Oral health is the mirror of general health. Because mouth is the “gateway to the body” bacteria from teeth and gums can affect your overall health in number of ways. It should be kept in mind that there is no substitute for a regular, scheduled brushing but we cannot take toothbrush to a test drive so some times it becomes difficult to select the right one as there are so many in market with each claiming their own advantages, obviously a point of great confusion.
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| Broad tooth brush head- lacks proper access in small mouth and posterior areas of oral cavity |
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| Tapered toothbrush head a better access in the posterior areas |
Not only regular usage of toothbrush but regular replacement of toothbrush also a key factor in enhancing oral hygiene.
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| Brush Made of Horse Hair |
Historically, toothbrushes were made of horse hairs, with evolution and technological advancements the less efficient and rough tooth brushes were replaced with nylon bristles, and till today researchers are working on enhancing efficiency and comfortability.
Presently, we classify brushes in 2 broad categories
Manual tooth brushes
Powered/electric tooth brushes.
Manual toothbrushes are the most commonly used and are inexpensive, with almost equal cleaning efficiency as that of powered brushes by considering few things.
Brushing time also plays a critical and paramount role in giving a better hygiene and results. The most frequently the average time of brushing less than 1 minute has been seen, ideally to access all corners with effective and efficient cleaning, the recommended time duration is 2-3 minutes.
Commercial availability with different designs, shapes, different lengths of bristles assuring a better efficiency, but the key aspect is regular and recommended brushing technique. Bristles quality defines the cleaning efficiency, as per the general belief, harder the brush better the cleaning, but the fact is medium to soft brushes cleanse better with comfort.
Rather, hard bristles have a negative impact by injuring soft and delicate tissues like gums and gingival and causes cervical abrasion on teeth.
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| Maintains Hygiene during Orthodontic treatment\ |
Another important part is toothbrush head, it hold bristle and carries to the area of cleaning. Thus the common belief “bigger the better” does not always holds true. Criteria for selection is the one which compliments mouth and easier to access the area hard to reach.
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| Flexible handle limits the amount of force applied |
Handle though considered the insignificant part but it should be long, non-slippery and flexible, as cleaning does not require huge force, it just requires dexterity and maneuvering.
