“Brush your teeth twice a day”: This is one statement that we have been hearing since we were kids. Are you using the Right Tooth Brush? Has anyone guided you regarding the same!
However, as another old adage says “a workman is only as good as his tools”, it becomes important to choose the right toothbrush to ensure an excellent oral health regime.
With markets saturated with different types of toothbrushes making all kinds of claims about how they help you, it becomes difficult to find the right toothbrush for your unique dental needs.
When choosing a toothbrush, it’s important to keep several factors in mind such as:
- Bristle Type
- Overall Shape
- Quality
- Comfort
The primary purpose of a toothbrush is to strike out the remnants of food particles and plaque from your teeth and gums. Therefore, it is essential that your toothbrush can get into hard-to-reach places. This means that a toothbrush with a small head is more effective and highly recommended.
Choosing the head size of your toothbrush has nothing to do with a person’s age or gender. When you pick a toothbrush with a small head, it allows you to reach every nook and corner of the mouth. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, a brush with soft bristles is considered best as it can effectively remove plaque and food particles from your teeth.
Electric Toothbrush or Manual Toothbrush?
Many electric toothbrushes come with numerous recommendations and have compelling statistics displaying their effectiveness. However, manual toothbrushes are just as effective as their other counterparts when used correctly.
While both toothbrushes are effective, people with disabilities or arthritis may find electric toothbrushes more helpful as the motor skills required to operate them are far easier to manage.
Does the Shape of Your Toothbrush Matter?
When it comes to choosing the shape of your toothbrush, there’s no standard pick. It doesn’t matter if the toothbrush is oval or rectangular, you should go for the one that fits comfortably in your mouth.
Bristle Design and Firmness
When it comes to choosing the brush, bristle design plays an important role. There are several types of toothbrushes with varying size bristles, making it more convenient to get into deeper gaps between teeth.
Hard or soft bristles is a common debate among many consumers, with several people wrongly believing that firm bristles do a better job. However, most people don’t know that firm bristles can actually do more damage to your teeth and gums.
It is therefore essential to opt for soft bristles as it is just as effective at cleaning your teeth, and does so without contributing to a receding gum line.
What’s the right way to brush your teeth?
A good brush and a bit of technique go surprisingly far to boosting your smile and health.
Getting your teeth cleaned professionally feels like a dental health reset. Your teeth get scrubbed, scraped, and polished to perfection. Whether they stay that way is up to you. What happens at home (think Vegas rules) can be very different from what happens at the dentist’s office. But don’t grit your teeth over it. Check out these three tips to boost your tooth-brushing game and improve your health in the process.
- Understand the incentives.
Every time you eat or drink something, bits of food or residue can cling to your teeth and gums. The debris and its bacteria turn into a sticky film called plaque. If it’s left on the teeth too long, it calcifies. The hardened plaque is called calculus, and it can’t be removed with a toothbrush.
Plaque-related bacteria can also irritate and infect thegums, which damages gum tissue, ligaments holding the teeth in place, and the jaw bone, resulting in tooth loss.
Knowing all that, it may not be a surprise that poor dental health is associated with health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and pneumonia.
- Select a good toothbrush
- Get a toothbrush you like and will use regularly.
- Choose bristles based on your gum health. “If your gums are sensitive, you’ll need soft bristles that don’t cause irritation. If you don’t have gum problems, it’s fine to use hard bristles.
- Replace your toothbrush every few months. “It’s time for a new brush if the bristles are splayed out and no longer upright, or your teeth don’t feel clean after you brush
What if you want an electric toothbrush because holding a brush or brushing with good technique is hard for you, or you just enjoy the gadgety-fun appeal of a high-tech brush?
- Use the right brushing technique.
- Brush with a fluoride toothpaste for two minutes. Divide the time among the upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right teeth, 30 seconds per section.
- Angle the brush. “The bristles should be aimed toward the gums where they meet the teeth, a junction where plaque and calculus collect. You don’t want the bristles to be perpendicular to your teeth, at a 90-degree angle, but angled, at a 45-degree angle,”
- Make circles with the bristles. “Rotate the bristles around and around in a gentle sweeping motion to help grab debris at the gum line,” Dr. Jiang says.
- Brush without distractions so you can focus on your brushing technique.
- Be gentle. If you press too hard while brushing, you’ll irritate and possibly injure your gums. Brush your tongue, too. It collects loads of bacteria that need to be brushed away.
- Rinse your mouth and your brush. Wash away all traces of toothpaste and food debris.
- Take a peek at your gums. When you finish brushing, pull your lips away from your teeth to see if you left food particles around your teeth. Your gums should not look red or swollen.
BRUSHING TECHNIQUE
Prevention is always better than cure and Brushing your teeth is crucial to maintain good dental health, our first line of defence is keeping teeth clean by brushing twice a day. However, if we don’t brush properly harmful bacterial plaque can sneak in and lead to tooth decay and gum disease. so lets take a look at different tooth brushing techniques that will help.
Brushing techniques
Modified Bass or Sulcular Technique:
This technique is good for those with periodontitis. In this method, the toothbrush bristles reach under the gums to scrub off plaque before it hardens into tartar and causes gum disease.
Steps : 1. Place the toothbrush parallel to your teeth with the bristles toward the gums and tilt the brush to a 45-degree angle and move the bristles slightly under the gumline. 2. With firm but gentle pressure, wiggle or vibrate the brush back and forth or in a small circular motion 15 to 20 times and the brush should cover two to three teeth at a time. 3. To brush the insides of the front teeth, hold the toothbrush in a vertical position and use the bristles on the toe of the brush, making sure they are getting under the gum tissue. Upper teeth Lower teeth. 4. Brush the chewing surface of the molar teeth and don’t forget your tongue.
Charter Technique
This technique is recommended for those with spaces between teeth, exposed root surfaces or who had periodontal surgery or gum recession, also effective for people with orthodontic appliances or fixed partial dentures.
- Place the bristles on the gumline at a 45-degree angle pointing toward the chewing surface or crown of the tooth.
- Gently vibrate the brush for 15 to 20 counts, using short circular strokes or small back and forth motions, and then reposition the brush to the next area
- Move around the mouth in the same pattern, brushing all tooth surfaces, both inner and outer, as well as the chewing surfaces of the molars
Brushing Techniques for Children
Roll Method
- The brush is placed in the vestibule, the bristle ends directed apically, with the sides of the bristles touching the gingival tissue.
- The patient exerts lateral pressure with the sides of the bristles, and the brush is moved occlusally.
- The lingual surfaces are brushed in the same manner, with two teeth brushed simultaneously.
Horizontal Scrubbing Method
The brush is placed horizontally on buccal and lingual surfaces and moved back and forth with a scrubbing motion. The horizontal scrub technique is most naturally adopted by children.
Fones/Circular Scrub Method
-Place the toothbrush on teeth set and then activate the bristles by slightly pressing against the teeth 4-5 times on each set of the teeth and move to the next. -This technique is best suited for very young children or those who in general lack muscle dexterity.
*Regarding the choice of a toothbrush, many of us opt for hard-bristled toothbrushes thinking that the harder we scrub, the better we are cleaning our teeth. Actually, it’s nothing more than a misconception! The truth is, hard-bristled toothbrushes can damage the gums, root surface, and protective tooth enamel. Hence, for most people, a soft-bristled toothbrush will be the most comfortable and safest choice.
In a nut shell a lot of factors determine the choice of brush, most importantly tooth brush selection varies from person to person and is a customised process depending upon your maneuvarability, dental needs and oral health conditions.
