An oft asked question by patients to dentists is: which brush do I use and where? There are several brushes available in the market and it is very confusing as to which will be suitable for an individual.
Choose a brush with bristles which are soft, and brush to and fro with minimum force to clean all the surfaces of teeth twice daily; once when you wake up and last when you go to bed.
Types of Tooth Brush – When Where and How ??
Electric Tooth Brush– Basic tenet of brushing is to ensure good plaque control, which is needed for ensuring healthy gums and teeth. These brushes are rechargeable battery powered, the brush head moves in different directions and vibrates to clean plaque from teeth. Many of these have a built-in timer, which beeps or vibrates to prompt a child/ adult to move to a different area of the mouth, also an auto shut – off after 2 minutes of brushing. Some brands have a colour changing bristle which alerts one to change the brush head. One needs to remember that the electric toothbrush needs to be moved to different areas of the mouth for efficient brushing. Powered tooth brushes are especially recommended for patient’s lacking manual dexterity, and also those where their hygiene maintenance is in the hands of care givers.
Orthodontic Toothbrush-These brushes have specially designed bristles to help clean around the braces brackets and wire. These are recommended for patients wearing orthodontic braces.
Denture cleaning brush– This brush gas a tuft of bristles that helps to clean the concavity in the denture which fits into the gums of patients having no teeth, or whom few teeth are missing.
Interdental Brush– This is very useful for patients with gum recession and gaps between teeth. With wear and tear and poor maintenance spaces develop between teeth which normally is occupied by gums. These spaces can get lodged which irritates the gums and is one of the causes of decay developing in the sides of teeth. These brushes should be used with gentle handling to flush food between teeth.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) Tooth brush- These have sensors to inform you about the pressure used during brushing, alerting you if there is too much pressure. Some brushes also have motion sensors to recognize the brushing style and give real time feedback.
Baby Toothbrush– These come in a variety of super hero and cartoon characters to encourage brushing. Kids brushing can be started as soon as the first teeth appear in the mouth. Until the teeth appear; the gum pads can be wiped with a clean wash cloth.
Tips For Brushing
Start with the last teeth in the back of the mouth keeping mouth closed, run the brush in up and down strokes moving along to the front teeth. This cleans the outer surface of the teeth and the bristles clean in between teeth.
Start by keeping the brush behind the last tooth of the mouth to ensure back and the cheek surface of the tooth is fully clean.
Wisdom teeth are better reached by using a baby tooth brush. This has a smaller head allowing it to be easily accommodated in the narrow space available. Half close the mouth; this will give more space for the brush head.
Lower front teeth along the tongue surface can be easily brushed by using up and down motion, 1-2 teeth at a time. This surface collects a lot of tartar because of the salts deposited from saliva pooling on the plaque.
Many brushes available in the market have rough surfaces. This can be used to clean the surface of the tongue.
Some companies have brushes sold with Caps to cover the bristles for storage. It is best to shake away the remaining water from brush after use and store it in an upright position without cover for drying to prevent bacteria from growing on the wet surface.
Replace brush every 3 months or earlier; if bristles start to fray. Frayed bristles result in less efficient brushing with more force applied to teeth.
It really helps to know and have an awareness of layout of teeth in your mouth. Many of us may have teeth that are crowded, rotated or teeth that are out of alignment. Knowledge of these in your mouth will help you to master techniques to keep these areas plaque free and empower you to take care of your pearly whites!
Cheers & Keep Smiling !!
Dr Preeti L Anand