How to Avoid Damaging Your Teeth When You Brush

Brushing your teeth after meals is one of the best ways to keep your smile bright, white and healthy. But that doesn’t mean that all brushing is created equal. Most people have at least one bad brushing habit that threatens their oral health without them knowing it. So if you have any of these bad habits, it’s definitely time to make a change.

1. Brushing Too Hard
Your teeth are relatively fragile, and brushing too hard can leave notches near the gum line that are known as abfraction lesions. Over time, these can get worse and do damage to the inner parts of the teeth. Hard brushing can also irritate or even damage your gums, so make sure you brush gently.

2. Brushing Side to Side
Brushing side to side can damage the enamel, so make sure you’re brushing in small circles with the brush at a 45 degree angle to your teeth. Focus on a few teeth at a time before moving on. The only area where it’s safe to brush back and forth is over the chewing surfaces of the teeth.

3. A Too Short Brush Time
Most people only brush for a minute or so, despite the fact that dentists recommend brushing for 2-3 minutes. So the next time you brush your teeth, take a watch in with you and time yourself.

4. The Wrong Brush
If you want to avoid damaging your teeth, then you need to make sure you’re using a soft brush. You should also get a new brush every 3 months or when the bristles start to look frayed to avoid bacterial growth.

5. Using Damaging Toothpaste
Baking soda might get all the stains off your teeth but it’s also really abrasive and can damage the enamel. This could cause long term damage that’s far worse than a few stains on your teeth that your dentist can easily fix.

6. Multitasking While You're Brushing
If you’re not watching what you’re doing when you’re brushing, it’s easy to miss spots. It might seem easier to brush your teeth while you’re doing something else, like showering or watching television, but you really should be paying attention. Some spots that are easily missed are the gum line and the back molars, so pay attention and make sure you clean every tooth.

7. Failing to Floss
Flossing may seem like just another extra job you have to do that’s easily forgotten, but it’s essential for the health of your teeth. Very often, it’s the food that gets caught between your teeth that causes cavities, and brushes just aren’t always equipped to remove these tiny particles. So make sure you floss every time you brush and your trips to the dentist will be much more pleasant.

8. Failing to Rinse
There’s no point brushing all the bacteria and food off your teeth if you don’t rinse it out of your mouth. So make sure you rinse with an alcohol-free, bacteria killing rinse so the germs don’t just hang around to cause more trouble.

9. Ignoring Problems
Brushing your teeth should be like a quick check-up, so make sure you use the time to have a look at your teeth and make note of any soreness or sensitivity. This will let you know when it’s time to make a trip to your dentist before it develops into a toothache or something worse.

10. Brushing Immediately After Eating
You need to wait at least an hour after eating to brush your teeth, particularly if you’re eating foods that are acidic like soda or fruit. Acid can soften the enamel, which means that it’s more easily damaged during brushing. So give your teeth a little time to recover before you start cleaning them and you’ll keep your teeth safe and healthy.