Brushing Your Teeth – Developing Good Habits
Brushing your teeth is something that you should be doing a few times a day. This practice is one of the fundamental cornerstones of good oral health, so developing good brushing habits as early on as possible is essential to being able to see the best results overall.
When we brush our teeth, we use the toothbrush in tandem with toothpaste in order to achieve better oral health over time. As such, it is a good idea to look at these two factors separately, to fully understand the impact that they have.
Toothbrushes
The most important part of the toothbrush is the bristles. While grips, size, shapes, and materials are constantly going to be changing, the bristles that come into contact with your teeth play the most important role.
The bristles of a standard toothbrush are made out of nylon fibers, with different softness and lengths being available to use. The bristles scour the surfaces of teeth and polish them, as well as remove food and buildup from in between the teeth.
We sometimes apply excessive force to the bristles when we brush our teeth in order for it to be more effective, however, this can have the negative effect of damaging the enamel on our teeth, as well as causing the toothbrush bristles to wear and bend prematurely, making the overall effectiveness of the toothbrush diminish.
Toothpaste
Toothpaste is made up not only of gel which is infused with fluoride and tooth whitening agents and mint but also incorporates a fine grit into the mixture.
This incredibly fine grit is like sand and is used in tandem with the bristles to physically polish the teeth. Looking at it pragmatically, brushing the teeth is a matter of polishing the surface of each tooth with an abrasive substance, even if we are not able to detect it.
It is much like the way a worker can polish a piece of metal and clean it of rust by taking a wire brush to it. It may be rough and gritty, but it leaves a smooth and clean surface behind it as friction and force are applied.
How often should you be brushing your teeth?
Ideally speaking, people should be brushing at least a few times a day – ideally after every meal. This should be performed so regularly in order to prevent harmful elements from developing and building up in the mouth, which occurs naturally as a result of eating and drinking.
Therefore, it is crucial to develop good habits when it comes to brushing your teeth. Doing so will improve overall oral health, and minimize the likelihood of unpleasant visits to the dentist to have major corrective action taken.
Maintaining Your Toothbrush Holder
Maintaining your toothbrush holder is very important because it comes in close contact with your toothbrush and obviously, you don’t want anything unclean to go into your mouth.
Different types of toothbrush holders require different cleaning techniques and most of them are fairly easy to keep clean.
Why Keep Your Toothbrush Holder Clean?
When putting your toothbrush into the holder, make sure the bristles of each toothbrush do not touch each other, as blood and saliva can spread colds, viruses, and diseases if someone in your family is infected.
Also periodically clean and sterilize the holder to minimize the chances of transferring germs onto your toothbrush.
With a bit of awareness, maintaining your toothbrush holder will help you avoid spreading many diseases from one person to another.
Conclusion
When it all comes down to it, the time and effort that you put into developing good brushing habits are completely worth it all. Getting into good brushing habits makes it easier, as it just becomes part of your daily routine. When it’s part of your routine, it does not feel right when you have not looked after your teeth properly. But note, brushing your teeth is only one part of the routine. You should also include flossing, using a good mouthwash, using picksters, and going for regular dental checkups (visit your dentist at least every 6 months).
Anyway, I hope this article was helpful, as I really want you to have good dental health.
