Brush your teeth twice a day and floss at least once. 

It’s pretty common to hear your dentist recite this mantra during your appointment. And it’s often repeated for good reason: it’s sound advice. 

Keeping teeth and gums healthy is much easier when you follow a daily brushing and flossing routine. But there are times when patients tell us they’re trying to go the extra mile with their oral hygiene and we can see the effects of their enthusiasm. 

The dark side of teeth cleaning  

What we’re about to tell you isn’t easy for us dentists to say. It goes against everything we stand for, but at Keppel Dental, we’re not afraid to tackle tough dentistry topics. Even if that means saying things that are sometimes a little controversial. So here it is.

Brushing can be bad for your teeth. 

There! We said it! It wasn’t easy. But now it’s out in the open it’s important we explain ourselves because this isn’t permission to skip brushing. It’s a chance to share what we know about the dangers of toothbrush abrasion.  

What is over toothbrush abrasion?

This is the technical name for over brushing and affects teeth and gums. Abrasion happens when you:

• brush too hard
• brush too often
• brush too fast
• brush too long
• use a toothbrush with bristles that are too firm.

Receding gums and the loss of tooth enamel as a result of over brushing may cause teeth to feel more sensitive. In extreme cases, toothbrush abrasion weakens teeth, so chips and cavities are more likely. 

Only small changes are needed in your oral health routine to avoid overbrushing.

3 Ways to avoid the risks of over brushing

1. Use a soft bristled toothbrush

Broadly speaking, the dental community agrees that soft bristles are better for teeth and gums. They’re as effective as firm and medium brushes but are less likely to damage the mouth. Especially when cleaning along the gum line, where gum recession from over brushing is a risk. The same is true about protecting the enamel on your teeth. If you’re an over-enthusiastic brusher, using a soft brush is less likely to wear away your natural layer of tooth enamel.

2. Time your brushing

Brushing teeth for longer won’t make them cleaner. The Australian Dental Association recommends brushing for around 2 minutes, twice a day. Set a timer on your phone or buy a 2-minute egg timer you can leave in your bathroom. As soon as the time’s up you can stop brushing. 

3. Go lightly

Pushing firmly with your brush against teeth and gums doesn’t remove more plaque or bacteria. A sign that you’re probably applying too much pressure is if brush bristles splay outwards during clearing. This not only damages teeth but means you’ll need to replace your brush more often. A light touch is all that’s needed. Just enough that you can feel the brush moving over your teeth and gums. 

If your teeth and gums are showing signs of over brushing, your dentist is likely to say something and offer some tips on how to improve your brushing technique. 

Fixing damage caused by over brushing

There are treatments that can help your teeth recover from tooth abrasion. The best course of action depends on the type of damage and how severe it is. 

For example, the advice for treating teeth that become sensitive as a result of over brushing may be to switch to a toothpaste designed for sensitive teeth and start using a soft-bristled brush. Not only will brushing feel more comfortable but it can help stop more tooth enamel from wearing away. 

In more severe cases where holes in the teeth have appeared, your dentist may suggest a dental restoration treatment. This could mean getting a composite filling or glass ionomer to protect your natural tooth.  

Treatment for receding gums is a little more substantial. Like enamel, gums that have worn away don’t grow back. The only way to lessen the appearance of gum recession is by having a gum graft. This is a relatively new procedure in the world of dental surgery. 

Gum grafting involves removing gum tissue from another part of your mouth (usually the roof of the mouth) and attaching it to the area where the gum has receded. Healing may take a few weeks and a follow up appointment with your dentist to check the results of the graft is needed. 

Banishing over brushing from your cleaning routine

The symptoms of over brushing teeth can be avoided by making small changes to how you clean your teeth.

• Use a soft toothbrush.
• Only brush your teeth for 2-minutes at a time.
• Use a light touch, the brush bristles splaying outwards is a sign of too much pressure.

If you feel your teeth and gums are already a victim of enthusiastic cleaning, then speak with your dentist or oral health therapist. They’re always happy to share advice on how to brush your teeth correctly.
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When the bristles go soft and your teeth still feel cruddy despite your recent brushing, you know it’s time to toss your toothbrush and get a new one. 

But after you’ve chucked it in the bin, where does your old toothbrush go? 

The truth is, nowhere.  

A plastic toothbrush takes approximately 400 years to decompose. That means even the first toothbrushes, which were made in the 1930s, are still buried somewhere. If that’s not mind-bending enough, according to National Geographic you’re likely to use around 300 toothbrushes during your lifetime. And that’s just you. When you consider there are 7.8 billion people in the world who potentially use lots of toothbrushes too… Well, that’s a big number of toothbrushes heading to landfill. 

It’s a scary thought.

These billions of toothbrushes impact our environment. They’re part of the plastic problem. Facts provided by the Tangaroa Blue Foundation tell us:

• Eight million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year 
• 40,000 pieces of plastic are estimated to float in each square kilometre of the ocean 
• 75% of what is removed from beaches is made of plastic 
• 800 species worldwide are affected by marine debris (plastics cause death to more than a million seabirds and more than 100,000 sea mammals each year).

But you’re just trying to keep your teeth clean, why should you care about recycling your toothbrush? 

A few reasons.

Toothbrushes are made from a mixture of different plastics, rubber and crude oil (petroleum) that can be harmful to the environment. During the manufacturing process, more plastic and crude oil is used. Crude oil is non-renewable and the usage of it increases the demand for oil wells (impacting habitats and ecosystems). While we can’t avoid this in general we can lessen the need for it by making simple changes, like the toothbrushes we choose and how we dispose of old ones. 

Switching your toothbrush can help the planet

Being aware of how we impact the environment and our future is key. Doing what you can to help is as much as anyone can ask. Fortunately, there’s plenty of clever alternatives out there, especially when it comes to toothbrushes. 

As dentists, we’re very keen to make sure you continue to care for your teeth while saving the planet. Choosing to use a non-plastic toothbrush is a simple, environmentally friendly step you can take to decreasing the amount of plastic you use. 

Use an eco friendly toothbrush

Biodegradable toothbrushes don’t take 400 years to disappear. Environmentally friendly cornstarch or  bamboo toothbrushes generally take 5-6 years to decompose. If you have a composter, it can take less than a year! Some companies even got the extra eco-mile and package their biodegradable brushes in biodegradable packaging. Nice. 

There are lots of companies offering fun, plant based brushes in different sizes and colours. Just ask Google. Some even offer subscriptions, removing the pain of you having to remember when it’s time to replace your toothbrush. 

If a bamboo or cornstarch toothbrush doesn’t tickle your fancy, how about toothbrushes made of recycled plastic? This doesn’t mean you get a toothbrush previously used by someone else. (Yuck!) But it does mean the plastic has had another life previously. For example, it may have been made from old yoghurt pots. 

Making more out of your toothbrush

Using an eco-firendly toothbrush is one way you can help the planet. The other is by recycling your old toothbrushes.

Depending on the type of plastic, your old toothbrush can be:

• Reused – the materials are cleaned, separated and reused around the world. 
• Upcycled – existing products are used to create new products, or they are repurposed 
• Recycled – plastic is separated and melted into pallets that can be used to create new plastic products (eg. the yoghurt cup toothbrush!)

Giving your old product a new life rather than creating toxic landfill is an easy way to do your bit. 

You can also upcycle old toothbrushes yourself. Author Kathryn Kellogg , writer of 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste, has great ideas on how to reuse your old toothbrush here. 

How to recycle your toothbrush

Recycling company TerraCycle are helping in the fight against dental products ending up in landfill. Supported and funded by well-known oral health brands, they encourage us to use their recycling program which accepts old toothbrushes and empty toothpaste tubes. 

Handily, Keppel Dental is your local recycling point for dental products. Just hand your old brushes in at reception and we’ll put it in our recycle box. 

Accepted products include: 

• manual toothbrushes, 
• electric toothbrush heads, 
• empty toothpaste tubes and 
• floss packets. 

Set a reminder to bring these to your next Keppel Dental appointment. All we ask is that the products are clean and dry. Please remove all leftover toothpaste and floss.  

The cherry on top? Bring us your old toothbrushes and we’ll reward your love for the plant by giving you a new toothbrush.