7 Mistakes To Avoid When Brushing Your Teeth

 Although brushing our teeth is something we often do in our daily oral care, incorrect brushing methods can cause oral diseases such as gingivitis or periodontitis. Only the correct brushing methods can protect teeth and reduce damage to teeth. 

Want to know how to avoid mistakes when brushing and how often should you replace your electric toothbrush heads? This blog post summarizes some common misunderstandings about brushing your teeth and teaches you the correct way to brush your teeth.

7 Common Mistakes When Brushing Your Teeth

Brushing your teeth incorrectly

Many people brush their teeth vigorously by pulling the toothbrush back and forth horizontally. However, it is wrong to brush your teeth in this way. After the wedge-shaped defect occurs, the tooth is sensitive to hot and cold stimulation and has food residues. Severe caries can lead to exposure of the tooth nerve, stimulate pulpitis, and can cause a tooth fracture.

When brushing your teeth, it is best to divide it into four areas, upper, lower, left, and right, on the midline of your teeth, so that you can cover everywhere when brushing your teeth. When brushing your teeth, allocate time to the teeth of each partition to keep teeth covered.

Not flossing regularly

Most people don't have the habit of using dental floss, and some people don't even know water flosser benefits. But the fact is that brushing usually only removes about 50% of the plaque on the teeth. It is difficult to clean the adjacent surfaces of the teeth. Physical friction with dental floss is required to destroy the biofilm of dental plaque. Therefore, it is recommended to use dental floss every day.

Not replace toothbrush regularly

Oral hygiene is closely related to the toothbrush, ignoring the replacement of the toothbrush will bring great trouble to the health of the teeth. So, the problem is how often should you replace toothbrush heads. The toothbrush has been used for a long time, and some toothpaste and food residues may remain at the bottom of the bristles, which are often covered with a large number of bacterial colonies. Therefore, the toothbrush should be replaced regularly, preferably once every three months.

Using a large-headed toothbrush

Using a large-headed toothbrush will cause certain damage to the teeth and gums, such as causing gum recession, root exposure, and widening of the interdental spaces. In addition, due to the large head of the plate toothbrush, it cannot brush the back teeth. After a long time, the food residue stuck in the back of the mouth will ferment and decay under the action of bacteria, and then damage the teeth. Therefore, it is recommended to choose a toothbrush with a small brush head and soft bristles so that it can rotate freely in the mouth while avoiding damage to the teeth and gums by the toothbrush.

Insufficient brushing time

Insufficient brushing time makes it difficult to remove the plaque and food residue on the surface of the teeth. In addition, toothpaste has a massage and cleaning effect. If the toothpaste does not contact the teeth sufficiently and the contact time is too short, it will not be able to fully exert its function.

Therefore, it is best to brush your teeth for about 3 minutes each time. At the same time, it is recommended to use fluoride toothpaste to keep the teeth in a high-concentration fluoride environment and improve the anti-decalcification and anti-caries ability of the surface.

Brushing right after eating

Brushing your teeth immediately after a meal will not only not protect your teeth, but may also damage your teeth. The American Academy of Dental Science believes that a large amount of acidic food that people eat when eating will adhere to the teeth, soften the enamel on the tooth surface, and even react with the calcium and phosphorus molecules in the tooth shaft layer to separate the calcium and phosphorus, and the teeth will It will become soft and crumbly. Brushing your teeth at this time will damage the enamel and damage the health of your teeth.

Not brushing teeth at night

Brushing your teeth at night is more important than brushing your teeth in the morning. During the day, people's mouth keeps moving, talking, chewing, and breathing. During the process of non-stop movement, saliva is secreted vigorously. Because of the washing of saliva, bacteria are not easy to attach.

Good Brushing Habit Is Important To Your Oral Health

• Choose a soft-bristled toothbrush: A soft bristle toothbrush cleans teeth more effectively than hard-bristled toothbrushes, which can damage gums and tooth tissue. Choose a toothbrush with a small head. The smaller the toothbrush head, the easier it is to clean the hidden places and crevices of the mouth. 
• Replace your toothbrush regularly: When the bristles of the toothbrush start to bend outward, it is time to replace the toothbrush. The toothbrush should be replaced once every three months. You should replace your toothbrush after you've recovered from the flu or cold to avoid reinfection.
• Electric toothbrushes: Electric toothbrushes clean teeth by rotating or vibrating the brush head. It has high brushing efficiency, strong cleaning ability, comfortable and convenient use, and avoids incorrect brushing methods caused by manual toothbrushes.
• Daily water flosser: Flossing is essential for cleaning between the teeth where gum disease is often the source. The best cordless water flosser helps hold the floss in place, making it easier to floss between teeth. If you like one of these, go ahead and use it.
• Fluoride toothpaste: Fluoride plays an important role in preventing tooth decay in children and adults, and toothpaste is a good source of fluoride. According to the American Dental Association, fluoride helps repair tooth enamel in the early stages of tooth decay and neutralizes acid-producing plaque.

Final Words

Generally speaking, brushing your teeth correctly is more important. Only by brushing your teeth correctly can you remove the dirt in your teeth, keep your teeth healthy, and reduce the occurrence of dental diseases. Now that you know the misunderstandings of brushing your teeth, please check if you have turned over those mistakes, and if so, please correct them immediately!

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