How To Choose a Toothbrush – Playing Multiple Choice At The Toothbrush Isle

If you pick out your toothbrush by getting the one that is your favorite color, perhaps you are doing it all wrong. The color is not what is important at all. How confusing the choosing can be. There are skinny ones, fat ones, those that run by themselves, and those that reach all around your teeth. Standing at the toothbrush isle can be overwhelming. Prices range from $1.00 to over $4000.00 for a German made, titanium, made for lifetime use.

How many of us know the difference in the many toothbrushes that hang there waiting for us to buy? You have extra soft, soft, medium, and hard bristle. There are ones that have curves, indention’s in the middle and even ones that shoot water out of them while you brush. Now, let’s talk about the trips to our dentist and how many different stories’ they tell us. If you went to 5 different dentists in one day, you would come out of there having heard 5 different reasons why their toothbrush is the best. Let’s break them all down to see just how it is you are to pick out the right toothbrush just for your family.

Let’s talk about the different types of heads on various toothbrushes. The size determines where and how far the brush will reach in your mouth. Make sure when trying to make your choice that the size of the head is the first thing you consider. It’s important to remember to get one that will reach all the hard to get to spaces. Smaller heads are for people that have little mouths, such as teenagers and women. A large brush head is a typical size used for most male adults. Be sure not to buy a brush with a head too large. Cleaning your molars and other hard- to- reach places will be difficult due to not being able to reach the back of your mouth. You will want to buy a brush with as many rows of bristles as possible, the more bristles, the better results you will get from cleaning.

Now, let’s discuss bristles. If you notice, there are a few different selections when it comes to bristles as well. There are extra soft, soft, medium, and hard, or you may see “firm” used on some brands. These are also used for electric toothbrushes as well. Let’s start with soft. The bristle is the most important part of the toothbrush. While some people think if you use a medium or a hard bristle you will get cleaner teeth, facts show you are doing more damage to your teeth. Using a hard bristle brush long term will cause damage to the tooth enamel, can cause gum recession, causing the root to rot. One of the main complaints dentist see is pain due to gum recession. The soft bristle got its name due to having thinner strands. The soft bristle has an average bristle diameter of 0.007″. If the gums are healthy, this size will fit under the gums with ease, causing no harm. Getting into the crevices and grooves is also important in healthy gums; the soft bristle is the perfect size for this as well. This bristle will go in deeper without causing damage or pain, to healthy gums. All in all, the soft bristle does the best cleaning in difficult places, causes the least damage and pain to healthy gums.

Medium bristle is the next level. Brushing with a medium bristle is for those that have excellent teeth and know how to brush the right way. Medium brushes are fine for all age groups as long as your mouth is healthy, your teeth are strong and you know how to prevent damage to the gums. If you have sensitive teeth, this brush is not for you. Most medium brushes have flexibility, giving the ability to extend to back areas.

Moving on the hard bristles. This is a brush made with a certain group in mind, people that have major dental issues. The brush head has long, firm, bristles made for teeth that are large, with sturdy gums. This is not a brush used on healthy teeth and gums. The hardness of the bristle can and will remove all the good enamel off your teeth. Those that need a lot of dental care still need to be cautious while using this type of brush not to “over brush” causing more damage.

Now that we covered the bristle section, let’s move on to another choice that can be tricky to decide. Electric or manual toothbrush? Other than the conveniences of having something do the work for you, are there benefits to using an electric over manual? The manual toothbrush has a winning track record for many years. Its cost is much lower than the electric and traveling is by far much simpler if you just have a toothbrush and tooth paste to pack. Wouldn’t be so easy to just go to a store and buy a new electric tooth brush if we left ours at home while on vacation as it would to but a $1.59 one. Traveling with the electric toothbrush when you have 6 people in your family can take up a lot of room packing if the ones you use are large.

Also, manual brushes are kid friendly. Every kid has a choice of their favorite character with a manual brush. Manual brushes are safe and effective once the child learns the proper way to use them. With the manual brush, it’s easy to brush your teeth and know the pressure you are using while brushing. The electric brush has a tendency to have more power so pushing down too hard will cause damage. The manual brush, controlled by the person using it, can only do what the person using it makes it do. This offers more damage control to the teeth and gums. There are times when an electric toothbrush is the best choice. A person that has a disability and has less coordination and strength in their hands, the clear choice is electric. Those that have limitations to use their arms, shoulders make great candidates using the electric.

Once you look at the purpose for each type, the many different ones on the market aren’t so scary after-all. Now, you can go find your favorite and get it in your favorite color, too.