If you’ve been looking for a way to help your child improve his or her oral hygiene routine, you may have come across plaque disclosing tablets!
Naturally, you’d want to know if these dental tablets are safe for your child to use before you buy them. We have answers! Here’s everything you need to know about plaque disclosing tablets.
What are plaque disclosing tablets?
Plaque disclosing tablets, or dental disclosing tablets, are tablets that use a special dye to identify remaining plaque in the mouth and show areas that need more attention in your oral hygiene routine.
These tablets are intended for temporary use as an educational tool to help children improve their brushing skills. They create a visual representation for children to understand which areas they may be missing with their toothbrush.
What is in the plaque disclosing solution?
Dental disclosing tablets use a harmless vegetable dye that naturally sticks to plaque. The tablets may be pink or blue, and the darker the stain left behind, the more plaque accumulation in that area.
How are disclosing tablets beneficial for oral health?
Plaque can be difficult to see before it turns into tartar. Disclosing tablets help you identify areas where plaque may be building up without you knowing.
As plaque and tartar build up, this can lead up to cavities and tooth decay, gum disease, yellowing teeth, and bad breath.
Ideally, we’d be able to see the areas where plaque is accumulating in order to adjust our oral hygiene routine to reach these areas before those symptoms or conditions appear. This is what the tablets provide!
Dental disclosing tablets: How to use them
They use a special dye that reacts with plaque to leave a temporary red, blue or purple coloring behind. Here’s how you use them:
- Your child brushes his or her teeth as they normally would.
- You break the tablet down into quarters or halves.
- Your child chews the tablet, lets it mix with saliva and swishes it around the mouth for about 30 seconds. (Read the instructions on the box to be sure.)
- Your child spits out the solution. Make sure that they do not swallow it!
- Assess the areas around the mouth where the pink dye sticks.
- Work with your child to create a plan that targets these areas with their toothbrush or floss.
Who can use plaque disclosing tablets safely?
Plaque-disclosing tablets are kid-friendly, however, your child should be old enough to understand not to swallow the solution. Generally speaking, children over the age of 6 can safely benefit from these tablets.
Dentaly.org states that the following groups of people can safely benefit from disclosing tablets:
- Children over the age of 6 who are still learning how to brush thoroughly
- People with limited manual dexterity
- Anyone with braces (flossing with braces can be tricky)
- People with receding gums or gum disease
- People with certain chronic medical conditions
How frequently can you use plaque disclosing tablets?
There is no known danger to using plaque disclosing tablets frequently. However, using them once or twice a week should be sufficient. Once you see improvement in the amount of dye and plaque leftover and the tablets have served their purpose of helping your child improve their oral hygiene, you shouldn’t have to use them as frequently, or at all!
Still have questions about plaque disclosing tablets or oral hygiene?
Our experienced Kids Smiles Pediatric Dentistry team is here to help you and your child develop healthy habits that lead to a lifetime of beautiful smiles. We’re here to give you any oral hygiene tips you need!
Our team is led by renowned pediatric dentist, Dr. Frank Sierra, who has more than 25 years of experience providing compassionate, expert care for children and teens.
We are your trusted pediatric dentist in Tampa Bay and Bradenton! Ready to schedule your first visit? Here’s what you can expect on your first visit. Schedule an appointment with us today!
