What To Look For In A Toothbrush?

The market is flooded with all different kinds of toothbrushes. There are colorful ones, white ones, oval ones, square ones, hard ones, soft ones, rubber ones, plastic ones, ones with tongue cleaners, adult ones, baby ones...all kinds imaginable. But which one is best for us? Are advertisements the best way to determine which ones we need? This article will be dedicated to finding the perfect toothbrush.

Cheap but pretty?

In these troubled times, most people buy toothbrushes based on their price, and secondary is how the item looks. These two things are the least important in deciding on a toothbrush, but because of insufficient information, these are our two main guidelines. According to an oral hygienist, you do not need to buy the most expensive one, or the one with the best ad, as cheap ones can do the same thing as expensive ones, too. It is ill advised to buy the cheapest toothbrush on the market though, as these ones have large heads that cannot fulfill their functions properly and are a waste of money.

Do colors mean anything? Unless you are a kid, absolutely not! The colors are there so that kids can pick their favorite color and brush their teeth with it.

Brilliant white

Many companies want to sell their toothbrushes by giving them qualities, in this case, the trend is ”whitening”. These brushes usually come equipped with a rubber strip or circle that can polish your teeth. Tooth paste stick to these rubber pieces more, and it is rougher than the bristles, and thus can rub harder. if you smoke or eat berries all the time, you may see some improvement, but this toothbrush is not a substitute for a professional whitening session.     

Would you like a tongue scrubber with that?

More and more toothbrushes are coming equipped with tongue scrubbers. Usually, toothbrushes with this feature have a large head, which is no good for cleaning your teeth as it is awkward and cannot get to all of the spaces needed. But is the sacrifice worth it? While you do need to clean your tongue which can cause halitosis, but if you brush teeth properly, with good technique, you should not have this problem, so they are useless.

Electric comfort

We have dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners instead of brooms, why not let machines take care of our teeth? Electric toothbrushes do not require scrubbing, it is enough to be patient and touch your teeth with them for 2 minutes at a time, and sometimes just hold it in different positions. Most people report having cleaner teeth because of this practice, but this is only true if you do not know how to use a regular toothbrush properly. In 2005, a Cochrane report stipulated that only electric toothbrushes that use an oscillating and rotating motion got the job done better than regular toothbrushes. According to dentists, children do not need such expensive tooth cleaning devices, it is a better investment to teach them how to use normal toothbrushes properly. It is well worth the energy and time that this may consume, and if you are not sure how to do it, ask your dentist.

So which one should I get?

Pick one that has a small head. The shaft should have a good grip on it. Buy softer bristles, but it may be a good idea to switch it up and buy different ones at different times. It is important that you store it properly as well; toothbrushes need 10-12 hours to dry. Wet, bloated bristles are less effective and serve as an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. Even if you find the perfect toothbrush, mske sure you get a new one latest every 3-4 months.

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