My Top Products for Teens and Adults:
As a dental hygienist, I have spent years recommending products. In those years, I have also received loads of valuable feedback from patients, friends and family about products they love and hate. As the years go by, and as more products and advancements become available, I alter my recommendations based on what I believe to be the best products for my patients. If you find a product on my page, then I personally have had good experiences with it or people that I know and trust have good things to say about it. So I have decided to share them with you!
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Since having kids, I have started to swap out products in our home for cleaner products. However, it is still a work in progress for me and truthfully, some of the clean products I’ve tried— I don’t totally love. So you will find a mixture of products on my page. When they are clean products, I will for sure mention that. I have recently decided against using fluoride for my children for now, so most of my recommendations for kids are without fluoride. However, for those of you that would still prefer to use it for your children, I will provide some options that I like. I use fluoride in some of mine and my husband’s products, but am constantly experimenting with cleaner options to better educate myself on what is out there and to keep searching for things that I love and can add to my page to share with you.
Scroll down and click on the picture or the button directly under/ next to the photo of the product to shop direct.
There are several different Crest Whitestrip options…. This one advertises 20 levels whiter, there are others that advertise 30 levels whiter with an LED light…. I selected this one for this section because it is part of the promotion that is being offered right now, plus they are easier to use than the ones with the LED light. I personally like crest whitestrips and have seen a lot of patients get really good results with them. However, keep in mind that results can vary. This is dependent on many things, such as restorations you may have on your teeth, the amount of staining products you consume (like coffee, wine, etc.), when you had your last cleaning, the general make up of your teeth and also patient compliance. So although I cannot guarantee any results, this is a good place to start.
This product is a whitening toothpaste. I feel like most people get good results when they first start to use whitening toothpastes, but I usually recommend that you don’t use it as your everyday toothpaste, but rather for a few weeks at a time to brighten your teeth and then to give it a break.
These are the Crest Whitestrips that I use. I personally have pretty sensitive teeth and I find that I can tolerate the full treatment time when I use these ones.
There are so many different options for floss. Here is just one option that qualifies for the promotion mentioned above.
Personally, I’m an oral B girl… and not because I don’t like Sonicare, but because in Hygiene School we were given one of each. I Started with Oral B and loved it so much, that I felt it was a waste to open the sonicare- so gifted it to someone I thought could use one. (An electric toothbrush is a really awesome gift BTW)
I love the round head that cleans along the gumline so well.
I also love that it has a timer so you know when to rotate, will light up when you are brushing too hard (always brush lightly), and can even hook up to a mobile app to track your progress (most models).
Teen-Adult Recommended Products:
OTC Nightguard
DenTek Dental Guard: our recommended at home night guard. (yes the full arch one)
Although the best comfort and fit would be a custom made night guard that you can get made by a dental professional, we often recommend starting with this at home version to test if you could even tolerate wearing something of this nature.
Keep in mind, this will be bulkier than a custom fit and will not serve as a retainer to hold your teeth in place, like a custom fit night guard would, but it’s better than nothing at all.
If you try this and find that you can tolerate it, but decide that you do want the more durable and custom fit option, I encourage you to discuss options with your dental care team.
Oral B Electric Toothbrush
Waterpik Water Flosser
My most recommended product. I must recommend this at least 4-5 times a day. I have truly seen some serious improvements in my patient’s oral health status after they’ve added this to their routine. I will say- I do not believe this replaces flossing!…. UNLESS flossing is just not possible, due to poor dexterity, or being physically unable to floss. This is a great tool to use for all patients, but especially those in orthodontic treatment, that have restorations such as crowns, bridges and implants and for people who have food traps that result in gum tenderness and bleeding.
BreathRx Tongue Scraper
I have tried so many tongue scrapers over the years, but this one is by far my favorite. It is easy to use by adults and kids (my 2 and 4 year olds know how to use these!!) and are so easy to clean and store.
We give samples of these out at my work and for the longest time, I could not figure out where to tell the patient to get more (without buying in bulk). But I finally found them!
Sonicare Electric Toothbrush
This is a very popular brand and model of electric toothbrush. Some dental professionals swear by Sonicare, some swear by Oral B. I have patients that swear by one or the other as well. Honestly, I don’t mind which one you go for. They are both great products. I selected a middle of the line option for this list. One that won’t break the bank, but something that has the good features that I really feel are worth investing in.