Young people ( 10 - 15 yrs )
As children grow so their level of dexterity increases and adopting a simple bass technique is now preferable although they may find small vibratory movements awkward but to try and persevere - again stress the importance of time - they can now increase the time to 3 minutes. Again 2 or 3 times a day is recommended.Adults
Many adults are heavy handed and show a fair amount of tooth brush abrasion, so the emphasis should be shifted from a scrubbing type action to a more refined technique - the modified bass technique is the one that seems to suit most reasonably dextrous people - but again stressing time is essential for complete satisfaction 2 or 3 times a day.At this point we can be more realistic with the patient and point out that a very thorough cleaning once a day is ok but they need to spend about 5 minutes efficient brushing and diligent interdental cleaning at a time when they can spent some time on themselves. The other brushing times such as first thing in the morning or before they go out are social cleaning and are more for fresh breath than for gingival health or tooth cleanliness but they do have an important place in the overall dental health of my patients.
(published with permission in writing from:http://www.appledore.co.uk/site.htm)
