Most people who brush their teeth over the course of the day don’t think too much about what they’re doing once they’ve got “the moves” down. It’s important to brush your teeth with the toothbrush at the right angle, which is about 45°, and it’s also important to brush your teeth with the right motions, such as circular or back and forth.

However, another important component of healthy, productive brushing of teeth is using the right pressure. But how does this play into good dental care?

Too Much Is Too Bad

First, let’s get the most important idea addressed. There really is such a thing as putting too much pressure on your teeth. Brushing your teeth isn’t a test of strength, and applying lots of pressure to your teeth and gums every day is not going to strengthen or toughen them up. So if you thought you were helping yourself get stronger teeth by being tough on them with a high amount of pressure, that’s not what was happening.

 In fact, by applying too much pressure to your teeth and gums regularly, you may be doing the opposite of what you’d hoped and weakening or even damaging them. Your teeth and gums are not like your muscles, where giving them a good work out causes some minor damage that allows even stronger tissue to grow back. No matter how much pressure you apply to your toothbrush, you can’t strengthen anything in your mouth this way.

The Consequences

 So what happens if you do decide to apply strong pressure to your mouth every time you brush? That depends on the condition of your mouth. If you have a healthy mouth, you may cause bleeding gums and may even injure your gums, leaving them exposed and susceptible to infection from gum disease.

If your gums are already in poor condition, you can worsen any existing conditions by not giving your gums time to heal, and subjecting them to new stress and damage every day. People who don’t brush with the right amount of pressure can give themselves dental problems they didn’t have before, or make existing ones more widespread and difficult to recover from.

The Right Pressure

So, just how much pressure should you apply when brushing? In terms of force, you’re better off with a light touch. If you find yourself pressing down hard on your toothbrush, you’re already exerting too much force. Another fact is the hardness of your bristles. Hard, sharp bristles do not necessarily do a better job when it comes to plaque removal.

In fact, if you already have gum disease or some other condition, you may be better off using a toothbrush with gentler bristles, such as a gum toothbrush or a periodontal toothbrush. These types of toothbrushes are much softer, and put the emphasis on technique, and covering a wider area, rather than just hard scrubbing.

If you’re trying to perfect your brushing technique, maybe we can help. Contact ZentFlex and look into our specialized line of brushes. You’ll get the right pressure and the right angle all in one brush.