Tips to Choose a Toothbrush

When you visit a store, you find a several number of varieties and designs of toothbrushes, all of their own shapes, sizes and having unique designs. One usually ends up buying a toothbrush which is attractive in looks, easier to handle and which was usually talked about more, for it’s looks and not for the function.

But toothbrushing being one of the important parts in maintaining the oral hygiene, selecting a proper toothbrush is an important part. Here is what all you need to check while selecting a toothbrush.

Table of Contents:

• Type of Bristles
• Size of Brush Head
• Type of Handle
• Manual vs Powered toothbrush
• When to replace a toothbrush

Type of bristles

Although there are hard bristle variety toothbrushes available, it is usually recommended to use a soft bristle toothbrush, because of a couple reasons. Firstly, many people don’t follow a proper toothbrushing technique, and so the hard toothbrush bristles tend to remove the surface enamel layer of the tooth, abrading the surface, and secondly the hard bristles damage the gingiva and pull it down towards to root, which leads to sensitivity of the teeth while drinking cold liquids, even water.
On the contrary, the soft bristles are easy on the teeth, and they can reach the deeper areas pretty easily. The nylon bristled brushes are commonly used, but everything still depends on how you brush your teeth.
The design of the bristles usually recommended is the zig-zag one with the curvy arrangement, which makes the longer bristle enter the areas between the teeth, and clean out the food debris from those areas.

Type of Brush Head

The size of the toothbrush head should not be very large, and not too small. It should be good enough to reach all the areas in the mouth, and cover 1-2 teeth at a time. According to the specifications given by American Dental Association, the recommended toothbrush head size is 1-inch in length and 1/2-inch in width.

Type of Handle

The type of toothbrush handle should not be firm, as the flexible handles can compensate for the forces exerted by the hand during brushing and excessive pressure on the tooth surface is avoided. The handle should provide a good grip to the hand.

Which is better? Manual or Powered Toothbrush!

The comparison and choice between the manual and powered toothbrushes have always been controversial, and many people in the U.S. prefer using the powered toothbrushes, although there is no such evidence that it is more effective than the manual toothbrushing. Most of the dentists still would recommend the manual toothbrush with the proper toothbrushing technique, with the specifications as explained above.
The powered toothbrushes are recommended for usage in adult patients, in people with conditions like arthritis, people wearing braces, and having misaligned teeth.

When to replace a toothbrush?

Using the same toothbrush for a long time doesn’t prove to be effective as it was in the beginning, so it is recommended to replace a toothbrush every 3 months, when used twice everyday, or the replacing can be done when the person feels that the bristles are frayed. The worn out bristles not only are less effective, but also may damage the gums.
The toothbrush needs to be replaced with a new one even when there is an infection detected in the mouth or patients with cold, flu etc., as the toothbrush contacting the toothpaste tube, can lead to spread of the bacteria involved in the infection.

Above being the standard recommendations, there are a few other factors to be considered while choosing the right toothbrush –

• If the toothbrush bristles get worn within a few weeks of usage, there might be a problem with the toothbrushing technique (recommended toothbrushing technique), and you need to modify that or visit your dentist for the advice.
• A small head toothbrush should be chosen for children, while the milk teeth are still present.
• Depending on your location, you need to check for the approval of the respective dental association, before buying the toothbrush. i.e. if you are in U.S., the toothbrush has to be approved by the ADA to trust about the specifications.

If you are still unsure of which toothbrush to use, ask your dentist for an advice because sometimes the oral hygiene instructions vary depending on the condition of the teeth and gums of the patient. Check when to brush your teeth in the morning.