To keep your teeth and gums healthy, following appropriate dental care is essential. You know this includes brushing your teeth twice a day, especially brushing your teeth before going to bed and flossing daily. Caring for your teeth also means minimizing sugar, including high-sugar fruits, soft drinks, gum, and candy and seeing your dentist for regular checkups and professional teeth cleaning.

Even following these steps may not be enough to keep your teeth and gums healthy if you’re not taking appropriate care of your toothbrush and replacing your toothbrush in a timely manner. To learn more about taking care of your dental hygiene equipment, keep reading.

Let’s start with the basics of dental hygiene - why is it so important to brush your teeth?

When you eat and drink, your teeth get coated in a thin, sticky substance called plaque. Plaque is filled with bacteria that will damage your teeth and gums, and brushing your teeth and flossing removes the particles that cause plaque and feed bacteria. If the plaque isn’t removed, it hardens on your teeth into tartar, which erodes your tooth enamel, damages your gums, and leads to tooth decay and gum disease. Plaque can be removed simply by brushing at home, but tartar removal requires a professional teeth cleaning from your dentist.

Ask Your Dentist for Toothbrush Recommendations

Now that you know why you need to brush regularly, let’s look at finding the right toothbrush for your unique dental hygiene needs. First, an electric toothbrush or a manual toothbrush are both fine, as long as it’s been approved by the American Dental Association (ADA). When you select your toothbrush, you need to make sure you’re choosing a brush that can easily reach every part of your mouth, including the areas behind your molars.

Just as important as selecting a size and shape that allows you to reach every part of your mouth is choosing one with the right bristles. A brush with harder bristles does not get your teeth cleaner than a soft-bristled brush. In fact, the opposite is true. Brushes with medium or hard bristles can be too stiff and abrasive which leads to injuries on your gums and damage to your tooth enamel. That can lead to long term dental problems, including tooth decay and gingivitis. If you don’t know what kind is best, reach out to your dentist and ask for recommendations!

You most likely get a toothbrush at your regular, six-month dental checkups, so that must mean your toothbrush should last for six months, right? No. You should actually swap out your toothbrush or change your electric toothbrush head every three months at most or if you see wear or fraying on the bristles before then. A worn-down brush is much less effective than one in good condition.

Additionally, if your brush has been stored near someone else’s and they’ve been sick or if you’ve been sick, it’s time to replace your brush. Otherwise, germs can collect and make you sick!

Speaking of germs on your toothbrush, make sure you rinse your brush after every use and store it vertically in an open-air setting where the bristles can dry easily. This means don’t use the closed "travel containers" for more than keeping a brush in your carry-on when you travel. Storing it in an enclosed container promotes faster bacteria growth.