CATEGORY AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST81 to daily dental ossing is also low among patients because it requires a certain degree of dexterity, as well as motivation; whereas patients often prefer IDBs because they are easier to use. Also, IDBs are more e ective for plaque removal because the bristles ll the interdental space, while dental oss does not reach the anatomical concavities of the proximal surfaces of premolars and molars, which renders the ossing e ort incomplete. Many patients – mainly those that are used to oss, or who do not take care of their interdental spaces at all – are initially afraid that the interdental brush will be too big for their interdental spaces. Contrary to this belief, research has shown that the IDBs from the Curaprox CPS Prime range could penetrate into 94% of closed, healthy interdental spaces. It is important to assure the patient that interdental brushes are safe, and also manufactured in di erent sizes so as to suit di erent needs. Patients need to be informed that e ectively disrupting bacterial growth in the more hidden and thus often neglected areas, is essential. And interdental spaces are de nitely those areas. Step 4: Talk about the importance of using the correct-sized brush, and measure your patients’ interdental spaces Since it is clearly proven that interdental spaces need regular and proper cleaning – both in healthy, and periodontitis-su ering patients – the most important question is how to nd the optimal cleaning procedure. Every dental professional knows that di erent patients have very di erent shapes and spacing of teeth, so there is no universal approach or tool for cleaning all the interdental spaces at once. is was the reason why Curaden, in collaboration with various dental experts and on the basis of a number of studies, developed a set of interdental brushes of various sizes and functions, which proved to be the most e ective tool for cleaning the vast majority of interdental spaces in all patients – including patients with implants or undergoing orthodontic treatment. Studies have concluded that the screening of the accessibility of the interdental space should be a component of a routine examination for all patients. To identify the right-sized brushes, spaces need to be measured using an adequate tool. For Curaden’s interdental brushes, we developed a tool called the Interdental Access Probe (IAP). It is a unique colour-coded calibration system for dentists, to ensure they can easily identify the right-sized brushes for every patient. e IAP probe is supplemented with special cards containing a chart, so the dentist can record and mark the right size (colour) of the interdental toothbrush for every single interdental space for each patient. According to a study, colorimetric probes and subsequent interdental cleaning with an interdental brush of the right size is more bene cial than interdental brushing with randomly selected brushes. Calibrated brushes lead to more e cient interdental cleaning, which in turn motivates patients and avoids gingival trauma. e IAP probe is part of the practical Chairside Box, which is lled with the full range of interdental brushes. e probe, which can be sterilised in autoclave, serves as the basic yet very e ective tool for measuring interdental spaces. e CPS prime range has ve sizes of interdental brushes – from the smallest (blue colour) with an insertion diameter of only 0.6 mm (and cleaning diameter up to 2.2 mm), up to the largest (green) brush, with an insertion diameter of 1.1 mm (and cleaning diameter up to 5.0 mm). It is interesting to note that the CPS prime 06, the tiniest of our interdental toothbrushes, is the smallest interdental toothbrush in the world. At their initial visit, the dentist measures each interdental space of a patient with this special colorimetric probe and marks the right-sized brushes (via the corresponding colours) to an Interdental Access Chart (IAC). is easy colour-coding system corresponds to the di erent-sized CPS prime brushes. e colour still showing outside the interdental space, when using the colorimetric probe, indicates the size of the corresponding CPS prime interdental brush your patient will need for that particular space. Step 5: Instruct your patients how to use the interdental brush It is important to instruct patients how to use an interdental brush correctly – and assure them that it is easy. All the patient has to do is gently insert the interdental brush into the space between the teeth, and pull it back out again. In and out, once daily – ideally at their night-time cleaning, before their regular toothbrushing. e only thing that they need to be careful of is to always use the right-sized brush, according to their previous measuring. CLINICAL It is also important to educate patients with gingivitis about initial interdental bleeding, and underline that it is normal for them to bleed when they start using interdental brushes, since the gums are in amed. After a few weeks of regular interdental brushing, the bleeding should gradually subside. Many patients avoid interdental brushing because they don’t know this, and are afraid to continue to do procedures that cause them to bleed. If the brush sizes are correctly chosen,
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