THE IMPORTANCE OF GOING BEYOND BRUSHING & FLOSSING

Plaque Biofilm Growth

Plaque biofilm grows rapidly, so it is important to recommend an oral health routine that attacks and kills plaque biofilm growth. Within minutes of brushing, plaque biofilm doubles every 1-2 hours in the early stages and within days, microbes form a complex 3-dimensional colony that can contain more than 25 distinct species.³⁰

Poor habits and technique, dexterity issues, and suboptimal compliance may compromise your patients’ oral health, making plaque and caries control difficult to achieve through brushing and flossing alone.

Plaque biofilm grows rapidly. The first image above shows plaque biofilm beginning to appear within minutes. In the second image above, microbes have formed a complex colony within days.

Brushing & Flossing May Not be Enough

Without proper technique, plaque control is difficult to achieve through brushing and flossing alone. Poor habits, dexterity issues, and other challenges may compromise your patients’ oral health and mechanical methods alone may not be enough to control plaque, gingivitis, and caries:

• Not all patients brush twice daily³¹
• Adults brush between 24 and 60 seconds on average,³² significantly less than the Canadian Dental Association’s recommendation of 2 minutes³³
• Less than 10% of patients floss regularly³⁴

Disease Prevalence

Plaque biofilm’s ability to grow quickly, combined with a lack of proper technique and an incomplete oral health routine, result in a high rate of disease prevalence in Canada:

• 88% of adults aged 20 years and older have gingivitis³⁵
• 96% of adults aged 20-64 years have had dental caries in their permanent teeth³⁶
• 48% of children 6-12 years old have had dental caries in their primary teeth³⁷

100% WHOLE MOUTH CLEAN

Brushing and flossing cover only 25% of the mouth’s surfaces, so even after brushing and flossing, plaque biofilm is still present in the mouth. In just 30 seconds, an antimicrobial rinse—with a fixed combination of 3 Essential Oils—can penetrate deep into plaque biofilm to kill the remaining bacteria. A proper oral care routine that incorporates brushing, flossing, and rinsing offers a virtually 100% WHOLE MOUTH CLEAN.³⁸

When added to brushing and flossing, LISTERINE^® Antiseptic significantly reduces more plaque and gingivitis than brushing and flossing alone.¹

Studies show…

• 2x more healthy gingival sites at 6 months when added to brushing and flossing¹ 
• 52% greater plaque reduction at 6 months when added to brushing and flossing²
• 21% greater gingivitis reduction compared to brushing and flossing^{2,39, 40}