Common brushing mistakes

You might think you know how to brush your teeth correctly. After all, if you’ve been brushing your teeth twice a day for almost all your life, then you’ve had a lot of practice by now.

However, it’s surprisingly easy to make mistakes when brushing. For that reason, we’ve compiled a list of the most common mistakes people make when brushing their teeth.

Are you guilty of making any of the mistakes on our list? To find out what they are, read on.

Brushing too hard

Lots of people are guilty of this one. They use too much force when brushing their teeth, which erodes the enamel and gums. Over time, your teeth can feel sensitive if you keep brushing them too hard.

The key is to brush your teeth gently. Use a small, gentle circular motion instead of a hard scrubbing motion. This is just as effective and it won’t harm your teeth.

Brushing just after eating

Lots of people brush their teeth just after having eaten breakfast. This is, in fact, one of the worst times you can brush your teeth. When you eat, your mouth becomes more acidic, especially if you have something with a high pH, like orange juice. The acidity softens your teeth and makes them vulnerable. If you brush your teeth at this point, you could damage them. Ideally, you should wait instead for 30-60 minutes for your teeth to reharden.

Rinsing your mouth after brushing

Another common mistake people make is to rinse their mouth after brushing. Some people use water whereas other people prefer mouthwash. Whatever you use to rinse, you should do it before you brush your teeth, not after. If you rinse your mouth after you brush, you’ll remove all the helpful fluoride that was in the toothpaste.

Brushing too often

Some people brush their teeth several times a day, thinking they’re doing their teeth a good service. However, it’s not good to brush your teeth too often. It can erode your enamel and make your teeth sensitive, not to mention weaken your gums. It’s best to just brush your teeth twice a day and no more than that. The same goes for the amount of time you brush – only brush for more than two minutes at a time, no longer.

Not brushing enough

The opposite problem is not brushing enough. Some people think they can get away with just brushing their teeth once a day. Other people reckon they can just brush for half a minute and that will be enough.

It’s important to brush your teeth enough to protect your teeth and gums from disease. Make sure you’re brushing twice a day, for two minutes at a time.

Not brushing your gums

Another very common mistake is failing to brush your gums. It’s why lots of people have plaque on the area where their gums meet their teeth. Make sure to brush your gums carefully, or else you could get gum disease.

Not replacing your toothbrush enough

Finally, it’s also important to replace your toothbrush often. Many people don’t do this, and they let their toothbrush get old and worn-down. This isn’t good because it means

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