Your oral hygiene routine is crucial to removing harmful residues like plaque and lingering food particles from your smile. Otherwise, they may eat away at your teeth, causing irreversible damage to leave your smile looking and feeling worse for wear.
To brush and floss your teeth as well as possible, you need to use the right tools. You know you must buy new toothpaste and floss when you run out of these supplies. But did you know you should purchase a new toothbrush as well?
You may feel more encouraged to use proper oral hygiene materials, like a fresh toothbrush, when you understand the risks of not doing so. Read on to learn more about the importance of replacing your toothbrush with a new one every so often.
What Happens to a Toothbrush Over Time?
Your toothbrush features a set of firm bristles attached to a plastic handle. In conjunction with abrasive ingredients in toothpaste, they scrub your teeth to get rid of plaque build-up, surface stains, and more during your oral hygiene regimen.
These bristles will begin to fray and wear down over time, which will make them less effective at scrubbing your smile. Then your teeth will not get as clean as they need to be during this oral hygiene routine.
Your toothbrush will also collect germs and bacteria from your mouth as well as the area where you store it. Not only will this further harm your toothbrush’s structure, but it also transfers toxins to your mouth that can make you sick. For these reasons, you should make sure you replace your toothbrush in a timely fashion.
How Often Should I Replace a Toothbrush?
The average dental patient will need to replace their traditional manual toothbrush every three to four months. After this time, the bristles of the brush will fray and no longer clean your smile as well as necessary. If you see the bristles wear down before this time, you should buy a new toothbrush sooner.
If you use an electric toothbrush, you might notice the head features shorter bristles. This will mean that they wear down at a faster rate. You will need to replace the head of this brush more frequently, usually every twelve weeks or so.
Sometimes you may need to replace your toothbrush sooner due to an acute reason. For instance, if you or someone else in your home contracts a contagious illness, you should toss out all of the toothbrushes in the house and buy new ones to stop the spread of germs.
What If I Continue Using an Old Toothbrush?
When you use a worn toothbrush, plaque and other residues can still cling to your teeth after you complete your oral hygiene routine. Then bacteria will erode your tooth enamel. This weakens your smile and makes it more susceptible to cavities and other dental concerns.
Eroded enamel will not regenerate. So you should preserve your dental structure for as long as possible with good preventative dental care. This means completing thorough and consistent teeth brushing twice per day and flossing once a day with the right tools. Talk to your dentist to learn more about protecting your smile with routine care.