Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / September 2006
Brushing frustration
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David Moran - 25 Sep 2006 01:11 GMT Hi all, I am 22 and have Cerebral Palsy. I notice when I brush my teeth, my arms shake uncontrollably and it takes me about an hour to do a good job brushing my teeth. I am in school and quite frankly don't have time to spend this long brushing. If I am in a hurry, I have a friend or family member help me (if any are around). I do use an electric toothbrush and that doesn't seem to help. I've had check ups by 2 or 3 doctors and they all say I'm perfectly healthy. They've suggested muscle relaxers, which I want to avoid. I don't understand the problem as I can shave in 5 minutes or less. I try to spend 30 seconds on each quadrant, but don't know if that's too much or not. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks. Dave
mamounjo3@yahoo.com - 25 Sep 2006 02:29 GMT It might not be practical for you to brush your teeth on a daily basis. Maybe once per week is the most that you might be able to comfortably do. If you can't brush your teeth well, you might consider other strategies for allowing you to preserve your teeth without brushing.
You could have a dentist perform a professional cleaning once per month, and said dentist will also check for any emerging cavities. You could rinse several times per day with a fluoride rinse, like Act or Flouriguard. The fluoride helps prevent tooth decay even if you don't brush your teeth. Avoid eating sugary foods or stop any kind of sugar consumption. Especially, don't eat sugary foods that stick to your teeth after you eat them, like chocolate chip cookies, oreo cookies, snickers bars, etc. Sugar, especially sticky forms of sugar, helps promote plaque growth and build-up. The main point of brushing teeth is to get rid of plaque, so if you have less plaque, there is less harm to not brushing your teeth. The big thing is not to allow particles of food to get stuck around your teeth for any period of time. So, after every meal, rinse with water. Always rinse with at least water after every meal to get rid of any food particles around your teeth. Keep rinsing until no more particles come out. Examine your teeth in the mirror to see if there are any more particles. If you never had food particles linger around your teeth and you never consumed sugary foods, you could literally not brush your teeth at all and get few or no cavities, especially if you rinse frequently with flouride-containing mouthwash. You could also drink authentic Japanese green tea, 1-2 cups per day, made from green tea leaves and twigs. Green tea helps reduce plaque formation around teeth.
In summary, follow the above advice to reduce plaque formation around your teeth, and use fluoride and get once per month dentist cleanings to prevent further cavities. You should be constantly rinsing your teeth with water after meals if you cannot brush, and then rinse with fluoride and not eat or drink anything for about 1/2 hour after rinsing with fluoride. The best time to rinse with fluoride rinse is at night, when you are just sleeping for eight hours. Plaque grows a lot while people are sleeping, so the fluoride rinse at night helps counteract the damage of plaque that develops through the night. especially don't go to sleep with particles of food stuck around your teeth. rinse them out.
> Hi all, I am 22 and have Cerebral Palsy. I notice when I brush my teeth, > my arms shake uncontrollably and it takes me about an hour to do a good [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Thanks. > Dave Steven Bornfeld - 25 Sep 2006 02:39 GMT > It might not be practical for you to brush your teeth on a daily basis. Maybe yes, maybe no. But I'd certainly like to know more about the difficulty before throwing in the towel on daily oral hygiene. Unless the OP is resistant to decay and periodontal disease, this could be a prescription for big problems, and monthly professional cleanings will not prevent decay (though they might well help the overall periodontal condition).
Steve
> Maybe once per week is the most that you might be able to comfortably > do. If you can't brush your teeth well, you might consider other [quoted text clipped - 51 lines] >>Thanks. >>Dave David Moran - 25 Sep 2006 03:08 GMT > It might not be practical for you to brush your teeth on a daily basis. > Maybe once per week is the most that you might be able to comfortably [quoted text clipped - 52 lines] >> Thanks. >> Dave Personally, I can't afford to get monthly cleanings. I really want to find a solution to this as it is really frustrating, especially when I have other things that I need to do as well.
Dave
AdvanceAgent - 25 Sep 2006 03:22 GMT Hi David,
Try not holding your tooth brush too tightly when you brush. I tend to do that thinking the harder I brush the clearer my teeth will be. Actually you may cause some damage to your teeth if you brush too hard. Try holding your brush lightly to see if your tremor lessens.
You really need to brush your teeth at least twice a day. You may be able to get away with once daily if you rinse with mouth wash during the day. But definitely brush before you go to sleep to clean out all the food you accumulate during the day.
Are you flussing? That's also very important to keep spaces between the teeth clean. That's the most common place for cavities. It will be difficult to fluss using your hand. You may want to use "Y" shape thing that spread the fluss for you. What's that thing call anyway.
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> > It might not be practical for you to brush your teeth on a daily basis. > > Maybe once per week is the most that you might be able to comfortably [quoted text clipped - 58 lines] > > Dave AdvanceAgent - 25 Sep 2006 03:24 GMT I forgot. Don't miss your 6 month cleaning appointments.
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> Hi David, > [quoted text clipped - 80 lines] > > > > Dave David Moran - 25 Sep 2006 03:35 GMT I'm about 2 1/2 months from my next one. Already have it scheduled!
Dave
> I forgot. Don't miss your 6 month cleaning appointments. > [quoted text clipped - 86 lines] >>> >>> Dave David Moran - 25 Sep 2006 03:34 GMT I've tried holding it different ways to no avail. Flossing is a disaster waiting to happen for me. I've tried and it's even harder. I have a few friends that help me out if I need it, but I'd prefer to find a way to do it on my own.
Dave
> Hi David, > [quoted text clipped - 79 lines] >> >> Dave AdvanceAgent - 25 Sep 2006 03:46 GMT Instead of the conventional fluss, you may want to use interproximal brush. Shown here as an example:
http://www.deplaque.com/
But it comes in smaller sizes and brands available in your local pharmacies. The brush goes in and out of the space between the teeth to clean the space. No rope.
This may be easier for you.
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> I've tried holding it different ways to no avail. Flossing is a disaster > waiting to happen for me. I've tried and it's even harder. I have a few [quoted text clipped - 86 lines] > >> > >> Dave Steven Bornfeld - 25 Sep 2006 02:36 GMT > Hi all, I am 22 and have Cerebral Palsy. I notice when I brush my teeth, > my arms shake uncontrollably and it takes me about an hour to do a good [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Thanks. > Dave I'm confused. Are you saying that you spend 30 seconds per quadrant, but you feel it would take an hour to do a good job? Is this an intention tremor? I cannot understand why you can shave so quickly but cannot brush even with a mechanical brush. Maybe you can elaborate on what part of the brushing motion seems to evoke the tremor. Better, it would help to demonstrate your technique to your dentist, who may well have some ideas on how to make things less stressful.
Steve
David Moran - 25 Sep 2006 03:04 GMT >> Hi all, I am 22 and have Cerebral Palsy. I notice when I brush my >> teeth, my arms shake uncontrollably and it takes me about an hour to [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Steve I really don't know. What I end up doing is brushing one quadrant, take a break, go back and do more, etc. It seems like I have the most trouble brushing my front teeth. I wonder if part of it might be that I try so hard to relax beforehand that somehow it makes the tremor worse.
Dave
Steven Bornfeld - 25 Sep 2006 03:19 GMT > I really don't know. What I end up doing is brushing one quadrant, take > a break, go back and do more, etc. It seems like I have the most trouble > brushing my front teeth. I wonder if part of it might be that I try so > hard to relax beforehand that somehow it makes the tremor worse. > > Dave As a dentist, I would like to see you brushing your teeth, and see if I can see where the difficulty is. I'm inclined to think a physical therapist or occupational therapist could help.
Steve
Ann - 25 Sep 2006 16:27 GMT >> I really don't know. What I end up doing is brushing one quadrant, take >> a break, go back and do more, etc. It seems like I have the most trouble [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >can see where the difficulty is. I'm inclined to think a physical >therapist or occupational therapist could help. I think so too. In the UK a physio or occupational therapist would come up with a solution. It may be that a brush with a larger handle or some other adaptation would help but nobody can really know without seeing the problem.
Ann
rppj - 27 Sep 2006 02:55 GMT How about resting your elbows on the counter (while you sit on the toilet or a stool) if your elbows are supported perhaps the tremor will be controlled.
>>> I really don't know. What I end up doing is brushing one quadrant, take >>> a break, go back and do more, etc. It seems like I have the most trouble [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Ann David Moran - 27 Sep 2006 03:02 GMT > How about resting your elbows on the counter (while you sit on the toilet or > a stool) if your elbows are supported perhaps the tremor will be controlled. Tried it, doesn't work -- Dave
>>>> I really don't know. What I end up doing is brushing one quadrant, take >>>> a break, go back and do more, etc. It seems like I have the most trouble [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> >> Ann mamounjo3@yahoo.com - 29 Sep 2006 14:39 GMT What about attaching the toothbrush to the wall, and then brushing your teeth by bringing your teeth to the toothbrush, instead of the other way around. You could have four toothbrushes fixed to a wall or the edge of a countertop. One with the bristles facing sideways left, the other with the bristles facing sideways right, the other with the bristles facing up and the other with the bristles facing downward. Put them above the floor at mouth level, and put toothpaste on them. Then, open your mouth and try to gently move your head towards and away from the tooth brushes such that the brushes contact the teeth and brush them.
> > How about resting your elbows on the counter (while you sit on the toilet or > > a stool) if your elbows are supported perhaps the tremor will be controlled. > > Tried it, doesn't work -- Dave
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