For healthy teeth and gums, you know it’s essential to follow your routine dental care. This includes:
- Teeth brushing twice a day, especially making sure you brush your teeth before bed!
- Floss regularly
- Avoid high-sugar fruits and beverages, especially hard or chewy candy, gum, and soft drinks.
- Regular professional checkups and teeth cleanings with your Cary dentist.
Even if you follow the basic steps toward healthy teeth, you may be inadvertently causing damage by not replacing your toothbrush when necessary. To learn a bit more about the importance of proper equipment in dental care, let’s look a bit closer at your toothbrush.
Why Is Teeth Brushing Important
First, let’s talk about the basics. Why is teeth brushing so important?
Brushing removes plaque – the thin, sticky coating over your teeth that comes from food, especially those high in sugar and starch, beverages, and even saliva. Filled with bacteria, if plaque isn’t removed regularly through brushing and flossing, it hardens into tartar and the bacteria can eat away at tooth enamel and damage the gums, leading to decay and gingivitis. While plaque can be removed at home, tartar can only be removed during professional teeth cleaning in Cary.
Ask Your Cary Dentist for Toothbrush Recommendations
When you brush your teeth, it’s important to select the right brush that allows you to reach every part of your mouth, even behind the molars in the back of your mouth. Just as important as reaching every spot is the type of bristles you use.
Whether you use an electric or manual toothbrush (either one is fine) you want to use a soft-bristled brush with rounded tips. Hard and even medium bristles can be too abrasive causing injury to your gums and damaging your tooth enamel. Also, to ensure effectiveness, look for the American Dental Association (ADA) approval on a brush before you buy it. If you’re not sure what kind is best, talk to your Cary dentist and ask for his or her recommendation!
Replacing Your Toothbrush
You find the perfect toothbrush or get one at your professional teeth cleaning, so you’re set for six months, right? Not quite. It’s actually better to replace your toothbrush or head of an electric toothbrush every three months. Any longer, and the bristles may begin to fray, reducing their effectiveness.
You should also purchase a new brush if you’ve been sick or your brush is stored near someone else’s brush who has been sick. You don’t want germs to collect on your toothbrush!
Additionally, to keep your toothbrush in the best condition and prevent bacteria from building up, rinse it after each use and store it vertically in a position where the bristles can dry. Additionally, avoid keeping it in a closed container, as this leads to faster bacteria growth.
Schedule A Teeth Cleaning in Cary
If you need a professional teeth cleaning, call us today to schedule your appointment.