Considerations in Choosing a Toothbrush

What Should Be Considered When Choosing Toothbrush?

Good oral care starts with choosing the right toothbrush. Different degrees of hardness, different sizes in the market; There are a variety of brushes for adults and children.

The right thing to do is to consult your doctor in choosing a brush.

The choice should be made according to the person’s oral structure, gum health, and the general condition of the teeth. For example, if the patient has gum problems or sensitivity, if there are abrasions on his teeth, which we call erosion, it is not right to use hard bristle brushes, it may cause more sensitivity and abrasions.

Whether the brushes are angled or not is the patient’s preference, it can be preferred for ease of use and easy access to all areas. Rechargeable-rotating brushes can also be preferred in terms of providing ease of use to the patient.

A correct brush should be of medium hardness, and the head should not be too large.

Those with tongue surface cleaners can be preferred. Because the tongue surface is also the surfaces where plaque and bacteria accumulation, like the gums and tooth surfaces, and the tongue surface also needs to be cleaned for a good oral care.

Ideally, there are 2 brushes. Because the bristles that remain wet or that are used by being wet cannot fulfill their functions fully, the ideal is to use the brush dry.

The brush needs to be renewed every 3 months. If the parallelism of the bristles is broken in a short time and the bristles are separated from each other and open outwards, this indicates that the teeth are brushed by applying too much pressure; It causes trauma to the gums and teeth.

In this case, the brush should be replaced as soon as possible. Of course, the patient should give up this habit or prefer softer bristle brushes.

What should be considered when buying a toothbrush for children?

Teeth cleaning should begin with the eruption of the first milk tooth in children. Tooth cleaning can be done in the morning and before going to bed with a clean cheesecloth, gauze or brushes sold as finger brushes in the market. Brushes should be used after 2.5-3 years of age.

When buying brushes, brushes with small heads and soft bristles should be preferred. There are colored brushes and flavored pastes in the market to encourage children to brush their teeth.

Do Rechargeable Toothbrushes Damage Gums?

Hand manipulation is important when brushing teeth. Rechargeable toothbrushes can be preferred for ease of use for patients who do not have good hand manipulation.

They can be used effectively in plaque removal and tooth surface cleaning when used without applying pressure and choosing the right head, they do not harm the gums.

Some companies have models that give a signal when too much pressure is applied to their rechargeable toothbrushes, thus preventing excessive trauma to the gums and teeth.

Should a toothbrush be used during pregnancy?

With the increase in hormones during pregnancy, the gums become more sensitive, swelling and bleeding can be seen in the gums. Oral care should be taken care of, oral care should not be interrupted. Brushes with softer bristles should be preferred due to sensitive gums, brushes with smaller heads can be used against the nausea reflex.

What are the Types of Toothbrush?

There are manual toothbrushes and electric toothbrushes.

Apart from these, there are orthodontic brushes for patients undergoing orthodontic treatment and interface brushes for cleaning between teeth.

Mecidiyekoy Hospitadent

Chief Physician Dt. Yigit Emrah KUR