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How often should you change your toothbrush

toothbrush indicators

This is a Oral B Toothbrush with blue indicator bristles

How often should you change your toothbrush

Some people can use their toothbrush repeatedly until they misplace it. The average American only change their brushes 1.9 times a year. The American Dental Association recommends that you change your toothbrush at least four times a year, approximately 3 months and every time you are sick. If the  bristles of your toothbrush start flaring before three to four months, then you are using too much pressure to brush your teeth. Dentist believes toothbrushes should be thrown out after roughly 40 to 50 uses. Healthy people should change brushes every two weeks. People with gum problems, other oral diseases, or weakened immune systems should change toothbrush more often. People with a respiratory illness or other infectious disease should change their brushes at the beginning of the illness, again when they first feel better, and once again when they are well. Toothbrush replacement should also be practiced every day for patients who are recovering from major surgery because susceptibility to infections is higher at that time.

The easiest way to know when to change your brushes nowadays is to look at the indicators on the toothbrush. Usually the indicators  consist of two or three rows of bristles which are blue in color, when the blue color fades; it is time to change a new toothbrush.

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