Panic over use of Interdental brushes

[ForRarePombear]

Hi, I'm spiralling mentally over a fear I have damaged the enamel on two front teeth. Dentist told me I have gum disease and advised urgently to start using blue interdental brushes. I didn't realize you're not meant to force them into narrow gaps which is exactly what I did between my front tooth and the one next to it. It got stuck and I had to pull it out. Really scared the friction could have damaged the enamel, desperately hoping it's my OCD playing tricks. Anyone done similar or can reassure please?

It sounded like OCD even before you said you had OCD.

The enamel is fine

Tip: use the orange brushes, not the blue ones. The orange are finer. I can use them between most teeth whereas the blue are too thick for many of the gaps.

Yes exactly that! The blue one is fine for most gaps but I have to use the red one for my front teeth.

The different colours are different sizes, so experiment with them and find which work best for you. I use 3 different sizes: yellow (which does most of the spaces), red and finally pink for a really narrow space between two teeth.

I once had the handle part snap off, leaving the brush stuck between two teeth. But tweezers soon pulled it out.

Don't panic, OP - your teeth a pretty tough.

I was at my dental hygienist just yesterday and she told me that I had to use my interdental brushes (red for me) much more forcefully to get better results! As pp have mentioned teeth are pretty hardwearing things.

Sorry if this is obvious but there are different types of interdental brushes. From your description of the metal but it sounds like you are using the brush kind.

I find these too harsh and so use the TePe ones which are silicone as several posters have recommended.

This might be where a bit of confusion about the different colours comes from.

I like the smaller orange ones www.superdrug.com/toiletries/dental/interdental-brushes/tepe-easypick-xs/s-36pk/p/707686?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhMq-BhCFARIsAGvo0Kd4AOwDHSonE4CBqeSBmtzCPrY8L4pbyQzi2HTMGG9Idnq_V_Nkz6oaAtY1EALw_wcB

I have never commented before but I am an experienced dental hygienist working in a specialist gum practice and would like to address a few of the suggestions that have been discussed in this thread.
It is very unlikely that you caused enamel damage with the tip of the interdental brush so please do not worry. The wire can be quite sharp and can cause temporary trauma to the gum tissue if used incorrectly and jammed hard between the gums but the damage done by bacteria when not using an interdental cleaning aid is far greater.
Gum disease is caused by plaque, which cannot be effectively removed from between the tooth surfaces with toothbrushing alone. Plaque is very sticky and cannot be removed by rinsing/with the use of mouthwash. The most effective plaque removal is mechanical, with either floss or interdental brushes in addition to your toothbrush.
Please always follow the advice of your dentist and hygienist. I would be mindful of anybody suggesting that the size chosen by your dental professional is incorrect. If your dentist believes that you should use the blue size then do not size down. Interdental brushes should have a snug fit and can be gently wiggled between your teeth, not forced. A brush that’s too small for your gaps will not remove plaque effectively and residual plaque will lead to further inflammation and potential tooth loss in the future. The likely reason why the brush for stuck between your teeth is due to it getting trapped in the contact point - the right area where two teeth meet, where you can often hear a ‘click’ when using floss. As teeth taper towards the roots the triangular area between the teeth is tightest at the contact point. Simply push the bristles more towards the gum and pull the brush out.
The silicone interdental brushes - the easy picks - are not as effective as bristle brushes and should not be used as a substitute for effective plaque removal. They’re called easy picks - like toothpicks - great on the go and for removing any food stuck between the teeth.
Waterflossers (waterpik is a brand of waterflosser) are a good adjunct to mechanical plaque removal but do not replace flossing and interdental cleaning. Waterflossers are great for removing food debris and loosely attached free floating bacteria. Gum disease is caused by mature biofilms which cannot be removed with water. We also advise against using mouthwash in the waterflosser as it can quickly damage the device.
Please always follow the advice of your dental professional, brush twice a day ideally with a round head electric toothbrush with the bristles angled towards the gumline and always touching the gums. Do not scrub, let the toothbrush clean each tooth for 2-3 seconds. Spit and don’t rinse the excess toothpaste. When using interdental brushes aim for the pink triangle between your teeth and gently go in and out 4-5 times. If you see bleeding do not stop. Carry on with your oral hygiene routine and know that the bleeding with get worse before it gets better. This is to be expected and your gums can feel sore/sting. If using a waterflosser then it can be used first before interdental cleaning with a mechanical aid and the toothbrush. It does not substitute manual cleaning. If you are a smoker or have diabetes these will need addressing in order to treat your gum disease. If you need hands on oral hygiene advice then you can always book a hygiene visit. As hygienists we can see patients directly even if they don’t see the dentist in our practice. Happy cleaning!

Thank you all for fantastic responses. I'm so annoyed with myself for not getting clued up on how to use them before I dived in (being warned I had gum disease I didn't want to delay). I now realize they're to be aimed at the gum whereas my first two attempts I was trying to use them like floss in an up and down movement and inserting them lower down the tooth hence the concern about friction against enamel.

Because I was frantic when gum disease was mentioned, my first two attempts were back handed and I thought they were used like floss so was inserting them lower down between teeth and using an up and down motion. Now I know better but you think I won't have eroded or damaged enamel with my 2 clumsy initial attempts?.

I regular floss gently and a water flosser. Water flossers can clean below the gumline and are imo the best invention of the last decade lol.

If the tooth enamel is so weak you damaged it with an interdental brush then it needed repairing anyway. A lot of people are scared of damaging their teeth with hygiene stuff but the reality is if the tooth can be broken by being touched it needs repairing anyway.

I'm sure yours is fine and doesn't need any work.

^ This, OP. I didn't get along with normal brushes, but these are fine. The orange ones are the narrowest I think, try with those and work up.

I have a variety of sizes of the TePe brushes. Red are one size smaller than blue and pink are two sizes smaller. I freak out if I meet any resistance so I use two brushes on each tooth. Each tooth gets 5 “mental health” wiggles with a brush that’s technically too small and then 5 dental health wiggles with the larger, correctly-sized one. I used to hate it sooo much because my gums bled and I asked my hygienist how long I would have to diligently use the interdental brushes for before my gums would stop bleeding. He said 3 or 4 weeks. It was completely true. All gum disease has gone. The hygienist used to read out the numbers on the size of the pockets as 3s and 4s and mine are all now 1s and 0s. It’s so worth toughing it out. It’s a horrible feeling while your getting used to it but you’ll get quicker, more confident and less worry with time and practice. You’re much more likely to damage your teeth by not doing it.

No you certainly wouldn’t have damaged your enamel. Enamel is very strong and the metal is highly unlikely to cause damage. You might have traumatised the gum tissue but it will heal.
When using the interdental brush use the in and out motion. You don’t need to fully come out of the space. Don’t coat it in toothpaste or mouthwash, it will reduce the effectiveness.
When first starting interdental cleaning, the gums and swollen and tender. This makes them bigger. You should find that as you continue using the brush, it will fit more and more easily. A time may come when you need to size up. It’s not because you’re damaging your gum but because the inflammation levels reduce and the gums tighten up around the tooth.

OP this should explain why I don’t recommend my patients to use the silicone brushes ‘easypicks’ in place of the bristle brushes like your blue one. Hopefully this image makes sense but you are looking at the area between two teeth and how the bristles, floss, rubber brushes and toothpicks fit inbetween. Bristle brushes are the most effective way to remove plaque between the teeth.

I got one stuck years ago honestly thought I was going to need an emergency dental appointment to see if she could get it out I made a bit of a mess of my gum but my teeth were fine I use toothpaste on them now it seems to help

I also have gum disease and corsidyl do a gum gel? Try that I've switched my toothpaste to a specific gum one too which has made a real difference

I use three sizes of Tepe when brushing - Yellow starting at the back, then blue as I move towards the front, then pink for my bottom front teeth that are a bit crowded.

Tepe do packs with all 7 sizes so you can work out which ones suit best, then
buy what you need in bigger packs. I find the angled Tepe are much easier to use than the standard ones, especially for back teeth.

I have also found the more I have used them the less inflamed my gums have become and I can use a bigger size comfortably now.

My hygienist says the interdental brushes are the most effective if you use the correct size. Flossing 2nd best if you don't get on with brushes or if your teeth are too close together for brushes, but flossing technique must be right.

She says home water picks are ok for braces or flushing out debris in deep pockets if that is a problem, but should supplement not replace the other methods as they don't fully remove plaque which can be stubborn and really needs physical brushing/scraping.

Thanks all, that's really interesting that gum inflammation should reduce thereby needing bigger interdental brushes. My gum is super inflamed at the back of one of my front teeth. I will look into Corsodyl gel to apply directly onto it.

You can buy it over the counter and use on the tepe brush. Don’t use it for longer than 7 days and ideally only when the gums really flare up. You can apply it just before going to sleep. It can cause staining.
Gengigel is a good option as well and can be bought from boots or Sainsbury’s. Again these are good additions but cleaning interdentally is most important.
Have you had your teeth cleaned? Inflammation might not fully subside if there is tartar (hardened plaque) under the gum.

I shove them through and last check up the dentist told me to “keep up the good work”.

You’re fine 🙂

Yes I saw hygienist last month. Thing is though, I'm very OCD/dysmorphic about my two front teeth as when I was 19 (in 1988!) I stupidly had them filed down (they were a lot longer than my other teeth), regretted it, had another dentist put composite on the bottom which soon chipped and had to be removed. All that messing about with them made them sensitive, even now I get random little twinges in them. So I won't let the hygienist scrape at them but she does all the others.

Love the terminology 'shove them through '. Thanks!

Sorry just jumping on to this. I saw the hygienist recently who gave me a bit of a telling off and said I need to really focus on cleaning in between my teeth. Fair enough. She advised me to use the Tepe Easy Picks. She showed me how to use them properly and said I need a mix of orange and blue. She didn’t suggest the other tepe wire bristle brushes and now I’m wondering why.

try a water flosser

I asked about the water flossing machines. Dentist and hygienist both said water flossers can help as an extra step but shouldn’t replace manual flossing with interdental brush or pick, or tape.

I think there are different views on it as some say flossing is not beneficial. Given OP's anxiety I thought a water flosser would alleviate those worries.