Burning Mouth Syndrome - If you suffer from it, you know what it is.
Here is a short
story. POH had one of our Smilemakers travel up North, back home for
the holidays. Just so happens the wife left her POH toothbrush at home.
She bought another brand at the store, thinking nothing of it. In the
ensuing nine days, she said her mouth felt like it was burning, on
fire, and nothing put it out. It stopped after she got home.
It just so happens that the husband was one of our Statistical Quality
Control guys, and he insisted she pull the toothbrush out of the trash
and give it to him for analysis. Sure enough, the bristle tips were sharp, thorny and rough. Just the opposite of POH bristle tips. In
SQC, if you can "turn the problem off, then turn it on, and then turn
it off" again, then you have found the "root cause" of the problem. She tried the same brand (new) brush, and sure enough the burning returned. Naturally she threw the new brush away. Maybe you should too. It would be one less thing to worry about. Try POH toothbrushes. Understand why we put so much energy into the polish of our bristles.
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Now, the above story is just that. One story. In the language of most circles of science, that is known as an anecdote, and doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. One needs to study a large, representative bunch of 'anecdotes' to add up to one study. Then, when one has a dozen or so such studies, one might discern a trend that suggest the true nature of the syndrome.
Of the easily accessible information from the usual sources one would reasonably expect to be able to trust, none have any conclusive evidence as to the cause, treatment or prevention of the problem. Imagine what occurs when the sharp hook of nylon is pressed against the gums. It may not make a visible cut that bleeds, but surely some of the cells that make up the tissue get damaged. Hence the term micro-trauma.
If perchance the end rounding and polishing of POH bristles avoids the micro-trauma that may occur when using unpolished bristles, then it stands to reason that using anything other than a polished, end rounded bristle would be an error.
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Our toothbrushes comply with the original specifications written by Charles C. Bass, M.D.
One of the factors involved in his design is the amount of leverage that is imparted to the bristles. Longer handles impart more leverage. Since the object of personal oral hygiene is to disrupt and disorganize bacterial colonies (plaque) the bending of the bristles, the length of the handle and even the
length of each bristle is given careful thought.
The existing mass market toothbrushes are definitely longer than our toothbrushes with much
more mass in the handle. It is our position that they are much too long. POH toothbrushes are
the right length, according to Dr. Bass.
Even though our bristle tips are end rounded and polished, one must manipulate the
toothbrush with care. Do you hold the toothbrush like a baseball bat? Or like a violin bow?
If one holds the toothbrush with a closed fist, like gripping a baseball bat, then the ability to
manipulate the toothbrush carefully and with intent is limited. On the other hand, the fine
motor skills that are available when one uses the fingertips (violin bow) enable the tips of the
bristles to be manipulated into the sulcus (gumline) of the tooth.
Too much pressure will cause the bristles to bend. You don't need that much pressure.
Do you press too hard? You are not cleaning grout, you know.
Use the tips of the bristles to disrupt and disorganize the plaque.
Dig or wiggle, vibrate or little circles, however you do it,
you must break up the colony of bacteria.
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Each of our state of the art bristling machines is equipped with special end rounding units. Each of these units takes a little off the tip, polishing and end rounding the bristles.
If we did not take the extra care, you could not benefit from it.
This is one of two reasons POH was started in 1961.
The other is the very thin multi-filament nylon dental floss.
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| POH bristle tips, polished. Good. |
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Take me to the POH toothbrush selection page CLiCK
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| Raw bristles, without any attention to the tips. Bad. |
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Nylon is tough stuff.
If the bristles on a toothbrush are not end rounded and polished, it is possible that they can do damage.
That is why we take extra care to polish the tips.
You can look at your current toothbrush, see for yourself if they are polished or not.
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10/13 Sandi, Hatfield PA - My dentist used to supply POH brushes. I had experienced gum problems and dry mouth and I really liked the POH brush . He switched to a fancy major brand. I've since been going CRAZY with Burning Mouth Syndrome. I just recently found out it's not just me!!! The BMS started when the brush changed but I never made the connection. I am so excited to find your website. I realized my mouth felt good this summer when I stayed in Cape Cod because that's where my Good POH toothbrush is!
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Received Feb. 23, 2009
Dear POH -
I love the gentleness and simple design of your toothbrushes! You
can tell the difference with the first use! Great value, too! I have
suffered with burning mouth for several months and it is FINALLY easing
up! The sores on my gumline are healing, also (probably a result of my
type-A personality and intense brushing!) I've switched my whole
family to POH brushes. I wish more dentists gave out your brushes
after routine cleanings rather than the "bigger name" brands!Thanks so much and keep up the good design!
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One reason people all over use our toothbrushes: The bristles.
Not only is the nylon soft, we take great care in polishing the very tip of each bristle, so it reduces the chance of harm.
The length, width and general design of the POH handle conform to the optimum characteristics of a toothbrush by Charles C. Bass, M.D.
They also use less than half the plastic of other brushes.
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Improper use of your toothbrush can cause another problem known as abrasion.
Visit with a professional oral health care provider.
Take care of your teeth.
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