How to Make Your Toothbrush Last Longer

If you walk into any drugstore and head to the oral care isle, you will see practically a wall of toothbrushes. There are so many different types of toothbrushes for a variety of different prices. While you should absolutely change your toothbrush every three months, many people have to replace their toothbrush much more often. The bristles will begin to bend and overall the toothbrush will be much less effective at cleaning your teeth. At one point I was changing my toothbrush every few weeks until I discovered some tips on how to make my toothbrushes last longer and how to ultimately save money.

Don't Chew

I used to have this horrible habit of chewing on the brush part of my toothbrush while I was brushing my teeth. While the first few times of doing this isn't a big deal, if you do it continuously like I used to do, then it ruins and bends the bristles pretty quickly. With bent bristles, a toothbrush is much less effective when brushing your teeth. It took me an additional two minutes to get my teeth just as clean as before. So if you have this problem too, try not to chew on your brush and your brush will last much longer.

Dry Your Brush

Because you use your brush twice a day and there is a lot of bacteria in your mouth, it's important that you don't worsen the problem by leaving your toothbrush head wet. Unfortunately this can only amplify the bacteria problem and will do your teeth more harm than good. In order to prevent this problem, just simply dry off the head of your tooth brush before you put it away for the night or the day.

Microwave Your Toothbrush

This might sound incredibly strange, but let me explain. Back to the bacteria situation, with your toothbrush constantly having bacteria on it, it's important that you get rid of the bacteria as much as possible. A while back I was reading a health and hygiene article about microwaving your toothbrush and I've been doing it ever since. To sterilize your toothbrush, simply nuke it in the microwave on high power for about a minute or so. This will kill most of the bacteria on the brush.

Rinse with Hot Water

One of the main reasons toothbrushes don't last very long is actually due to the fact that many people don't fully rinse their brush when they're done. This can cause leftover toothpaste and food to sit between and on the bristles, causing damage to the bristles, as well as another bacteria problem. As a word of advice, what you can do is turn on your water faucet to the hottest water possible and run your toothbrush under it for about 30 seconds. The water should definitely be hot to the touch. This will help kill bacteria and also get rid of any toothpaste residue or food that's left on the bristles.

Rinse Your Mouth First

It's always a good idea to rinse your mouth first with either mouthwash or just plain water. This will help get rid of any excess large bits of food that may be hanging out in your mouth. This will also help your toothbrush last longer because you'll have to work much less at brushing since there isn't as many food particles in your mouth.