Brushing your teeth is an essential part of everyone's oral health routine. Your teeth should be brushed twice a day; in the morning and the last thing before you go to sleep.
Using a manual tooth brush correctly will help you keep your oral health in great shape. When choosing a manual toothbrush always go for a soft one. Lots of people think the harder the bristles the better the clean. They are mistaken because hard bristles will do more harm than you think. When using hard or medium bristles you are more likely to irritate your gums and wear away more of your enamel and dentine if it is exposed. Brushing should be done gently as all you want to achieve is removal of the plaque from your teeth and gum line. Vigorous and hard pressure causes tooth abrasion and can cause gums to recede. Enamel is worn away and dentine can be exposed resulting in tooth sensitivity. The correct brushing technique is a gentle sweeping movement away from the gum line. If you find this movement too complicated, you can do small rotations, again away from the gum line. In both methods you should include outside, inside and biting surfaces. Brushing should last at least 2 minutes and you can use a timer to ensure you have spent enough time.
Key points:
- use a soft bristled brush
- brush away from the gums
- brush twice a day
- brush for 2 minutes
See the video below on how to choose a manual toothbrush:
See the video below on how to brush correctly: