When & How to Use an Oral Irrigator: Dental Care & Oral Hygiene

Video Transcript

"Hi my name is Carol and I am a registered dental hygienist and I will be speaking on behalf of Expert Village.com and in this segment we will be talking about oral irrigators and their applications. Your health care provider might recommend that you use an oral irrigator if you have braces, large gaps between your teeth or if you have a difficult time flossing. The oral irrigator is a great thing to use to help flush out pocketing also if your dental hygienist has said that you have periodontal disease or gingivitis issues. I am going to go ahead and show you how to use the oral irrigator. This is one example of an oral irrigator right here and this particular one comes with three separate tips. This right here is the water reservoir. What you do with this is fill it up to the top and then this particular brand also plugs into the wall. Most of them do to give them the power that they need. The on/off switch is over here and then on this side you have the power switch; one being the lowest going all the way to 10 the highest. Most patients will use it at about the middle range but whatever you can handle or for your comfort level that is what you should use. These are the particular tips. Different oral irrigators come with different tips. The main thing is that they are pointed on the end so that you can get it along the gum line to remove the plaque. All you simply do is place it on the end and then this button right here is to allow the water from the reservoir flow through the tube out through the end of the nozzle. When you use an oral irrigator, you want to make sure to start on the back teeth first because that is where most of the plaque buildup is going to get and it is a little bit harder to reach those areas. Whenever you use the hydro floss, you don’t want to just aim it at the teeth in the center you want to make sure to aim it towards the gum line because that is where the plaque buildup is going to get. So in starting in the back make sure that you turn it on and you press your little power button here and use a sweeping motion. You go forward, back, forward to make that you completely get the area and spend a little bit of time in between the teeth because that is an area where plaque gets most and then gradually move forward using the same sweeping motion and same power water. You will find that the different power rate that you have the reservoir on it may go through the water pretty quickly so you may have to refill it. Some people prefer to use distilled water because it has fewer particles in it or you can also use water from the sink. After you complete on the outside, you can go back to the upper arch using the same motion; a sweeping motion spending time in between the teeth. The same goes for whenever you use the oral irrigator inside the mouth. Start at the back and move front aiming down. In using the oral irrigator, brush and floss your teeth first because this doesn’t replace flossing to get in between the teeth but this can help to get into the deeper pockets where brushing and flossing don’t get it. Most people will use the oral irrigator about once a day to help remove plaque which is the main cause of gum disease and this is how to use your oral irrigator. Any left over water in the reservoir, make sure you drain it and dry it thoroughly and store in a cool dry place so that bacterial doesn’t form on the tip of the irrigator. "