What’s Your Toothbrush Telling You? How Often Should You Change Your Toothbrush?

Does your toothbrush look like this?

Or this?

This toothbrush is telling you that it has done its job and it’s time to move on.  At Innovation Drive Dental in Woodbridge our patients come for their cleaning appointments every 3 months, 4 months, 6 months or some choose to come once a year. These cleaning frequencies are prescribed by Dr. Shulman and our amazing hygienists based on the amount of tarter buildup, bleeding caused by gum inflammation, and amount of bone loss you might have.  But, this frequency is not what is recommended when it comes to how often you should change your tooth brush. At Innovation Dental we give out soft toothbrushes at the end of each hygiene appointment (anything firmer than soft can cause tooth damage). Far too often we find patients wait until their next appointment to get a fresh toothbrush, but please note, these toothbrushes should be replaced approximately every 3 months.  Aggressive brushing and scrubbing will not only cause wear to your teeth which in turn can lead to tooth sensitivity, but it will also cause your toothbrush to splay earlier causing it to be less effective if you continue to use it. This goes for both a manual tooth brush and the brush heads for an electric toothbrush. If you have recently been sick, it is recommended to either replace or sterilize your toothbrush. Dipping your toothbrush head into a pot of boiling water for 10-20 seconds or placing your toothbrush in the dishwasher are good ways to sterilize.

You can read more about this at:  https://oralb.com/en-us/oral-health/why-oral-b/electric-toothbrushes/when-to-change-toothbrush-or-head