Brushing is the basic method to control plaque. The purpose of brushing is to remove plaque, soft dirt and food debris on the tooth surface and interdental space, reduce oral bacteria and other harmful substances, and prevent the formation of tartar. However, if the method of brushing is inappropriate, it will not only fail to achieve the purpose of brushing your teeth, it will cause various undesirable consequences.
Common Brushing Mistakes:
Mistake 1: Brush your teeth in cold water
Cold water can cause tooth soreness in people with sensitive dentin, and it is not conducive to the active substances in the toothpaste. The main ingredients in toothpaste are friction agents and fluoride. Laboratory studies have found that the best temperature for these effective ingredients to work is around 37 degrees Celsius.
Recommendation: Use warm water close to your body temperature when brushing your teeth.
Mistake 2: Brushing your teeth too hard
Brushing your teeth too hard is tantamount to destroying your teeth. There are protective substances on the tooth surface. Excessive force will cause excessive wear of the weak part between the tooth surface enamel and dentin, forming a wedge-shaped defect (a depression at the junction of the gum and the neck)
Recommendation: Use the strength of the wrist to brush your teeth instead of the arm.
Mistake 3: Brush your teeth horizontally
According to the survey, lots of people brush their teeth horizontally. We need to know that brushing is a physical abrasion to tooth enamel. The purpose of brushing is to remove bacteria from the surface and crevices of the teeth, not to damage the teeth themselves. On the one hand, horizontal brushing cannot remove the rubbish in the gaps between the teeth, and it may also cause wedge-shaped defects at the roots of the teeth, gum damage, and dentin sensitivity.
Recommendation: The correct way to brush your teeth is to brush vertically along the gap between the teeth.
Mistake 4: Brushing time is too short
Many people think that the purpose of brushing is to remove food residues, but this is not entirely true. Gargle with water can remove more than 90% of food residues. The purpose of brushing your teeth is to eliminate dental plaque. Dental plaque is a kind of colorless bacteria attached to the surface of teeth and in the crevices of the gums. It is the chief cause of dental caries and gum inflammation.
Recommendation: Brush your teeth for no less than 2 minutes. Rinse your mouth first and moisturize it to help the active ingredients in the toothpaste. Brush the front teeth carefully and vertically, especially the areas between the teeth and the inside of the teeth that are easy to overlook.
In addition, because the growth cycle of dental plaque is 12-24 hours, you must brush your teeth at least once every 24 hours even if you are away on business.
Mistake 5: Wrong brushing time
Some people think that they need to brush their teeth before eating breakfast. The result of this is that the effective toothpaste ingredients in toothpaste do not have much chance to stay on the teeth, but eat into the stomach with breakfast.
Recommendation: Brush your teeth after meals. Rinse your mouth with clean water after getting up, eat breakfast, and brush your teeth 20 minutes after a meal is the healthiest. Especially after drinking acidic beverages or eating acidic fruits, it is best to wait 20 minutes for the effects of these substances on the teeth to pass before brushing your teeth to avoid greater damage to the surface of the teeth.
Mistake 6: Brush teeth with wet toothbrush
Many people will unconsciously moisten the toothbrush and then squeeze the toothpaste to brush their teeth. This will make it easy to foam when brushing, which will give you the illusion of fast brushing. However, it will shorten the brushing process and cannot effectively remove oral bacteria.
Recommendation: Use a dry brush method to fully rub the cleaning ingredients in the toothpaste with your teeth.
Mistake 7: Too many mouthwashes after brushing your teeth
Some of the active ingredients in toothpaste need to be retained on the surface of the teeth to form a protective layer so that bacteria will not grow rapidly. However, too much mouthwash will not have this effect.
Recommendation: One rinse for 10 seconds is enough. Experiments have found that when we spit out the first mouthwash after brushing our teeth, 95% of the active ingredients were spit out. So, rinse your mouth once after brushing your teeth with toothpaste, and keep the rinse time for about 10 seconds, that would be enough.