Why and how often you should change your toothbrush

I think that we all seen those commercials where they are like “change your toothbrush every 3 months” but is this the only time when we should change our toothbrush?

Thanks to dental school, I got to learn a lot about our toothbrushes, and this time I am sharing a bit of my knowledge with you. Continue reading to find out more about taking care of your toothbrush the right way.

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WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE IT?

The 3-month time frame is very correct for people that brush 2-3 times a day. If you brush for a shorter time (even though it’s not indicated) you can keep your toothbrush for a longer period of time.

Change your toothbrush after you had a cold, the flu, or a sore throat. After we have a cold the microbes continue to exist on our toothbrush even though we basically wash it every time we use it. To prevent getting sick again the best thing you can do it to throw it away and get a new one.

This one is pretty self-explanatory but make sure to change your toothbrush in case you drop it on the floor or like anywhere else and in case you accidentally touch it with any cleaning products.

Another reason why you should change your toothbrush it that the germs and microbes can easily make a “home” into the bristles of your toothbrush and we all want to avoid that!

A really good sign that you should change it is the aspect of the bristles start to bend or to look really bad.

HOW TO STORE IT

First of all, after you are done washing your teeth wash it under running water really well until there is no toothpaste left on it.

Store the toothbrush in a vertical position and make sure that the bristles are positions in a way they can air dry. Don’t put a cap on in or anything like that because you really want to let it air dry because if you don’t let it – germs and microbes again!

ELECTRIC OR NORMAL TOOTHBRUSH?

I’ve asked myself this question a lot of times in the past too and also read a lot of articles. In one class we learned that actually there is not a major difference between electric toothbrushes and regular ones so you don’t have to invest a lot of money in a electric fancy one.

It all comes down to how often you brush your teeth and how you do it. You can find a fun video on the Colgate site where you can see the proper method to do it. Check it out here.

I personally have an electric one from Philips but there are times when I fell like using a regular one so I have one too.

SOMETHING EXTRA

I’ve found out recently that you can buy a subscription for your toothbrush and decided to look up some for you all.

Bamboo toothbrush from Bam&Boo – they have sustainable products so you have to check them out;
These electric ones from Quip ;
This site has a wide range of toothbrushes you can choose from;
HiSmile has several plans and even lets you create your personalized one;