Clean teeth and gums for better health

Maintaining oral health is, a recent study suggests, a good indicator or a person's overall health. Research has shown links between poor oral hygiene and gum disease as risk factors in conditions like psoriasis, heart and lung disease, premature and low birth weight babies and a number of other conditions.

Another study has revealed that cleaning your teeth without flossing is comparable to washing 65 per cent of the body and leaving 35 per cent untouched and a target for bacterial growth.

It has also been shown that people do not replace their toothbrushes frequently enough (at least every three months) or keep them germ free (a 15 minute soak in Milton does the trick). So when looking for that extra item to pop into a Christmas stocking think of a new toothbrush and for teens and adults add some dental floss.

I recently tried DenTek's Triple Clean Floss Picks which have a fluoride coating. There is quite a knack to using them, I found, and one actually broke in my mouth. The Scrubbing Floss is used between the teeth and the end of the plastic holder is used a a toothpick while the whole thing can also be used at a tongue cleaner.

I'm not sure that the DenTek Triple Clean Floss Picks have much advantage over ordinary dental floss. The picks come in packs of 30 for £5.08 available from Boots.

PWT rating: ♥♥♥♥♥