All one needs is to brush the teeth once every two to three days thoroughly to remove all the plaque; if that does no permanent harm will come to the teeth or gums. The plate takes that long to establish.
Use a soft toothbrush, either electric, preferred, or manual. However there is no need to change the brush frequently; the germs in the toothbrush are one’s own. Moreover if used correctly, the bristles of the brush will remain straight and not deflected with prolonged usage. However if there is the deflection of the hairs, one is brushing too hard and will cause gum recession and future harm, wear, to the roots of the teeth.
How To Brush Teeth?
Moreover with the electric toothbrush, gently guide the brush to where needs brushing; do not use back and forth hard strokes.
However with hand brushing, each tooth should be brushed minimally with five strokes. Use up and down motions on the cheek surfaces; may need to close the mouth to reach the back teeth. Brush the palatal surfaces gently.
Toothpaste. There is a tendency to use more abrasives in toothpaste to whiten teeth. Moreover to test for excessive abrasiveness, after brushing and before rinsing, close the teeth together. Be sure on closing/biting the teeth together, there is no crunchiness/sandy feeling; if there is throw the paste away, it is way too abrasive. A toothpaste with fluoride is preferred.
There are two types of people; those who brushes too much and those who touch too little. Both will cause harm. Excessive hard brushing will harm the teeth and gums in the long run.
Gum disease and tooth decay are bacterial diseases; the best way to lower the incidences of these diseases is to lower the food supply for the bacteria which will then lower the bacterial population thus lowering the disease-causing factor. One way to reduce the food supply is not to put any food in the mouth which stays in the mouth for a prolonged period. e,g, sugar chewing gum, mints, cough drops, sucking candies etc.
There has been a substantial world decrease in the rate of tooth decay; this reduction can attribute to the popularity of sugarless chewing gum and the use of fluoride-containing toothpaste.
I had a problem of gum bleed and the doctor at a military hospital checking my teeth, knew immediately that the problem was an incorrect way of brushing. To remove bad odour and yellow pigment, I used to brush hard with long horizontal strokes.
More On It
1. The grip: Hold the brush as if you are holding a screwdriver. Not as a squash or tennis racket. It should allow right, twisting movements.
2. The start: Place the brush where the gum line meets the base of teeth ( For lower teeth start with the front one.
3. The motion: Twist your wrist as if you are trying to take the dirt out from in between the two teeth in upward moving motion. This while removing the food particles, tartar deposit gently massages your gums without loosening their grip on teeth
4. Coverage: Cover all the lower teeth first. Follow it up by making downward twist for upper teeth and also move to the back of the teeth with similar gentle twisting moments.
5. For the crown of molars and incisors: Follow the same twist for crushing regions of molars and top of teeth.
