Walking down the dental care aisle at the grocery store can be overwhelming for our patients. A wide variety of options is available for every kind of oral care product: toothbrushes, toothpastes, floss, interdental aids, and mouth rinses, among other adjuncts. A big part of our job as hygienists is directing patients to the best tools to help them maintain optimal oral health. One of my favorite oral care products is the TePe Interdental Brush Kit.
The variations in width and handle type make this product suitable for many different kinds of patients. TePe Interdental Brushes are perfect for patients who refuse to floss, patients who have limited dexterity, patients with wide or oddly shaped embrasures, patients with tooth concavities, and patients who have areas of food impaction.
I am not a huge fan of beating my patients over the head with the “You must floss every day!” lecture; instead, I encourage them to find an interdental product that they will actually use and then recommend that they use that product every day. Some patients in our practice seem to be more willing to use an interdental brush than floss, so I almost always suggest the TePe Interdental Brushes as a flossing alternative.
These brushes are fantastic for patients with limited dexterity. The angled interdental brushes have a longer handle, and the brush is mounted at about 90 degrees, making them easy to use in hard-to-reach posterior areas. Both the original and angled versions are effective at removing plaque and food debris in a variety of embrasures and tooth concavities.
One of the best things about the TePe Interdental Brushes is the wide array of available sizes. This makes it possible to find just the right size brush to fill an embrasure, slip under a patient’s bridge, or use around an implant. At our office, we have a large sample kit that we use to help our patients find the perfect size interdental brush. The brush sizes are color-coded, so once we determine the appropriate size(s) for a patient, he or she knows exactly what to purchase. TePe Interdental Brushes are available on the TePe website in packs of 6 and 25 and on Amazon in packs of 6, 8, and 25. Patients can also purchase multipacks on Amazon if they need to use a wide variety of sizes.
Some sizes of the TePe Original Interdental Brushes are also available in an ultrasoft-bristle version called Gentle Care. These brushes are meant for patients who may have delicate gum tissue due to xerostomia or recent dental procedures. The Gentle Care brushes are also ideal for patients in orthodontics or patients with implants or other oral hardware. All TePe Interdental Brushes have a plastic-coated wire, which makes them safe to use around all types of dental restorations.
When it comes to interdental care, many patients love to have options other than floss. The TePe Interdental Brush Kit is a go-to product in our practice that has helped numerous patients improve their oral health. I am glad to have a product that we can recommend with confidence to our patients who may need to try something different to keep their interproximal spaces free from plaque and debris.
Editor's Note: Do you have a question for Colleen? Is there a product you'd like to see her review? Or would you like to submit your own hygiene product "Pearl"? Send an email to [email protected]. You might just see it in the Hygiene Product Navigator! If you're not a Product Navigator subscriber, click here to sign up.
MORE READING:
If flossing is ineffective, what's next? Alternatives to floss gain acceptance
Dental profession reacts to Associated Press report about flossing evidence
Joshua Austin, DDS, FAGD, demos TePe's Interdental Brush Kit (VIDEO)
