Brushing, toothpastes, salivation, and remineralization

Abstract

Having clean, healthy teeth has been a desired outcome of numerous approaches that have been devised over the course of civilization. However, it has not been until that past few decades that we have seen incredible progress toward actually achieving this goal. The development of safe, modern toothpastes, coupled with active ingredients that target oral diseases, has had a dramatic impact on controlling many of these diseases. As a result, the longevity of teeth has been significantly improved. In order to properly care for our dentition over the longer term, improved cleaning instruments, such as specially designed manual brushes and oscillatingrotating power brushes, have also been developed. Key to a clean, healthy mouth is not only the teeth themselves but also the entire oral environment, including saliva, gingiva, and the tongue. As older populations now find their teeth remain viable into their senior years, they are sometimes faced with challenges that previous populations have not had to encounter, such as salivary dysfunction resulting as an outcome of other healthrelated treatments. Even here, there has been significant progress from an oral care standpoint, with new technologies being developed to safely and effectively address these issues. The progress that dental researchers have made over the past few decades toward achieving the goal of healthy hard and soft tissues is multi-faceted. Results have been significant. Having clean, healthy teeth for a lifetime is now achievable.