Can You Brush Your Teeth Too Much?
By
Dr Shivam Jha
This blog post will address the topic, “can you brush your teeth too much” and cover topics like when and how often you and your children should brush their teeth, risks of over brushing your teeth and its prevention with proper tooth brushing technique.
Can You Brush Your Teeth Too Much
Yes, it is possible to brush your teeth too much. Vigorous and fast brushing regularly, with too much force can cause the outermost layer of teeth to erode, increasing the risk for dental abrasion, tooth sensitivity, and gum recession.
Over-brushing your teeth not only means brushing your teeth more times than recommended but also brushing incorrectly with extra force and pace.
It is therefore advised to concentrate more on “how” you brush your teeth rather than “how much” you brush your teeth.
When and how often should you brush your teeth?
It is recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA) to brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes each time with a toothpaste containing fluoride.
It is recommended to brush your teeth twice a day, once in the morning, just after waking up and once at night, just before going to bed.
You must also clean your teeth and gums, each time after you have food but not with a toothbrush. Simple rinse with water is considered good for overall oral health and hygiene.
While considering when to brush your teeth, you must keep in mind the type of food you just had.
Do not brush immediately after having any acidic food or drink as these acids weaken tooth enamel, and brushing immediately can cause enamel wearing or erosion making your teeth more susceptible to developing cavities.
Infants and Children: When and How To Brush?
It is important for infants and children to maintain good oral hygiene for a good overall health and development.
Use a soft-bristled infant toothbrush with a rice grain size of fluoride toothpaste for brushing their teeth.
Children 3 to 6 years old can brush their teeth twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, for 2 minutes each time using a pea-size amount of fluoride toothpaste.
It is important to supervise the brushing sessions of Infants and children, to prevent them from swallowing the fluoride toothpaste.
Risks of Over Brushing Your Teeth
Over-brushing your teeth not only means brushing your teeth more times than recommended but also brushing incorrectly with extra force and pace.
Vigorous and fast brushing regularly, with too much force can cause the outermost layer of teeth to erode, increasing the risk for dental abrasion, tooth sensitivity, and gum recession.
Dental Abrasion
Dental abrasion is a form of dental damage caused by incorrect application of force by any external object. In this case, it is aggressive brushing of teeth.
Over-brushing with aggressive force causes wearing away of enamel and finally the softer dentin and cementum, leading to yellow or brown spots on teeth near the gumline.
These yellow or brown spots or V-shaped indentation of the tooth along the gumline are also signs of dental abrasion.
Tooth Sensitivity
Brushing your teeth aggressively, wears the tooth enamel away, exposing the nerve endings of the dentin layer.
These exposed nerve endings when irritated due to any hot, cold, sweet or sour stimuli or toothbrushing, causes pain, sensitivity and discomfort.
Gum Recession
Regular over-brushing with too much force and with incorrect technique leads to gum recession, in which, the gums recede exposing the root cementum.
The exposed root cementum causes pain and sensitivity and also increases the risk of tooth decay.
Treatments to Protect Teeth After Over Brushing
Over-brushing of teeth leads to dental abrasion, tooth sensitivity and gum recession.
Dental abrasion and gum recession, if left untreated, may lead to caries and even tooth loss.
To relieve the discomfort of dental abrasion and dental sensitivity, your dentist may recommend treatments to protect the tooth and cover up the exposed dentin.
These treatments might include:
- Fluoride varnish to make the teeth surface strong
- Tooth-colored filling over the abraded area
- Veneer to cover up the exposed area.
Gum grafting surgery will be required to replace the missing gum tissue and protect the exposed cementum in cases of gum recession.
Prevention Through Proper Brushing Technique and Tools
The following mentioned proper tooth brushing techniques and tools can be followed to prevent from over-brushing and its after-effects:
- Use a soft-bristled toothbrush.
- Choose a fluoride toothpaste with optimum amount of calcium and low abrasive agent
- Use the proper tooth brushing technique
- Avoid brushing immediately after eating, especially when you have any acidic food or drink.
- Do not open bottles with your teeth, or hold any sharp objects in your mouth, or bite your fingernails, as all of these may lead to dental abrasion causing your enamel to wear away.
Practices To Have A Good Oral Hygiene
Once you know the basics of tooth brushing discussed above, here are some additional points to note:
- Drink fluoridated water: Fluoride strengthens the enamel and prevents dental caries.
- Say no to Tobacco: Tobacco in any form increases the risk of tooth decay
- Use a fluoridated mouth rinse: Fluoride reduces the amount of acid produced by the bacteria on your teeth and prevents tooth decay.
- Take fluoride as recommended by your dentist
- Upgrade to an electric toothbrush: Electric toothbrush helps remove excess plaque buildup from your teeth compared to a manual toothbrush
- Have a healthy diet with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables: This diet will cut-down the sugar that increases the risk of cavities.
HOW TO BRUSH YOUR TEETH IN 2 MINS: THE CORRECT WAY
Here is how you can brush your teeth in 2 mins with correct technique and avoid over-brushing and its associated discomfort:
- Use a small amount of water to lubricate your brush.
- Put a small, pea-size amount of toothpaste on the toothbrush head.
- At about a 45-degree angle to your gums , place the toothbrush into your mouth
- Use gentle, short strokes to brush your front teeth.
- Brush the outside surfaces as well as the back molars and upper areas of your chewing surfaces.
- Brush the inside surfaces of both top and bottom front teeth by flipping your toothbrush upside down.
- Brush your tongue to get rid of any bacteria or plaque.
- Spit out the remnants of toothpaste, saliva, and water into a clean sink.
- Rinse your mouth with cold water and you are done.
CONCLUSION
This blog post addressed the topic, “can you brush your teeth too much”. We understood when and how often you should brush your teeth, risks of over brushing your teeth and its prevention with proper tooth brushing technique. The article outlined the correct brushing techniques to avoid over-brushing and practices to maintain good oral hygiene.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs): Can You Brush Your Teeth Too Much
Is brushing your teeth 3 times a day too much?
No, brushing your teeth 3 times a day is not too much, if done gently and without getting vigorous and forceful.
When you do not brush your teeth for two or three times in a day, plaque build up occurs and the undisturbed plaque finally hardens to form tartar, giving a yellow hue to your teeth.
Eating and Drinking also allow accumulation of pigments on your teeth. These pigments give a yellow discoloration to your teeth.
Brushing three times a day does not allow these pigments to get absorbed in your enamel and thus prevents the yellow discoloration, giving your teeth a whiter look.
Is brushing your teeth 4 times a day bad?
Brushing 4 times a day at a gentle pace with correct technique and without any abrasive toothpaste is not bad.
Brushing 4 times vigorously, with or without an abrasive toothpaste can result in gum recession and enamel erosion and therefore causing sensitivity and loose teeth.
Is It Ok To Brush Your Teeth 5 Times A Day?
Brushing teeth twice a day for two minutes each time is recommended by the American Dental Association and generally does not have any disadvantages.
Brushing teeth 5 times a day becomes a disadvantage as it involves over-brushing. Over-brushing your teeth not only means brushing your teeth more times than recommended but also brushing incorrectly with extra force and pace.
It is therefore advised to concentrate more on “how” you brush your teeth rather than “how much” you brush your teeth.
Does brushing your teeth too much make them yellow?
Yes, if you have a habit of brushing your teeth too much, you may erode the outermost enamel layer of your teeth, exposing the darker, inner dentin layer, giving your teeth a yellowish or darker appearance.
Does enamel grow back?
Damaged enamel cannot grow back but weakened enamel due to abrasion or erosion can be restored through remineralization procedures.
Toothpastes and mouthwashes can contribute to the remineralization process and restore the eroded or abraded weakened enamel.
Other FAQs about Teeth brushing that you may be interested in.
Can not brushing teeth cause a sore throat?
Can You Brush Your Teeth Before A Covid Test?
References:
- Is Over Brushing Your Teeth Bad?
- How Often Should You Brush Your Teeth? (2021)
- Toothbrushing tips for young children. (2014).
- When and how often should you brush your teeth? (2021)
- Tooth Brushing Mistakes You Make and How to Fix Them. (2016)
- Fluoride, Oral Health Foundation
- Is It Possible to Brush Too Much?
- Can You Brush Your Teeth Too Much? (2019)