Is Toothbrush Cleaning Truly Necessary?

Ah, the human mouth. Never has there existed a worse den of bacteria, dirt, and infection. Bites from people are more likely to result in gangrene than any other animal bite. This happens because of a lot of bacteria is our mouths. When you think about the bathrooms we keep our toothbrushes in, there are numerous bacteria in them as well. According to yazdanidental.com, cleaning your toothbrush whether for a toddler or adult is vital. The process of having a clean toothbrush extends beyond rinsing it right after a brush. Sanitizing your toothbrush with a commercial product is one option, but it doesn’t kill all the germs in the bristles of the brush. Sterilizing in boiling water, on the other hand, kills everything on the brush, making it perfectly clean. The big question here is this: do you honestly need to sanitize or sterilize your brush?

Bacteria Grow in Scary Places

According to authorities like the ADA, there are no commercially marketed products that can actually sterilize your toothbrush. It isn’t even necessary to do so, as long as you take good care of it each time you brush. In fact, it isn’t a proven fact that the bacteria that grow on toothbrush bristles can have a harmful effect on humans exposed to them.

As a rule of thumb, remember that bacteria prefer to breathe and reproduce in the dark, moist spaces. If you have a toothbrush container or cover, consider getting rid of it. Get yourself a holder instead, so that it dries in the air and is open to the environment. It is a good idea to keep each brush standing on its own – you don’t want it to touch the bristles of other people’s brushes.

Rinse Your Brush in Warm Water

What do you do when you are done brushing your teeth? Most people would only give the brush a quick rinse, rinse their mouths, and leave. However, this isn’t nearly as useful as a proper rinse in warm water, which can clean out leftover food and toothpaste in the bristles of the brush.
Alternatively, you can sanitize your brush by soaking it in mouthwash for about 15 minutes. It doesn’t change the harm done by the toothbrush, because the bacteria don’t affect your mouth anyway, but it is a good precaution to take. Remember not to leave your brush in the mouthwash for too long. Don’t, under any circumstances, reuse that mouthwash.

Don’t Clean it in Weird Ways

Some people have rather strange ideas about how to clean their brushes. They use extreme methods like putting their brush in the dishwasher or the microwave to clean it out. This is an awful idea. Additional bacteria in your dishwasher could actively harm your mouth because of this, not to mention the chemicals in soapy water. If you buy an UV cleaner for your brush, refrain from using it too often. All these methods could physically damage your brush and reduce its effectiveness. The easiest way is to rinse thoroughly with warm water and let it dry in the air.

Toddler Care 101 – Keeping Healthy Teeth

As the parent of a growing child, there are many questions you have about toddler care. These include oral hygiene questions, like when you need to visit the dentist for the first time, whether or not a toddler needs to floss, and whether they need braces now as opposed to later in their lives. Unless you are a dentist specializing in oral hygiene, like the folks over at brace-your-smile.com, it gets pretty difficult to determine the level of care your kid needs. The primary goal of any parent is evidently the prevention of dental cavities, but the how is the part that might escape you.

When Do Children Have to Start Brushing Their Teeth?

Immediately. The basis of great teeth is having the care begin the moment your baby gets their first tooth. You might think that these teeth don’t develop till a few months after birth. In reality, your child had teeth six months into your pregnancy (twenty of them, to be exact). While you can’t see them, they are there, just out of sight, but fully developed.

When your child hits the age of two, start to teach them how to spit while they are brushing their teeth. Before spitting, this exercise needs to be done without water to rinse their mouths. You might think that water makes it simpler to swish the toothpaste around and spit it. But the truth is that it makes it easier to swallow toothpaste while swishing it in their mouths. This could lead to toxicity problems in children that young.

Set Special Drinking Times and Methods

If you have a baby, you’ll be feeding them when you want to. Keep a routine and assign special times for drinking fluids during the day. These times ensure that your child’s fragile teeth aren’t always grinding against each other through a bottle. If your baby is older than six months old, switch them over to a sippy cup, as it can be less damaging than a bottle. Straws are your best bet, although they can pose a choking hazard to the more inquisitive children. By the time they hit one years-old, they will be able to use a standard toddler cup on their own.

When Do You Take Them to the Dentist?

You don’t have to visit the dentist right away with your child. You can wait till their first birthday to do this. A dentist will give you some incredibly useful advice about what the correct ways to brush and floss your child’s teeth are as they continue to grow. A good dentist will also check your baby's mouth, teeth, and jaw for deformities and issues, so that they can be remedied before they get out of hand.

Not all dentists are good at taking care of dental issues common in children. The best dentist to visit is a pediatric dentist, someone who specializes in child care. This dentist will give you advice that can be used for years to assist in the development of healthy teeth and gums.