Importance of brushing
Dentists around the globe recommend children and adults brush their teeth twice a day. This is to avoid plaque deposition and bacterial growth in their mouths. The human digestive system contains a lot of bacteria and microbes that aid in digestion. However, excessive microbial growth can turn out to be harmful and sometimes fatal to human health. In the case of bacteria in the mouth, these organisms feed on the food that we consume and produce acid as an end product. These acids are corrosive and hence can damage the enamel on your tooth, resulting in cavities. Using a pea-sized amount of a nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste can generally ward off the bacteria in your mouth.
To ensure additional oral care, it is better to use products such as mouthwashes, dental floss, tongue cleaners and so on.
Importance of Toothbrush Bristles
Toothbrush bristles are a key component of a toothbrush. There are different types of toothbrush bristles available today. Some of the toothbrushes have hard bristles, while a few others have soft bristles. In general soft-bristled toothbrushes are preferred over hard ones. This is to avoid damaging your gums.
Why do You Need to Change Toothbrush Bristles
Bristles both in the case of manual and electric toothbrushes tend to get frayed after a limited period. And a frayed and old toothbrush has limited performance when compared to a new one. To ensure maximum efficiency, make sure you change the bristles in your electric toothbrush or the brush itself in the case of a manual toothbrush. The general recommended period for changing bristles is 3 months. This is recommended by experts at the American Dental Association. However, most people tend to leave these little things uncared. There are a few toothbrushes that come with features such as colour changing bristles that act as an indicator for you to change your brushes or brush heads.
In addition, most doctors also suggest changing your toothbrush or bristles after you have suffered an infection such as flu or fever. This is just to avoid reinfection from the microbes housed in your toothbrush. It is important to keep the bristles in your brush heads as clean as possible. Wash your bristles in clean water after every brush to avoid bacterial multiplication in your toothbrushes.
How does it Help to Change the Bristles
The first reason to change your toothbrush is the bacteria, fungi and mould. A toothbrush that has been in use for a long time, houses several thousands of bacteria. These bacteria can cause a lot of dental as well as health issues in general. On the other hand, frayed and worn out bristles can damage your gums because of the change in angle due to constant use. Also, frayed toothbrushes cannot remove bacteria effectively thereby increasing the risk of oral and periodontal diseases.
There might be thoughts in your mind as to, “My brush head looks fine even after I’ve been using it for more than 5 months”. Well, that is most probably because you haven’t been brushing your teeth properly, or you haven’t brushed as long as the recommended time suggested by the dentist. Paying attention to the little details like brushing, for instance, the duration of brushing and the frequency can also have an impact on your oral and dental hygiene.
A few other people tend to exert excessive pressure while using manual toothbrushes. This can again have a damaging effect on your gums. The best option is to pick an electric toothbrush that works fine in cleaning up the plaque and also in protecting your gums from damage.
Impact on the environment
When people stick to the recommendations given out by the dentists, the impact on the environment is gross. On average, 1 billion toothbrushes are thrown out just from the United States every year. This can contribute to about 50 million pounds of plastic getting dumped in landfills every year. Owing to these gross results, people who are eco-friendly and are willing to contribute to environmental conservation have moved to a more environmentally friendly option which is the electric toothbrush or a bamboo based manual toothbrush.
Electric toothbrush heads contribute almost 65% less to environmental pollution. It is better than replacing your entire plastic manual toothbrush as such. They are durable and sustainable.
Most people consider electric toothbrushes to be a choice for kids and elderly people. But dentists recommend using an electric toothbrush for better and effective oral hygiene.
In addition to being environmentally friendly, they also have amazing features. They can reach and clean the plaque deposition in your mouth which is not generally possible by manual toothbrushes. A few electric toothbrushes come with a timer and can tell you when it is time to change sides or stop brushing. This helps one stick to the recommendations given out by experts and maintain proper oral hygiene.
To conclude, for better and effective oral health, one should definitely do the following -
- Change toothbrush bristles, after every 3 months.
- Wash your bristles after every use.
- Preferably, keep your bristles covered with a brush cover or in a case.
- Use an electric toothbrush for improved oral hygiene