An oil painting requires a different style of brush than a fresco in order to create the best possible results. A flat wall in your home can be painted with a hand brush, a roller and even a spray device. Painting outside your house requires combining several different brush and spray options as well.
True artists and painters research which type of brush will give them the best results. Most painters have had a mentor, or a teacher, who handed down their own expertise and experience in “choosing the proper brush”. Even those of us who paint in our own homes ask the advise of the trained paint experts at Home Depot or Sherman Williams.
There are many, many options for oral home care brushes. Dental toothbrush manufacturers offer many choices and different devices all claiming to do the best job for you. They all claim that they are the best for keeping your gums and teeth healthy.
And, just like Michelangelo had to choose the correct and most effective paintbrush for his famous artwork, you have to choose the best toothbrush for your individualized dental home care needs. And, you may need a mentor, or teacher, to help you make the proper choice. Your kind dentist and your caring hygienist are the people who can help you pick the right brush and home care device for your unique oral health care needs.
In this first of two blogs on “selecting the best tooth brush”, I’d like to discuss “What is the Best Toothbrush for the Healthy Mouth?”. If you are in the minority of dental patients and you do not suffer from any type of gum disease, then you can use just about any toothbrush that you choose.
You can save money and use a simple soft bristled OralB, Crestor Colgate hand held toothbrush. If you have healthy teeth and gums, and you brush properly and floss daily, then you really do not need to spend any money on any special home care tools. Simply ask your dentist or hygienist to review current home care techniques with you at your dental cleaning and dental health check up and follow their directions.
If you find that you are not brushing as long as you should be (two minutes at least once a day) then you might want to invest in an egg timer or set your stop watch on your cellular phone.
Finally, if you want a toothbrush that tells you when you have brushed long enough you can spend your hard earned cash on an electric toothbrush with a timer. Again, if you are healthy you can use any brand of power toothbrushes, just be certain that the brush bristles are soft. Some of the less expensive electric and battery-powered brushes can be a little too hard and abrasive to your gums and teeth.
So, I suggest that if you have no gum problems and are genetically blessed with near perfect healthy teeth and gums, then save some money and use a manual brush and dental floss. Just be sure to keep up your professional care dental visits because even the best home care cannot keep all of the bacteria supporting plaque build up from returning.
Peter Vanstrom, DDS
