Consistent Fundamentals
Just over a year ago a famous wakeboarder (imagine the Tom Brady of wakeboarding: was the best, still very good, getting old but still going, good looking) that I happen to follow posted a video where he described a contest in which the prize was a weekend riding with him on a houseboat in Lake Powell. The details of this contest were simple: upload a video of yourself wakeboarding and then whichever video receives the most votes wins.
My 12 year old son Banks, who happens to be quite advanced for his age at wakeboarding, watched this post with me and insisted that we submit a video of him wakeboarding. It seemed simple enough, I had lots of footage of him throughout that summer, so I cropped something together and submitted it to appease him and promptly forgot about it. Every couple weeks my son would ask how he’s doing in the contest and I would brush it off and tell him not to get his hopes up. I was being lame in hindsight.
Fast forward to late August (2021) when I receive a notification informing me that Banks’ video submission has made it past the 1st round of voting. I had honestly not been back to the contest site since I submitted the video 2 months earlier and as I took stock of it I realized that we could take this thing home y’all. Banks’ video had like 3 votes, but the video in the lead had maybe 100. So my wife Juli & I went into turbo mode and to make an already too long story short my son’s video won and he along with his older sister Nayvee and myself went to Lake Powell with our Wakeboarding hero last September.
As a result of that weekend, said wakeboarder made his way up to Echo Lake this summer and stayed with us for a few days to coach us (all 6 of us) in our wakeboarding efforts. His approach was to start with the fundamentals that maybe some of us never learned correctly, or had just gotten away from us over the years. It was incredible the improvements that we made by making the smallest of tweaks to our riding. None of us learned any new crazy tricks but we came out of that experience with a far more comfortable and efficient approach to the sport. Let’s apply this approach to our day-in day-out oral health care program.
1. Brushing of the Teeth:
A. ToothBrush:
First off we recommend everyone use a toothbrush with soft bristles. Most brands even offer super-soft or ultra-soft. These soft bristles are less damaging to your enamel and are more gentle on your gum tissue. If you are brushing 2x a day, there is nothing on your teeth that can’t be removed with soft-bristles. A more coarse bristle combined with poor technique can lead to gum recession.
While a manual toothbrush with good technique can suffice, your dental provider would encourage you to use an electric toothbrush of quality. I personally use a Phillips Sonicare. Your dental provider will likely have some on hand for purchase, but they can be found at most retail locations. Please replace your toothbrush or your toothbrush head, in the case of an electric toothbrush, every 3 months.
B. Technique:
I tend to think of my teeth when I'm brushing as 12 sections. Both arches have a right-front-left and an outside and inside. If we are to be brushing for 2 minutes, or 120 seconds, that leaves 10 seconds per section. The most important thing that I feel most people are missing is brushing along the gumline by angling your bristles at a 45 degree angle, gently sweeping along and under the gums. The majority of tooth decay is between teeth and along the gumline.
Now, are we going to be brushing all of these sections perfectly everytime? No, but as with any daily ritual or routine consistency is the secret to success. Day in and day out consistency and you will find yourself at little to no risk of dental decay.
C. Toothpaste:
We recommend using a fluoridated toothpaste. For over the counter a colgate or a sensodyne is fine. If you are at higher risk for dental decay a prescription strength toothpaste is recommended. Ask your dental provider if you are a candidate.
2. Flossing of the Teeth and Gums:
I personally use a waxed floss but any floss used consistently is fine. I wrap both middle fingers tightly and use my index fingers and thumbs to guide the floss. Gently guide the floss between your teeth rubbing up and down while proceeding to form a c-shape around each tooth and gently extending down under the gums and around the tooth. A lot of you are skipping that last step. In healthy gum tissue the act of flossing should never be painful. If you experience bleeding that just indicates areas of inflammation. Consistent flossing will reduce this inflammation resulting in less and less bleeding.
3. Additional Therapies:
Based on the recommendation of your dentist or dental hygienist you might need a little extra above simple brushing and flossing. Perhaps it’s a certain rinse to either strengthen teeth or promote healthy gums. It could be specialized floss or tools to aid in keeping gums healthy. Typically in the case of bone loss or in the presence of dental prosthetics.
So let’s recap. Consistency is king. Consistency can pick up the slack of poor technique, but the goal is consistency with good technique. Quantity and Quality y’all. So slow it down a few times and focus on the fundamentals and you will improve your technique, you will see results, and you will smile for life with healthy teeth and gums.
Read Consistent Fundamentals by Dr. John F. Miller, DDS, in 406 Woman magazine.