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Tips For Using Your New Electric Toothbrush

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Did you recently take your dentist's advice and purchase an electric toothbrush to improve your home care routine? If so, know that there is a bit more to it than simply moving that brush around like a normal toothbrush. Here are some tips to help ensure you're getting the most out of your high-tech toothbrush. 

Do Not Scrub Your Teeth  

Many people make the mistake of using their electric toothbrush exactly like their manual toothbrush, by using a back and forth motion to scrub the surface of the teeth. This is something that you should not be doing with an electric toothbrush since the toothbrush is already doing that scrubbing motion much faster than you can with manual movement.

With an electric toothbrush, all you really need to do is rest the toothbrush against your teeth for a short amount of time before moving the brush across your mouth. 

Use The Timer

Electric toothbrushes are going to have a built-in timer that lets you know when to move the toothbrush to a different part of your mouth. Some may have four timed segments while others may have six, depending on which electric toothbrush you own. You'll need to divide your mouth into sections so that you are brushing each part for the right amount of time. 

For example, if your toothbrush has four timed intervals you can easily break your mouth up into four quadrants that are brushed for 30 seconds each. You can then mentally focus on the front, top, and back surface of each quadrant for 10 seconds each to brush for a full two minutes.

Angle The Brush Properly

It's important that you angle the brush towards the gum line by holding the brush at a 45-degree angle. This allows the bristles to slightly go into the gum line and remove the plaque that is hidden in the pockets of your gums. Brushing along the gums is just as important as brushing the surfaces of the teeth since it helps keep your mouth healthy. 

Do Not Brush Too Hard

You want to use light pressure when using an electric toothbrush since you should be gently resting the brush head against your teeth and gums. Thankfully, many high-end electric toothbrushes come with a built-in pressure sensor. This will let you know if the brush head has too much pressure against it and beep to indicate that you need to ease off a bit. 

Consult a dentist near you to learn more about electric toothbrushes and their professional recommendations.


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