Sunday, July 5, 2009

Plaque Disclosing Tablets

Even though you may teach your children to brush their teeth three times daily, and you may show them how to follow all the instructions that the dentist gives them on proper brushing methods, they will still have a great deal of plaque left on their teeth. This is because there are so many places where plaque can hide, and where a toothbrush may not have an easy time reaching. Because plaque is invisible, it is even harder for children to brush all of it off their teeth. This is where plaque disclosing tablets can help.






Plaque is film that consists of food debris and bacteria. It builds up on teeth each time a child eats. While it is virtually impossible to see even under a bright light, disclosing tablets can make it immediately visible.

These red-colored liquid that is produced will harmlessly stain tartar and plaque that are resident on a child’s teeth. It will help your child find the areas that need more brushing.

Using this simple tool helps remove plaque every day before it mineralizes and turns into tartar. (Another word for tartar is calculus). After a child gets tartar on his or her teeth, he or she cannot brush or floss it off. A professional tooth cleaning at a dental office will be required at this point.

It is so much easier to teach a child to use disclosing tablet. These are reasonably priced and completely bio-friendly tools that are made from a harmless vegetable dye that stains the plaque, but never stains the teeth. After a child gets used to using them, it becomes much easier to intuitively know, as if by second nature, where the various hiding places for plaque are located. This provides a child with a visual frame of reference to work with when learning basic dental hygiene.

Please be mindful of how important it is to teach children to never swallow the liquid or their toothpaste.

The process is surprisingly simple. To begin with, a child brushes or flosses the teeth as usual. Then, he or she chews a tablet until it turns to liquid. The liquid acts immediately, turning the plaque into a brightly colored red stain that can be seen in the mirror. Both the plaque and the vegetable dye can then be brushed off until there are no more red spots remaining. When the teeth are completely white again, this indicates that all the plaque has been removed.

Plaque disclosing tablets are typically used as a short-term strategy of dental hygiene. Once a child learns what spots on the teeth experience plaque buildup, it is much easier for him or her to get in the habit of consistently and rigorously brushing and flossing these areas.

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posted by Dental Expert at 10:18 PM

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