Tooth brushing tips and technique

Treat and use your bamboo toothbrush exactly as how you would your old plastic brush.

Toothbrushing technique

Rinse your bamboo toothbrush.  Apply toothpaste.  Pea size for adults, a smear for children.

Hold your bamboo toothbrush on a 45 degree angle.  Gently brush back and forward working your way around each tooth.

Follow a system so no areas are missed. Start top or bottom, left or right – it doesn’t matter which but let’s start on the bottom right teeth for ease of description.  Start at the back on the right cheek side and work your way around to the back on the other left cheek side.  Then do all the insides of the teeth again starting at the back left and finishing at the back right on the other side.  Then do the biting surface again starting at the back and working your way around.  This should take 1 minute.

Repeat on the top.

The brushing should take 2 minutes.

Don’t forget to do your tongue – the tongue harbours a huge amount of bacteria.

Remember to turn the tap of while brushing – no need to waste water 🙂 

Other tooth brushing tips

Brush at least twice daily.  Floss at least once daily.

Ideally brush 30 mins after breakfast and before bed.  Brushing prior to bed is essential as the body reduces production of saliva at night.  Saliva is our teeth’s natural protection against bacterial attack.

It is recommend to not brush for at least 30 mins following eating.  This is as acids from the food can soften the enamel making it more vulnerable to the abrasion of the toothbrush.

Dentists recommend a soft toothbrush.

Use a Fluoride based toothpaste – I know this is controversial but as dentist I will recommend this.  Spit but don’t rinse following brushing with the Fluoride toothpaste.

Rinse your brush and place it somewhere to dry.

If your toilet is in bathroom do keep your toothbrush in a closed cupboard – you don’t want toilet aerosols landing on your brush!

How often do I replace my brush?

Your bamboo toothbrush just like your plastic tooth brush should be replaced at least every season.  More often will never hurt.

If you have been ill, had a cold, flu, vomiting etc replace your brush.

How do I dispose of my ecobrush?

Remove the bristles– they are not biodegradable.  Pulling out the bristles, cutting off, breaking the head off or cutting the head off all work fine. 

The handle is just wood, so treat it like wood.  The handle has had no chemical treatment and is perfectly safe to go directly in the garden.  Put it in the garden, garden waste, compost, use it as kindling.

If my bristles get squashed out flat do I replace my brush?

Ok big problem if your bristles are getting squashed out.  This means you are brushing too hard.  Back off significantly with the pressure.  After 3 months the bristles should still be standing upright, this is the correct brushing pressure.

If your toothbrush looks like the white one after 3 months – you are heading for serious trouble.  Begin backing off immediately.  Slow down and brush gently.  While you learn to brush more gently you could rinse your brush under warm water which helps soften the bristles, meaning you do less damage.

 Brushing too hard will remove enamel.  This results in: 

1. Your teeth becoming darker with time (enamel is the white layer, dentine underneath is yellow, the more enamel you remove the more the yellow dentine shows through).
2. Sensitivity – enamel prevents sensitivity
3. Greater risk of decay – enamel is more resistant to acid attack than dentine

Our soft brushes are extra soft – so some people are finding they flatten them out quickly with hard brushing.  We have also made the medium ones a bit softer then mediums you may be used to – purely to help prevent damage. 

Tooth brush abrasion and yellowing teeth from brushing too hard.