By Erika Remmington
You’ve been brushing your teeth at least twice a day since you were a toddler. So it’s hard to imagine that you could still be making mistakes. But when things get routine, we stop paying attention to how we do them. Here is a quick list of mistakes that easily crop up in brushing habits.
1. Too Much Brushing
Brushing allows you to scrub away layers of plaque and harmful bacteria, but you can scrub away tooth enamel as well if you aren’t careful. To avoid brushing too hard, grip your toothbrush like a pencil. Brushing too often has the same harmful effect—limit your tooth brushing to 2-3 times a day.
Toothpastes with whitening beads or baking soda are especially abrasive. Using a whitening toothpaste for a while is fine, but rotate back to a regular fluoride paste when it’s gone.
2. Not Enough Brushing
At the other end of the spectrum, not brushing enough is equally as harmful to your dental health. Brush at least twice a day, preferably right after waking up and right before going to bed (source: smithfamilydental.com).
3. Cutting it Short
How much brushing is enough brushing? When you’ve swept over every surface? When your mouth feels adequately minty? The ADA would say no—it’s all about time. A person should spend two minutes brushing, they say. Here are three techniques to help you brush for the full two minutes:
- Hum a song to yourself—one you know is at least 2 minutes long.
- Keep a timer or stopwatch in the bathroom next to your toothbrush.
- Divide your mouth into four parts and spend 30 seconds on each section
4. Missing Surfaces
Even if you brush with the right pressure for the right amount of time, it’s still possible to miss surfaces. In fact, if brushing is your only dental-hygiene strategy, you are certainly going to miss surfaces. Floss after or before you brush, or use a small dental brush to scrub the surfaces between your teeth.
5. Sticking to Routine
It’s easy to fall into routine when brushing your teeth and always start in the same place in your mouth. If you start in the same place, you could be unevenly cleaning. Brushing takes time, and by the end, we just want to finish the job and be on our way. So whichever parts of your mouth you brush last might not get adequate attention. Try to mix up your brushing pattern every few days.
6. Brushing Right After Eating
It seems like a good idea at first—you’ve just eaten and you want to clean your teeth before any bacteria has a chance to grow. However, sugary or acidic foods weaken your enamel;if you brush immediately after eating them, you could be brushing precious enamel away.
Don’t brush your teeth any sooner than about 30 minutes after eating. The role of saliva in your mouth is not only to break down food particles—it also helps re-calcify and strengthen enamel. Waiting to brush gives your enamel time to re-harden so it can withstand toothbrush bristles.
7. Using a Dirty Toothbrush
Several factors will make your toothbrush a breeding ground for germs—storage in a warm, moist, dark place, cross-contamination, and improper cleaning.
Let your toothbrush air dry in an upright position if possible. Don’t share toothbrushes, and don’t store toothbrushes together in the same spot unless you have a way to separate them. Always rinse the brush out thoroughly after you use it, and put it through a cycle in the dishwasher every once in a while—especially if you use it while you are sick.
Next time you pull out your toothbrush and squeeze that pea-size dollop of whatever toothpaste you found in the drawer, pay attention. Notice your brushing technique, identify any mistakes you might be making, and alter your routine accordingly.
