The Dental Series was created in collaboration with Bogobrush in an attempt to make dental health care not only important, but COOL, too! In it, we answer common questions and address current topics in the dental field. When Bogobrush is not helping spread the word about oral healthcare, they act as a source for ethically made, sustainable toothbrushes, with a one-for-one give-back program catering low-income communities that may not have access to something as simple as a toothbrush.
Myth 01: “Brushing Hard Helps”
Good for Teeth, Not for Gums
Growing up, I was always told to brush my teeth every night. But how to do so? As an avid rule follower and extremely prudent child, I sought out any tips in preventing the dreaded sugar bugs. Unfortunately, the only advice that most adults had to give was to brush twice a day, and hard,in order to remove all of the plaque on my teeth. If I had any left-over gunk at the end of brushing, it must have been because I didn’t brush hard enough.Today, we know that brushing hard does more damage than good, but do you know why?
I do admit that harder pressures are better at mechanically removing plaque and debris than softer pressures. And a tooth is a very sturdy thing, able to withstand stiff bristles and manually applied forces. However, we must remember that the teeth are surrounded by pink soft stuffs, known as gums, which aren’t as resistant to pressures. Brushing really hard, especially in left-to-right motions as we were previously taught, can lead to gum loss, in a process called gingival recession.
What is Recession?
Gingival recession occurs when gums move away from your tooth. Your gums experience wear, and soft tissue is prone to the damaging effects of heavy brushing. Consider gum recession as your body’s way of protecting itself by retreating. Over time, gum tissue disappears, and less and less gums surround your teeth. Unfortunately, once gum recedes, it does not grow back without the help of surgical dental procedures.
How Does this Affect Teeth?
What does gum health have to do with teeth health? Well, they are all inter-related. The gums are part of the structure that holds your teeth in place and keep the teeth stable. As you experience gum loss, multiple things can happen. First, you are losing the protective barrier around your teeth. Severe gum loss leads to exposure of your tooth’s roots. Unlike the rest of your tooth, the roots are not covered by an enamel layer. Therefore, the outside of your roots are closer to the nerves, and experience more sensitivity to things such as sweets, hot and cold temperatures, and movement. You may find eating ice cream a suddenly unpleasurable experience!
What’s more, as gums recede, there is an increased chance of food getting stuck in between your teeth. The space that gums once occupied is now empty, allowing for more food to be trapped every time you eat. Difficulty in keeping the areas around your teeth clean can lead to constant inflammation, your body’s way of fighting off anything it deems foreign. This can lead to gum disease, otherwise known as periodontitis, thereby causing further bone loss and gum loss! And the cycle continues.
The Right Way to Brush
Knowing all of this, we need to switch up our brushing techniques. Here are a few tips on how to brush successfully, without doing any harm.
- Use a soft or very soft bristled toothbrush. I would avoid medium and hard bristled toothbrushes entirely.
- Hold the brush like a flute. You’ll soon realize that there is very little force that can be applied when you hold it in this manner.
- Point the toothbrush at the gums at a 45-degree angle.
- Brush in circles or in small, vibrational motions. You never want to brush left-to-right.
- Spend 3-5 seconds per tooth, vibrating the toothbrush around the gum line. Do the same with each tooth, and don’t forget to swing around to the back of each tooth. A person who has all their teeth should take about 2 minutes to brush.
- If you own an electric toothbrush that already does the vibrations for you, don’t push down. You can still hold it like a flute and you should still angle it at a 45-degree angle. You simply need to hover it in this way over each tooth for 5 seconds, and your brush will do all the work for you. The worst thing you can do with an electric toothbrush is to use it the same way you would a manual toothbrush. There is such a thing as too much.
With these helpful tips, hopefully you can enjoy eating ice cream and drinking hot tea for a very long time.
