*This article is written by Tencent Medical Codex and People's Daily · Jointly produced by People's Health.
Some people brush their teeth for a lifetime
But still by gingivitis, periodontitis,
Oral diseases such as caries are entangled in turn
Want to make your teeth healthier
In addition to choosing the right toothpaste
The toothbrush you use every day is also important!
Come and see who is your "real toothbrush"?
The first to appear is the hand toothbrush group with a long history.
The cooperation between the manual toothbrush and the tooth family has a long history, and with the development of the times, the manual toothbrushes have also been working hard to learn new talents in order to better debut in groups and serve the teeth.
They all have their own skills, come and see who is the C position in your mind:
1. Brush head: big vs small
The brush head is the key to the toothbrush, too big, too small is not enough, the most important thing is to fit yourself.
The brush head is too large to rotate in the mouth, nor can it fully clean the back teeth and some of the corners of the horns.[1]
The brush head is too small and too inefficient. Too small brush head will have fewer bristles, which will cause you to brush slower than others, and it will take you 5 minutes to solve what can be solved in 2 minutes.
For the brush head of the toothbrush, taking the adult toothbrush as an example, the standard of the mainland toothbrush is [2]:
Length: less than or equal to 4.2 cm
Width: less than or equal to 1.4 cm
The American Dental Association's manual toothbrush standards are narrower [3-4]:
The brush head is about 2.5 to 3 cm long and 0.8 to 1 cm wide;
2 to 4 rows of bristles, 5 to 12 bunches per row;
The front of the toothbrush head should be rounded and blunt.
2. Bristles: hard vs soft
Many people think that the softer the bristles, the better, is this really the case?
No, no, no, the "soft bristle" toothbrush with moderate hardness is a good match. Bristles that are too hard can easily damage the hard tissues of the teeth and the gums; bristles that are too soft can cause the teeth to be unclean [5].
However, if you smoke for a long time and love to drink strong tea, pigments are easy to deposit on the surface of your teeth, resulting in yellowing and blackening of your teeth. At this time, you can choose to use a toothbrush with medium hardness and use it alternately with soft bristles to improve cleaning efforts.
When buying a toothbrush, you can press the bristles with your fingers through the packaging, if the fingers are irritating, it means that it is too hard, and it is not recommended to buy.
In addition, the "hairstyle" (bristle arrangement shape) of the toothbrush group members is also relatively rich.
(Source: Tencent Medical Dictionary self-made illustration material from Zhanku Helo)
Flat bristles: The bristles of this type of toothbrush are arranged flat and are the most common one.
Wavy or V-shaped: The bristles are V-shaped or wavy and can be more easily touched adjacent to the teeth.
Long hair bundle at the top of the brush head: Effectively cleans difficult areas.
Cross bristles: Pick up and remove dental membranes.
Cup bristles: Strengthens stains on the surface of clean teeth.
Overall, multi-layered, angled bristles are better at removing plaque than traditional flat bristles [6].
3. Brush handle: straight vs bent
A good brush handle should be ergonomic, easy to hold, and feel comfortable [8].
First of all, there must be enough hardness and strength, can be carried, not easy to bend;
In the gripper part, it is best to be a soft glue anti-slip material, beware of the toothbrush taking off the hand to "let go of the self";
It is best to have a certain angle of inclination between the neck of the toothbrush and the brush handle, which is convenient for deep into the mouth for cleaning, and the general angle is 20 to 21 degrees [7].
(Ergonomic brush handle[8]
Source: Reference 8)
After introducing the manual toothbrush balls that ride the wind and waves, let's take a look at the new stars of the technological era: the electric toothbrush balls full of vitality!
The main members of the electric toothbrush group are: mechanical electric toothbrush and sonic electric toothbrush.
The mechanical electric toothbrush is the team's "vocal (vocal) responsibility", more lively and active, the sound is relatively large; but it is not ambiguous at all, the vibration frequency is high, and the deep cleaning effect of the teeth is good.
Therefore, it is more suitable for doing regular deep cleaning work.
The sonic electric toothbrush is the façade of the team, it can be much gentler, mainly through the built-in transistor to emit sound waves to kill bacteria in the dead corner of the gums, to achieve the purpose of cleaning teeth.
When working, the sound is small, the safety is high, the teeth will not wear out, and the effect of cleaning the corners of the teeth is good, which is suitable for daily use.
So the question is, manual toothbrush balls and electric toothbrush balls, who is the No.1 in the toothbrush industry? Is an electric toothbrush really an IQ tax?
From the perspective of scientific research, there is no clear evidence that the brushing effect of electric toothbrushes must be better than manual toothbrushes.
Most studies still agree that there is no significant difference in the effect of brushing the teeth when done properly [9].
So, if you can make sure you can really brush your teeth and brush your teeth, then choose a cheap and affordable ordinary manual toothbrush, save money to buy ribs, it is not fragrant?
However, for some lazy people (or children, the elderly and the disabled with limited mobility), not to mention the brushing posture, even the brushing time, it is difficult to persist until 2 minutes, often just a few brushes to finish.
For some people, it may be better to choose an electric toothbrush: just press the start button, you will be forced to brush for 2 minutes, while ensuring that the cleaning force is sufficient.
In addition, the vibration of the electric toothbrush brush head is also far beyond the swing speed of the human hand, which can achieve sufficient cleaning power in a shorter period of time, especially for people who are wearing braces to correct their teeth, which is convenient for cleaning various "health dead ends".
After a thousand choices, I finally chose the right toothbrush partner for my teeth. Don't be in a hurry to be happy, these points of cooperation between the two sides (brushing method) should still be paid attention to.
1. Dentists are recommending "modified Pap brushing"
2. Before brushing your teeth, should the toothbrush be wet with water?
You can do it without water, as you please. However, some desensitization and whitening toothpaste active ingredients will decompose quickly after encountering water, so this type of toothpaste is not recommended to dip in water first.
3. How often do I change my toothbrush?
Toothbrushes actually have no fixed period of use, the American Dental Association recommends replacing them every 3 to 4 months; but if the bristles are obviously worn, knotted or stained, then don't hesitate to change it.
(Source: Station Cool Helo)
Without further ado, check that your toothbrush is the right choice? Remember, brush your teeth well.
bibliography:
[1] Pipe force. Clinical trial evaluation and evaluation methods of toothbrush function effect[D].The Fourth Military Medical University, 2013.
[2] National Standard of the People's Republic of China GB 19342-2013, Toothbrush [S].
[3] Singh Walia S, Randhawa A K, Malhotra S, et al. COMPARISON OF COMMERCIALLY MARKETED TOOTHBRUSHES IN AMRITSAR-IN ACCORDANCE TO ADA SPECIFICATION[J]. Indian Journal of Comprehensive Dental Care (IJCDC), 2016, 6(1).
[4]http://m.cqn.com.cn/ms/content/2018-09/20/content_6277877.htm
LI Gang. Development history and development trend of toothbrush design[J]. Oral Care Products Industry(4): 45-47.
[6] Slot DE, Wiggelinkhuizen L, Rosema NA, Van der Weijden GA. The efficacy of manual toothbrushes following a brushing exercise: a systematic review. Int J Dent Hyg 2012;10(3):187-97.
[7] Chun J, Cho M J. The standardization of toothbrush form for Korean adult[J]. International Journal of Clinical Preventive Dentistry, 2014, 10(4): 227-235.
Tan Shan,Wang Min. On the use of toothbrushes and ergonomic design of toothbrushes[J].Journal of Hunan Medical University (Social Science Edition),2010,12(03):328-329.
Dong Xiaoxiao, Wan Peng. Clinical application of electric toothbrush[J]. Journal of Practical Stomatology, 2014, 030(003):418-421.
*The content of this article is a popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor is it a substitute for face-to-face consultation by a practicing physician, for reference only.
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