dental flossing is an essential part of any overall oral care routine. This is because even the finest brushes do not fully penetrate the interdental spaces. For this reason, food leftovers are often deposited there. While it doesn’t matter whether you floss before or after brushing, it’s an important part of grooming.

10. Eat fruits and vegetables

Finally, there is an insider tip for radiantly beautiful teeth. If you ever find yourself out of the house and don’t have a brush handy, eating fruits and vegetables can help. Raw fruits and vegetables are packed with fiber, which naturally dissolves plaque from teeth. After eating, simply wash your mouth out with some water to remove any remaining bacteria.

You should also clean your tongue and follow our tips for white teeth.

Instructions and tips for using interdental brushing and dental floss correctly. Since dental care with a toothbrush is not enough, other aids are needed for healthy teeth. Consequently, dental floss and its alternatives can prevent tooth decay and bad breath.

Leftover food and bacteria collect in the spaces between the teeth. But if you floss, you can clean these areas properly. Consequently, dental floss or other special brushes are part of daily teeth cleaning to prevent bad teeth.

Why is dental floss important?

Adequate dental care is important. This includes brushing your teeth every day. But that alone is not enough. Because the toothbrush does not get into the interdental spaces. This means that only 70 percent of the tooth surface is cleaned. While the remaining 30 percent is left without proper cleaning. And this is where food residue and bacteria collect. If these are not thoroughly removed, tooth decay and bad breath can result. Consequently, dental floss and alternatives such as interdental brushes are good tools for dental care.

Effectiveness of interdental brushes and dental floss

Although there are no long-term studies on the use of dental floss and alternatives, it is recommended by dentists for oral care. Because there are hardly any alternatives in the price range for cleaning the interdental spaces. Only the plastic fork – also a dental floss, which is clamped in a plastic frame, is a conceivable alternative. But it causes significantly more waste than conventional dental floss.

Suitable tools for dental and oral health

Even toothbrushes with different bristle heights do not reach the spaces between the teeth as well as dental floss and interdental brushes. As a result, you can use these to ensure adequate dental care and clean the gaps. Accordingly, the application with them makes sense to avoid the following health problems. In addition, see our article on oral hygiene and care for clean teeth.

1) Prevent tooth decay with interdental brushes

Since leftover food and bacteria collect in the spaces between the teeth, these spaces must be cleaned. A normal toothbrush does not reach here. Therefore, you should regularly use silk or interdental brushes to remove the leftover food. Consequently, these are effective ways to prevent tooth decay. Also, read how you can prevent tooth decay in milk teeth with the right baby bottles.

2) Dental floss as a means of removing plaque

Excessive plaque can damage your teeth. So you should remove it as much as possible. The use of silk or interdental brushes can help you with this. In particular, you can use it to remove the inaccessible plaque in the gaps between your teeth. Please also note our article on tips and home remedies for removing plaque.

3) Avoid gingivitis

Likewise, a lack of dental care can lead to gingivitis. These are usually uncomfortable and painful. If you want to avoid gum inflammation, daily cleaning with dental floss can be useful. This is because you remove bacteria from places that are difficult for tooth princes to access.

4) Prevent periodontitis with proper dental care

You can not only avoid painful gingivitis with the aids presented here. You can also use it to prevent periodontitis. This works exactly as in the previously described points. Regular use of interdental brushes or dental floss will ensure better dental care. They also clean the spaces between the teeth and thus reduce the bacteria. Accordingly, these brushes and dental floss are effective against periodontitis.

5) Successfully eliminate bad breath

Since bad bacteria in the mouth can cause bad breath, it is important to eliminate them. Consequently, use dental floss or interdental brushes to clean your gaps. Accordingly, you should also get rid of your bad breath with regular use. In addition, daily oil pulling or cleaning your coated tongue can help improve your oral health.

Large selection of dental floss types

There is a large selection of different dental floss. The most common difference is between waxed and unwaxed dental floss. The waxed dental floss has the advantage that it slides better between the teeth. However, you remove significantly less coating than with the unwaxed version. The silk with Teflon coating also glides well. But it doesn’t clean as well either.

Dental floss with fluoride, which is said to prevent tooth decay, is also popular. However, the effect here is often small. Because the dosage of fluoride is low. The situation is similar with dental floss with chlorhexidine, which not only cleans the gaps but also disinfects them. Consequently, this should reduce tooth decay bacteria. There are also products with different flavors that do not have any significant advantage, but they make it easier to motivate children in particular to use dental floss.