Teeth aren’t my favourite thing however I know how important it is to look after your teeth and your gums. From around the age of 14 I remember my dentist at the time telling me that I needed to look after my gums better! I remember being quite puzzled about this and asking what I needed to do. The dentist responded by telling me I should brush my gums and shouldn’t let the sight of blood stop me. At the time I was undergoing treatment for an over crowded mouth and was having several teeth removed, an experience that has stayed with me for years and has led to a fear of needles in my mouth!
Since then it has been a regular pattern at my six monthly check ups that I need to look after my gums better and I usually get sent for a scale and polish! At the age of 19 years old I got myself a job as a Dental Nurse for a local Dentist. Over the two years I worked as a Dental Nurse I learnt just how important caring for your gums is. Gum disease is the biggest cause of tooth loss so looking after your gums is so important. Most people will experience some kind of gum problems throughout their life time but there are steps that can be taken to help reduce this.
As I have become older my gums have bled on regular occasions and I have been able to pin point certain things that makes it worse. One time that I have had more issue with this is when I have been pregnant and also while breast feeding also in the couple of days running up to my period. I’ve always kept an eye on the bleeding during these times and have spoken with my dentist at every checkup. I tend to have a six monthly check up with the children because of my gums too. Working as a Dental Nurse I saw many patients who had lost teeth and had dentures and even fourteen years on I remember some of them saying they wished they had taken more care of their gums. Finding something that will help prevent gum disease is something I’ve looked for over the years but apart from brushing my teeth and gums twice daily and regular check ups I haven’t come across anything. That is until now…
I’ve been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to try the new Oral-B Pro Expert Premium Gum Protection Toothpaste along with the fantastic Oral-B Triumph 5000. I was quite exited when I found out I would be testing it and also hoped that the toothpaste would help ease the bleeding I experience from my gums.
I was quite surprised how much came with the toothbrush when it arrived and I unpacked it
- three interchangeable toothbrush heads (one for floss action for deeper plaque removal, sensitive for sensitive teeth and gums and 1 3d white pro bright head to remove stains)
- travel toothbrush case
- portable charger
- charging station with brush storage
- 1 rechargeable Ni-MH Battery with charger indicator
I was also sent a full size tube of the Oral B Pro Expert Premium Gum Protection Toothpaste.
The boys were intrigued by the timer which is wireless and gives you feedback on your brushing the the form of telling you how long you have brushed for. The boys found it funny to watch the timer and tell me if I had a sad or happy face on the timer indicating I had brushed for long enough.
I started with using the sensitive brush head for the first few times I used the toothbrush and using the timer to help guide me for the length of time brushed my teeth. It’s surprising how long 2 minutes actually is. I’ve always known that 2 minutes is the magic number in terms of teeth brushing and have to admit two full minutes is not always possible. But since using the Oral B Triumph 5000 I have found it easier to stick too. I also encouraged to the boys to brush their teeth alongside me so that they could see how long 2 minutes is too, hopefully getting them into the habit now will help them establish a better tooth brushing routine. By brushing alongside me the children are also able to watch how I brush my teeth and learn how to brush their own correctly. Research has shown that Brits brush their teeth for only a minute and a half on average instead of the desired two minutes and only 50% clean their teeth correctly.
After three days using the sensitive toothbrush head I decided to switch to the floss action head to see if it made a difference. One of the reasons I suffer with bleeding gums is due to plaque not being able to remove it sufficiently. After the first use with the floss head I could not only physically see the difference it made by looking in the sink! (apologies if your eating while reading this!) but I could feel a difference too. I’ve tried flossing previously but have always struggled, the floss head made it a much easier process and so much less fiddly. As a big tea drinker I often end up with the tell tale stains on my teeth too so the third brush head is perfect for eliminating them and makes such a difference to my smile.
In the time I have been using the Oral B Triumph toothbrush and the Oral B Pro Expert Gum Protection Toothpaste I have seen a difference in my gums already. My gums look less inflamed and the incidents of bleeding have lessened too. Okay I have only been using the toothpaste and tooth brush for ten days but I’ve been so pleased with the difference it has made already. I am going to continue using the toothpaste and toothbrush and hope they will continue to help reduce the bleeding and gum inflammation. I actually have my six monthly check up with my dentist this week with the children and will be interested to see if he can see a difference in my gums.
I was sent the Oral B Triumph 5000 and the Pro Expert Gum Protection Toothpaste for the purpose of this post however the content of this post are 100% my own thoughts and feelings.