9 Mistakes When Brushing Your Teeth

9 Mistakes When Brushing Your TeethWe are all used to brushing our teeth, but not everyone is doing it right. Meanwhile, errors in the technique of brushing your teeth can lead to diseases of the oral cavity and gums, writes likar.info.

Mistake # 1: Wrong Brush Selection

A television commercial promises dental health with trendy brushes and toothpastes. Therefore, many people think that if they buy the advertised product, their dental problems will immediately disappear. But this is not so – both the paste and the toothbrush should be selected taking into account the parameters of your own mouth and the individual characteristics of the gums and tooth enamel. When choosing a toothbrush you need to consider:

  • – the length of the handle;
  • – stiffness of the bristles;
  • – the size of the head of the toothbrush.

Mistake No. 2: Rare or insufficiently long brushing

When a lot of time passes between brushing your teeth, a lot of plaque appears on the teeth. Plaque, in turn, contributes to the formation of inflammatory processes. Therefore, you need to brush your teeth at least twice a day, and preferably three times. The cleaning procedure should last at least two minutes. Dentists often recommend conditionally dividing the oral cavity into 4 squares and devoting at least 30 seconds to each.

Mistake # 3: Frequent Brushing

Optimal – brush your teeth three times a day. However, some people, armed with a toothbrush in the fight against odor, brush their teeth too often and with fanaticism. Excessive diligence in this matter can lead to gum irritation and tooth enamel depletion.

Mistake # 4: Flossing Neglect

Caries most often attacks the contact (interdental) surfaces of the teeth. After all, during food it is there that food debris accumulates that are difficult to clean with a toothbrush. Neglecting to clean this area leads to caries. Therefore, very often at the dentist’s appointment you have to fill two teeth at once. And this could have been avoided with a simple tool for brushing your teeth – dental floss.

Mistake # 5: Wrong Teeth Brushing

Very often, people brush their teeth with horizontal movements, not really concentrating on what attention should be paid to various areas of the oral cavity. It is not right. Proper tooth brushing consists in the following:

  • – Start brushing the outside of the molars by holding the brush at a 45 degree angle. The outer surface of all teeth should be cleaned with vertical movements in the direction from the gums to the chewing or cutting edge;
  • – Clean the masticatory surfaces of the molars by horizontal and circular movements;
  • – Clean the interdental spaces with dental floss or plastic toothpicks;
  • – Rinse your mouth 2-3 times a day.

Mistake number 6: Do not wash the toothbrush thoroughly

When cleaning plaque, some of it remains on the bristles of the toothbrush, if after cleaning it is not washed thoroughly. Bacteria start to multiply, and the next time you brush your teeth, they will just get into your mouth. Therefore, after use it is necessary to thoroughly wash and dry the toothbrush.

Mistake # 7: An electric brush is better than an ordinary

Electric toothbrushes are different. To date, pharmacies offer four types of brushes:

  • – rotating;
  • – vibrating;
  • – rotating and vibrating at the same time;
  • – brushes with tufts of villi rotating in different directions.

Only the latter type of brushes outperforms conventional toothbrushes and really removes more plaque.

Mistake # 8: Rarely change a toothbrush

Toothbrush needs to be changed every 3-4 months, if possible – more often. Gradually, the bristles lose their flexibility and deform. You cannot brush your teeth with such a toothbrush. There are toothbrushes that change the color of the bristles, thereby warning the owner that it is time to go for a new one. If you do not have such a “smart” brush, carefully monitor the state of your ordinary assistant and send her to rest on time.

Mistake # 9: Use chewing gum instead of brushing your teeth

In fact, chewing gum is not so bad at cleansing your teeth after eating. But you need to remember that it is not able to compare with the task of cleaning like a toothbrush. The fact is that in the process of chewing only the chewing surface of the teeth is cleaned, and the rest are left without due attention.

If you have a combined bathroom at home, and you store toothbrushes in cups, buy cases for them and use a disinfectant solution before brushing your teeth. The fact is that as a result of flushing water in the toilet, the release of bacteria covers an area with a radius of 1.5-2 meters, and there is a very high risk that they will settle on toothbrushes.

Picture Credit: PourquoiPas

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