Good oral hygiene is crucial if you want strong and healthy teeth. Additionally, it helps protect your overall health. Gum disease, a common gum infection, is increasingly linked to serious health conditions, including diabetes and heart disease. Brushing your teeth at least twice daily is one of the best ways to keep your mouth healthy, fresh and clean, but deciding which toothbrush is best isn't always so easy. A huge range is available, including electric toothbrushes and disposable or manual toothbrushes. We've put together some tips for choosing the best toothbrush, whether you opt for an electric toothbrush or a manual toothbrush.
Choose the Right Sized Toothbrush Head
Ensure you pick a toothbrush head that is small enough to allow you to clean all tooth surfaces easily. It must be small enough to fit right to the back of the mouth to clean around those hard-to-reach molars. Ensure the toothbrush handle fits comfortably in your hand and is easy to manipulate.
Choosing the Right Bristles
It may seem that choosing a hard-bristled toothbrush is the best option for cleaning your teeth thoroughly, but this isn't the case. Instead, choose a toothbrush with soft bristles as you don't need to scrub your teeth hard to get them thoroughly clean. It's more about using the right technique; using a hard bristled toothbrush could damage your teeth and gums.
Is It Better to Choose a Disposable or Electric Toothbrush?
Your choice of toothbrush is largely down to personal preference, but there are some points to remember, and these include:
Cost
An electric toothbrush can cost far more than a manual toothbrush, and then you need to budget to replace the toothbrush head every three months or more often if it starts to look worn. A manual toothbrush only costs a few dollars and is easy to purchase. However, if an electric toothbrush helps you clean your teeth more thoroughly, you could enjoy lower dental bills and better dental health overall.
Comfort
Choose the toothbrush you feel most comfortable using and are likely to use regularly. Although effective, not everybody likes the feel of a vibrating electric toothbrush. However, others may find an electric toothbrush is easier to hold, especially if they have painful conditions like arthritis that reduce their dexterity. Choosing a toothbrush that feels comfortable to hold means you are more likely to brush your teeth for the recommended two minutes each time.
Effectiveness
Numerous studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of manual toothbrushes compared with electric brushes. These have largely concluded there is very little difference between them in their ability to remove dental plaque and food debris effectively. However, this does rely on people using the right brushing techniques and cleaning their teeth for the full two minutes. Electric toothbrushes usually have built-in timers that make it easy to brush for the correct length of time, but if you prefer a manual brush, consider placing a small timer in your bathroom or using the timer on your smartphone.