For each modern man A toothbrush is an essential hygiene item. Most people know that they need to brush their teeth at least twice a day and buy new toothbrushes periodically. But here's how to do it right choice When buying a brush, not everyone knows. An incorrectly selected brush can cause injury to the gums, damage to the enamel, and even the development of oral diseases, such as stomatitis.
How to choose the right toothbrush? What should you pay attention to first and what should you consider when making this choice? We will try to consider the main aspects of choosing a toothbrush for an ordinary person without any serious problems with teeth or gums.
Studying the material of the toothbrush
In the manufacture of modern toothbrushes, synthetic materials are usually used. You can also sometimes find brushes made of natural bristles. At first glance, it may seem that a “natural” brush is much better, but this is not at all the case. Brushes made of natural bristles are unhygienic, as bacteria can multiply inside the hairs, and this contributes to the development of inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity.
Another disadvantage of natural bristles is their fragility. After the hair breaks, a sharp edge remains, which can injure the gums. There is no way to round off these ends. In addition, natural bristles strongly absorb moisture, which also promotes the growth of bacteria in them. Another disadvantage of a bristle brush is that it is too soft. Such a brush will be very poor at removing plaque, so cleaning will be ineffective.
The world's first toothbrush appeared about 500 years ago in China, and it was made from pig bristles, badger and horse hair.
Choosing a toothbrush is one of the rare moments when you should not give preference natural product. In all respects, brushes made from synthetic materials are better than natural ones. Only people with allergies to synthetic materials should choose natural brushes.
Selecting the degree of hardness
There are four levels of toothbrush hardness - very soft, soft, medium and hard. The designations usually indicate on the packaging: “sensitive” - a very soft brush, “soft” - soft, “medium” - medium, “hard” - hard. In addition, there are “extra-hard” brushes; they are used by people with increased plaque formation, or with special orthopedic or orthodontic structures.
Very soft brushes are intended for people with gum diseases, such as periodontitis or non-carious enamel lesions, in which the enamel is not fully developed or is absent altogether. Such brushes should be used only after consultation with a dentist.
Soft toothbrushes are usually recommended for bleeding gums, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as for patients with diabetes mellitus. In such situations, brushing your teeth should be correct and as gentle as possible. The same gentle cleaning method is used for bleeding gums.
The first electric toothbrush appeared in Switzerland, according to various sources in 1939 or after World War II.
A hard brush is usually used by heavy smokers or coffee drinkers, as well as people with increased plaque formation. This brush can only be used by people with strong enamel and healthy gums.
Features of the location of the bristles
High-quality modern toothbrushes often combine bristles of different hardnesses. All bristles are collected into tufts, and the tufts are arranged in rows. Depending on the nature of the arrangement of the bristle tufts, one-, two-, three- and multi-level brushes are distinguished. In good brushes, the bristles are rounded and placed at a distance of 2.2-2.5 mm between rows. There are usually 20-40 bristles in one tuft. The beams are placed parallel or at an angle to each other.
Depending on the location of the bristle tufts, three types of brushes are distinguished: therapeutic and prophylactic, hygienic and special.
On hygiene brushes, all tufts are located parallel and have the same length. Such brushes are practically no longer used, since they do not clean the entire surface of the tooth well and leave a lot of plaque between the teeth.
On therapeutic and prophylactic brushes, the bristles are arranged in several levels. Higher and straight beams clean the interdental space, shorter ones clean the chewing surfaces of the teeth, soft oblique beams clean the gingival groove and the cervical interdental area without injuring it. At the front end of such brushes there is often a large inclined tuft, which penetrates deeply into the interdental spaces and cleanses “sevens” and “eights” well. In addition, the brush field can have various rubber inserts for massaging the gums and polishing the teeth. These brushes are the most popular and in demand today.
A 2003 opinion poll in the United States showed that people consider the toothbrush to be the main human invention without which it is impossible to live.
Special brushes, which can be mono-beam or small-beam, are used for cleaning uneven teeth, cleaning teeth around orthopedic structures, as well as for cleaning teeth with orthodontic structures, etc.
Electric toothbrushes (Video)
Electric toothbrushes deserve special attention, as they have become increasingly popular over the years. Clinical researches confirmed that electric toothbrushes clean much better and require less brushing time. You can thoroughly clean your teeth in just two minutes, which is important if you don’t have time for work in the morning.
Electric brush supports uniform motion bristles, and this helps reduce wear on tooth tissue and does not irritate the gums. Some models of electric toothbrushes can also kill bacteria using ultrasound. But there are also contraindications to their use. Electric toothbrushes are not suitable for people who have had periodontal surgery or oral cancer surgery. People with 3rd degree mobility of teeth, stomatitis and hypertrophic stomatitis should not use such a brush.
At the time of buying electric brush It is necessary to take into account the same parameters as when choosing a regular one, these are the quality and shape of the bristles, their quantity and hardness. In addition, it is necessary to take into account some characteristics such as operating speed, head movement, weight and power type.
12% of people worldwide currently use electric toothbrushes.
Before buying a brush, you need to clarify what movements the head makes. The best option is reciprocating circular ones, and reciprocating ones are significantly inferior to them. In addition, a good brush has several operating speeds and can be powered by batteries or rechargeable batteries. The optimal weight of the brush is 100-200 g; if it is heavier, your hand will get very tired while brushing your teeth.
Important details when choosing a brush
When choosing a brush, you need to take into account some aspects that may seem insignificant to a non-specialist. It is important to pay attention to the length of the working part. It should capture several teeth at the same time - ideally 2-2.5. This allows you to achieve the best cleaning of the chewing teeth.
The brush head or its working part should be round in shape. This reduces the risk of injury to the delicate mucous membrane of the oral cavity. Backside the heads should be made of soft material, preferably rough. The presence of such material allows you to cleanse the mucous membrane of microorganisms.
Since the 60s of the last century, humanity has patented more than 3,000 different models of toothbrushes.
It is very good if the junction of the head and the handle is movable, this allows you to automatically adjust the force of pressure on areas of hard and soft tissue and significantly reduce the risk of them. The handle of the brush should be thick enough, with rubberized inserts, so it will be comfortable to hold and will not slip during cleaning.
Useful information about toothbrushes
Most people believe that they need to change their toothbrush every two months. This statement is practically true. It is necessary to change the brush when its bristles begin to bend and stick out to the sides, and this usually happens after 1-3 months of use. In addition, it is worth replacing the brush after suffering from a viral or bacterial disease. This will help avoid reinfection and possible inflammatory processes in the oral cavity.
Between uses, the brush should dry well, this will significantly reduce the number of microorganisms on it, and will also help maintain the hardness and shape of the bristles for a long time. The best option for storing a brush is in a glass with the head facing up. But you shouldn’t store brushes in different cases, as this negatively affects their service life and promotes the growth of microorganisms on them.
According to statistics, approximately half of all toothbrushes sold are fakes. To minimize the risk of purchasing a low-quality product, you should buy brushes exclusively in pharmacies.
Scientists have proven that those with healthy and strong teeth have much better memory than those who do not take care of this part of the body.
Most people, out of habit, brush their teeth with horizontal movements, moving the brush along the dentition. This is wrong, as it contributes to the concentration of dental plaque in the interdental spaces, and it is not easy to clean them anyway.
The range of oral hygiene products is not limited to a toothbrush. To ensure high-quality cleaning of your teeth, you need to choose the right ones and it is advisable to have several varieties at home. You will also need interdental brushes, which help to thoroughly clean the spaces between the teeth, toothpicks and dental floss, as well as mouth rinses and elixirs.
Toothbrush bristles were traditionally made from hog bristles. Natural bristles, due to certain disadvantages, limited and reduced the possibilities for developing more advanced toothbrushes. In 1938, Dr. West (Oral-B) introduced a product called the Miracle Tuft Toothbrush with nylon bristles. The same company Oral-B developed and proposed a technology for rounding, grinding and polishing the tips of each bristle. Currently, due to the undeniable advantage of artificial fiber for the manufacture of toothbrushes, the production of brushes with natural bristles has been reduced to a minimum. The bristles of toothbrushes can be of different thickness (which largely determines their rigidity), mobility, and with differently processed tips. The optimal height of the bristles is 10-12 mm.
There are 5 degrees of bristle stiffness:
- very tough
- tough,
- average,
- soft,
- very soft bristles.
However, this indicator is not standardized; there is no single criterion for brush hardness. Various manufacturers Fibers of different diameters are used in brushes, but they indicate one degree of hardness. Considered very soft nylon bristles with a fiber diameter of 0.15-0.18 mm, soft - up to 0.2 mm, medium hard- up to 0.22 mm. Soft brushes designed for cleaning temporary teeth, teeth with weakly mineralized enamel, as well as for inflammatory diseases periodontal and oral mucosa to avoid injury. Hard bristles should be used when the enamel is mature and there is a tendency to increased formation of mineralized and non-mineralized dental plaque. Many modern brushes combine bristles of different hardness: for example, central, stiffer bristles are designed for effective cleaning chewing surfaces teeth (often they are shorter), and the peripheral softer (and often longer) bristles clean the gingival groove less traumatically, penetrating quite deeply into it (brushes Junior Blend-a-dent, Medic Blend-a-dent, Colgate Plus) . Often bristles varying degrees hardnesses are marked in different colors.
The tips of the artificial bristles of modern toothbrushes are rounded, which increases their polishing ability and prevents injury to periodontal tissue and the oral mucosa. Butler has proposed a tapered bristle tip that provides much greater penetration into the microstructure of the enamel and into the gingival sulcus. 
The next development of this company was “ultramicro-tips” of bristles that do not injure the tissue of the gingival groove. It has also been proposed to include an antibacterial agent in the polymer shell of each bristle (Sunstarinc). Oral-B has developed what it calls micro-textured bristles for toothbrushes. New patented technology increases the texture surface of each bristle (up to 329 A0 compared to 97 A0 for regular bristles) by applying a polymer coating to each nylon bristle. This bristle is designed for more effective cleansing tooth surfaces not only with the tips of the bristles, but also with their lateral surfaces. The microtexture is located throughout the surface of the brush, but it is so small that it can only be discerned using an electron scanning or atomic microscope. Its size and shape matches the microtexture of the surface layers of enamel, which further increases the cleaning effectiveness of the toothbrush.
New developments are brushes with silicone lugs instead of nylon bristles, and also with a soft synthetic elastomer plate built into the head, scraping plaque and the tooth surface. As you use The bristles of the toothbrush wear out— the bristles fall out, become loose, lose shape, bushiness, and shorten the bristles. Such changes make the brush unusable for further use and require its replacement. The brush should be replaced at least once every three months., although many dentists recommend even more frequent replacement. However, the rate of wear of the brush can vary significantly depending on the force of pressure on it, frequency of use, toothpastes and powders used, individual characteristics structure of the dentition. For example, it has been determined that for effective cleaning, the pressure on the toothbrush should be 60-80 g; Some hygienists recommend that their clients test this pressure by applying pressure to a postal scale with a brush.
You can determine when to replace the brush using color indicators of bristle wear. Oral-B has developed a technique to indicate the degree of bristle wear in a brush by bleaching food-colored bristles. Abrasion during use of the brush leads to partial and then complete discoloration of this area, which indicates the need to replace the brush. The use of brushes with an indicator in children allows their parents to control the quality of this procedure by the child himself.
Dying the bristles in different colors is not only used in brushes with a wear indicator. It can be produced to mark bristles of varying hardness, either to mark the surface of the brush that should be coated with paste (for correct dispensing of the paste), or for aesthetic reasons. The presence of indicator beams is always indicated on the packaging or in the accompanying instructions for the brush. Some brushes offer the ability to replace the working head without having to replace the entire brush.
It may differ in frequency (number of rows), number of bristles in the bushes, and inclination of the tufts relative to the plane of the head. Most brushes have four rows of bristle bushes; designs with three rows are not uncommon. Three-row brushes are also used in children. A variation of the three-row brush is the Bass brush, which is ideal for cleaning teeth using this author's method. This brush has soft bristles that do not damage periodontal tissue. The so-called sulcular brushes with two rows of bristles designed to clean the gingival philtrum and narrow grooves of teeth. These brushes are also convenient for oral hygiene in the presence of crowded teeth, fixed orthodontic and orthopedic structures. Brushes differ significantly in the shape of the trimming of the brush field. Brushes with an even brush field are widespread and quite effective. Brushes have been developed with a convex bristle, which ensures good penetration of soft bristles into the gingival groove and high-quality cleaning. Sometimes, when trimming bushes, a jagged surface is formed due to the fact that the edge bristles in the bushes are lower than the central ones. This trim allows the central bristles to enter the narrow interdental spaces, however, if the bristles are hard, only the central bristles have cleaning abilities, preventing the side bristles from touching the tooth surface during brushing.
Brushes with a wavy, zigzag profile of the brush field are common, allowing you to effectively clean both smooth tooth surfaces and interdental spaces. A large number of modern brushes have two-level bristles or the so-called active recess. In such designs, the internal, shorter bristles are designed to clean the chewing surface of the teeth, and the longer, peripheral bristles are designed to clean smooth surfaces and the gingival philtrum.
The traditional shape of a toothbrush head does not always allow for high-quality cleaning of teeth in the presence of fixed orthopedic and orthodontic structures, implanted implants, or with an atypical dentition structure. Brushes with atypical form heads or so-called Usually these are brushes with a very small round head with six to seven tufts of bristles and different trimming of the brush field.
These also include single tuft brushes, in their form and function approaching interdental oral hygiene products. Thus, the single-tuft Curadent “sensitive” single brush has one pointed tuft of ultra-thin (0.15 mm in diameter) synthetic bristles with a total diameter of 3.5 mm. It effectively removes dental plaque in the fissures of the chewing surfaces of teeth, cleans the spaces under fixed orthodontic arches, rinsing parts of bridges, and in the presence of implanted implants.
Currently, many modifications of the brush head have been proposed. Thus, flexible bristle bases are built into the head of the Adapter brush, allowing the head to adapt to different shapes of the dentition and teeth. A rigid central axis supports the flexible bases of the peripheral rows of setae. The manual version of the Oral-Spring brush (Israel) has a spring under each individual tuft of bristles, through which the even brush field gradually changes to a multi-level one when in contact with the teeth.
can be straight, angled or flexible. Thus, Aquafresh brushes have a flexible neck and a “floating” head with an adjustable slope due to attachment to the neck on a rubber ball. Brushes with flexible shock absorbers automatically regulate pressure on teeth and gums, protecting them from injury. Brushes are produced that have rigid necks, but allow the user to change their shape - after immersion in hot water or simply by hand pressure.
A brush is proposed with a head whose plane is rotated around longitudinal axis 45° relative to the plane of the handle. This was intended to facilitate the positioning of the brush for brushing methods that require the head to be positioned at an angle of 45° to the surface of the teeth. Toothbrush handles should be wide and long enough to provide comfort and a firm grip. They can be of various shapes and sizes. Pens folding travel toothbrushes provide the ability to insert the brush head into them for portability and prevent contamination during transportation. The DentExpress travel brush also has a container of liquid paste that is inserted into its handle, and a tube in the neck delivers the paste to the base of the bristle tufts on the head. Handles with a slot are offered, allowing you to squeeze the paste out of the tube. For people with impaired motor function of the fingers, various attachments are used on the toothbrush handle to improve its grip and retention. Such nozzles can have different shapes - a ball, a massive roller, several grooved rings and others.
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Useful tips
Toothbrushes should be changed every 2-3 months, and sometimes even more often.
However, where to put the used brush? Many people simply throw it away.
However, you should not immediately resort to such measures, because an old toothbrush e you can find another application .
In this collection you can get acquainted with the most useful tips on using an old toothbrush, and you will be surprised how many options there are and how much benefit it can still bring you.
How to clean things at home
1. Removing pencil marks from walls.
Apply shaving foam to the pencil marks and start scrubbing with a toothbrush. It's amazing how traces like this disappear.
2. Cleaning the cutting board.
Heavily ingrained food residues can also be cleaned from the cutting board using a brush. It penetrates deeply and cleans everything well.
3. Cleaning your nails.
Clean dirt under your nails with a regular toothbrush. Better to apply on a brush at a little liquid soap, and after cleaning your nails will shine.
4. Cleaning the sole.
Sometimes mud sticks strongly to the soles, especially when it has dried. This problem can be corrected with a toothbrush (preferably a hard one).
How to clean tiles
5. Removing stains on the floor.
Apply toothpaste(preferably with a bleaching effect) onto the floor and use a brush to wipe away dirt from the tiles and between them.
6. Cleaning the walls in the bathroom, kitchen and toilet.
Laugh use a cleaning agent baking soda and water in a ratio of 1:2:2 respectively, and use a brush to start cleaning the dirt on the tiles and in the gaps between them.
7. Applying hair dye.
Many housewives already know that you can carefully apply hair dye with a toothbrush.
8. Cleaning kitchen utensils.
A toothbrush can be used to clean pots and pans, and since the brush penetrates into hard-to-reach places, it can be used to clean microwave ovens, coffee machines, toasters, kettles, and more.
9. Cleaning the tap and shower.
The brush can easily reach the most inaccessible places, so it can clean taps of any shape, as well as showers and sinks. White vinegar will make the job easier.
10. Cleaning the comb.
Get rid of hair stuck in your comb using a regular toothbrush.
Clean with a toothbrush quickly and effectively
11. For children's creativity.
Using a toothbrush you can add many different textures, not only in painting, but also in sculpting. Kids will love drawing patterns with the toothbrush and using it to create different textures on the clay.
12. Cleaning jewelry.
Many girls and women like to wear bracelets and rings with intricate patterns, between which dirt accumulates over time. Toothbrush is able to penetrate into all bends and holes, thereby cleaning your favorite products.
You can learn more about cleaning jewelry from our articles:How to clean silver at home And How to clean gold at home
13. Cleaning the hair dryer grill.
So that the hair dryer grill does not become clogged and the hair dryer does not give out bad smell, clean it with a brush.
14. Cleaning the keyboard.
The keyboard is quite difficult to clean - there are a lot of keys and gaps between them. Use a dry toothbrush to clean all dirt, dust, hair, coffee stains, and food debris from your keyboard.
15. Cleaning the aquarium.
There is no need to buy an expensive brush designed specifically for cleaning aquariums. Use an old toothbrush - it will also help clean shells, artificial corals and other decorations in the aquarium.
Useful used toothbrush
16. Cleaning blinds and mosquito bars.
It's amazing how useful a toothbrush can be when it comes to cleaning your blinds. Just go over each part, periodically washing off the dust b , and you're done. The brush attachment from a vacuum cleaner is also suitable for cleaning blinds.
17. Cleaning bicycle chains.
Taking care of your bike,Don't forget to clean the chains, especially the inside. The brush easily penetrates between the chain parts and cleans them of dirt, thereby preventing rust.
18. Cleaning the car.
We are not talking about the body of the car, but about its interior. You can use a toothbrush to clean the seats, handbrake, cup holders, dashboard, etc.
19. Cleaning toys.
Did you know that toys (especially soft ones) are a th for dust and dirt? You can clean toys using a toothbrush.
20. Getting rid of stains on clothes.
Apply stain remover to the stain and gently scrub the area with a toothbrush. Find out about in various ways stain removal in our article:
We all understand the importance of good oral care, which includes brushing your teeth twice a day for at least a couple of minutes, flossing between your teeth every day, and regular visit dentist
What if it's fake?
How to distinguish a good and high-quality toothbrush from a bad “fake” one?
Here are some highlights:
1. A good toothbrush costs at least one US dollar in ruble equivalent.
2. You should always look at the quality of packaging: as a rule, back side The dotted line shows where the package was opened.
3. The handle of the toothbrush is rubberized where it is held by hand; on the “left” brushes there is simply plastic of a different color, often roughly stamped, casting defects are often visible.
4. The bristles on good brushes are even, collected in tufts, while the “left” ones often have uneven tufts.
5. Very important point is that stubble good brushes is made of special materials, and the “left” ones are made of fishing line, which is rougher to the touch than the bristles of good brushes, and after the first use, the bundles of such brushes lose their original shape.
Choose
The first criterion when choosing a brush will, of course, be the quality of the bristles:
All toothbrushes are divided into:
Very soft (sensitive);
Soft (soft);
Medium hardness (medium);
Hard(hard);
Very hard (extra-hard).
Each type of bristle is designed for different types use. For example, very soft ones are intended for children, as well as for adults with oral diseases and non-carious dental damage. But hard and very harsh brushes are used by adults with healthy tissues periodontal disease, such brushes clean out dental deposits.
What are modern toothbrushes made of? 
Synthetic fibers are used in production. The manufacturing technology is simple: microvilli are applied to each bristle, which creates a kind of polymer coating. This technology is very simple and the good thing is that your teeth are cleaned not only by the tips of the toothbrush, but also by the sides, thus increasing the effectiveness of the toothbrush. There are also brushes with natural bristles. They are used by people with hypersensitivity teeth.
To choose the right toothbrush size, you need to consider the following. A good toothbrush is optimal if it covers 2-3 teeth at once. But many experts say that for better cleaning teeth, a smaller head size is suitable, allowing access to hard-to-reach areas. For better cleaning teeth, the tip of the toothbrush becomes narrower and rounded.
Special approach for children
Children's teeth are most susceptible to adverse effects. Therefore, children need to buy brushes with soft bristles. It turns out that you need to start brushing your teeth as early as infancy. If the baby is from 4-24 months, then the brush should be of a certain shape: an elongated, voluminous handle with rubber plastic, since it is designed for the parent’s hand.
The ideal option for a baby is a brush with a rounded head, with multi-level convex bristles; the bristles should contain at least 5 rows. There must be a tray for cleaning the tongue and massaging the gums; this is very important especially when teething.
For an older child, you need a brush with a small handle that is designed for a child's hand. A special children's paste won't hurt either.
Electric toothbrushes
An electric toothbrush is an electromechanical device. It consists of a working part - a head, a body and an electric motor with autonomous power supply, located inside the handle.
Electric toothbrushes usually run on rechargeable batteries and have a charger. They are usually designed for 45 minutes. work without recharging. The brushes have a timer (2-3 minutes). When pressed firmly, the sensor automatically turns off the vibrating motion of the toothbrush.
Electric toothbrushes make from 7,000 to 10,000 movements per minute, thereby cleaning the tooth surface very well, but are very abrasive and can damage weak enamel.
Electric toothbrushes have multiple, removable, color-coded heads for use by multiple family members.
- Move the brush head slowly from tooth to tooth, holding the brush on each tooth surface for a few seconds.
- Brush your gums the same way as your teeth, first from the outside, then from the inside.
- Don't press the brush too hard or rub your teeth with it, just let the brush do its job.
Sonic and ultrasonic toothbrushes
Electric toothbrushes can vibrate the head and bristles at sonic or ultrasonic frequencies.
Sonic toothbrushes produce a characteristic sound and visible vibrations (250-500Hz).
The vibrations generated by ultrasonic toothbrushes (1.6 MHz) are invisible and inaudible.
The effectiveness of the cleaning action of sonic and ultrasonic brushes is based on the fact that when the head and bristles vibrate in the oral cavity, active microcirculation of liquid occurs, due to which plaque is washed away. The bubbles formed during this process increase the cleansing effect.
Ultrasonic brushes have additional cleaning benefits. Ultrasound neutralizes bacteria even at a depth of 5 mm under the gum. The use of ultrasonic brushes reduces gum bleeding, reduces inflammation, and helps remove plaque.
When is it time to change?
Even a child knows that over time a toothbrush becomes unusable. The bristles lose their shape, become contaminated with microorganisms, begin to fluff, become fibered, and shorten, thus injuring the gums.
The lifespan of a toothbrush depends on many factors: how often a person brushes his teeth, how long the brushing session lasts, how much pressure is applied, and of course the composition of the toothpaste.
The first signal to replace your toothbrush is the loss of its original appearance.
Today, brushes are sold that have a wear indicator on them - special tufts of bristles that are colored with food coloring. In this case, wear occurs when the colored bristles become discolored.
In addition, if you have had an acute respiratory infection, flu, or sore throat, then after these illnesses it is best to change your toothbrush.
Under no circumstances buy toothbrushes for 15-20 rubles. Because they pose a direct threat to health. It often happens that people are fooled by the cheap price and buy such toothbrushes. But it’s better not to risk the health of your gums and teeth.
Before choosing a toothbrush, be sure to consult a specialist dentist or periodontist. They will tell you which brush to choose that will suit you.
The toothbrush performs the main cleaning function in oral care.
The history of its appearance is very interesting. So, another 300 - 400 BC peoples South America, Asia and Africa used various devices, which are the prototype of a toothbrush. In European countries, the toothbrush, which was then called a “dental broom,” first appeared in the 17th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, toothbrushes began to be used in Russia. A toothbrush is still an indispensable tool for mechanical cleaning of teeth from soft plaque and food debris. Effective hygiene measures cannot be carried out without a toothbrush.
A toothbrush consists of a handle and a head (working part), on which tufts of synthetic or natural bristles are attached. The bristles are arranged in rows on the brush head. Depending on the thickness and quality, there are several types of toothbrushes. The arrangement of the bristles on the brush head can be horizontal, concave, convex, or increased by distal end. Brush handles can be straight, curved or bayonet-shaped. The most common toothbrushes are made from pig bristles. Brushes from synthetic materials are more durable, but they wear away tooth tissue more intensively. The handle and head of the brush are usually made of colored or transparent.
Most commercially available toothbrushes do not fully satisfy modern requirements: They have an excessively large working part, and the tufts of bristles are very dense. This prevents good cleaning of the teeth, since the movements of the brush are limited, and the dental spaces are usually not cleaned with such brushes. The most efficient toothbrush should have a head 25-30 mm long and 10-12 mm wide. Rows of bristles should be spaced sparsely, at a distance of 2 - 2.5 mm from each other and no more than three in a row. The height of the bristles should not exceed 10-12 mm. In Fig. 24, and the most rational and successful designs of toothbrushes produced by our industry are presented.
In the last decade, electric toothbrushes have appeared in our country and abroad. The need to use an electric toothbrush, according to a number of authors and designers of these toothbrushes, is justified by the fact that in a short period of time spent brushing teeth, they perform many times more vibrational cleaning movements than during manual brushing. In addition, the use of an electric toothbrush supposedly improves efficiency, since along with brushing teeth while hygienic manipulations produced by the mucous membrane of the gums, which improves blood circulation and promotes strengthening metabolic processes in the tissues of the oral cavity. At the same time, we must remember that electric gum massage is a relatively potent remedy, so before purchasing an electric toothbrush, you should consult with your dentist. It is also advisable to use it under the supervision of a dentist.
An electric toothbrush consists of a housing in which an electric motor is located, giving 3000 - 4000 revolutions per minute, a handle and a set of toothbrushes. The set usually contains 4 brushes - for a family of four. All of them different color. The power source is usually AA batteries, but in some designs they are recharged from the mains.
A toothbrush gets dirty easily and can become a source of infection. Therefore, it must be kept absolutely clean. A toothbrush is an item for individual use, and one brush cannot be used by two or more people, even if they are close relatives. Before use, a new brush must be washed thoroughly, then soaped and left in a glass overnight or for several hours. A new brush should not be boiled, as it will be exposed to high temperature loses its original shape. In addition, stubble may fall out. After soaping, the brush must be rinsed well with warm or cold running water. To disinfect the brush, you can leave it in a 40% alcohol solution for a day.
After each use, the toothbrush should be washed thoroughly with soap. In between brushing your teeth, the brush can be in a glass or cup, which should also be individual. There are many different recommendations on how to store a toothbrush to avoid getting dirty. So, it is recommended to store it under a glass test tube, head up or head down in a glass, in a special case, sprinkled with salt, soap, etc. Microbiological studies showed that the bristles of any toothbrush contain a large number of microbes that enter it from the air and the oral cavity. It is impossible to destroy all microbes on a toothbrush using the mentioned methods of storing it. However, it is necessary to prevent or reduce the possibility of pathogenic microorganisms getting on the toothbrush. For this there are quite accessible and simple ways. A.E. Evdokimov believes that it is most rational to store the brush during periods between brushing your teeth in a glass or cup, soapy, with the head down.
You can only store a toothbrush in special cases for a short time, especially when moving. Storing a toothbrush in a case for a long time deprives it of light and air, which promotes germs, including those that have a harmful effect on the body.
A survey carried out over a number of years has shown that quite often toothbrushes are used to clean teeth, which are already worn out and do not perform their cleaning effect. It is hardly possible to establish the exact timing of replacing a toothbrush, since their quality varies. However, in our opinion, a toothbrush should be replaced when it is no longer elastic and its cleaning effect is reduced. Experience and observations show that this occurs approximately 3 to 4 months after starting to use a toothbrush.
The choice of toothbrush depends on the condition of the teeth and soft tissues of the oral cavity, as well as the age of the person. Children need to use a special small brush to manipulate it freely in the mouth, cleaning consistently from all sides. The length of its head should not exceed 20 - 25 mm, and the width - 8 - 10 mm. Due to the fact that the enamel of children's teeth is less durable than that of adults, and the delicate mucous membrane is easily vulnerable, the bristles of a children's toothbrush, especially at the beginning of using it, should not be excessively hard. Teenagers and adults may have larger toothbrushes, but their heads should also not exceed 30 mm. It is better to use a brush with sparse tufts of bristles. In case of diseases of the hard tissues of the teeth (for example, with increased abrasion, as well as their sensitivity to external irritants) and the mucous membrane of the oral cavity (, etc.), it is necessary to use a soft toothbrush, having coordinated all manipulations with a dentist.
