Предпазни мерки за четката за зъби

It is recommended to replace the toothbrush every three months to keep the tooth cavity clean and less worn. Regarding toothbrushes, there is another saying that is often mentioned: "Change it every 3 months". The basis for this statement is that after a period of use, the bristles of the toothbrush will be curled and damaged, and the cleaning ability of such an old toothbrush will deteriorate, and the health and hygiene of the teeth cannot be well protected. The three-month time period was based on the damage to most people's toothbrushes.

There is some basis for this claim in the early days. An article published in the "Journal of Clinical Periodontology" in 1986 examined the question of "whether old toothbrushes are ineffective in removing plaque." One group of volunteers did not change their toothbrushes for 10 consecutive weeks; the other group changed their toothbrushes every 2 weeks. After 10 weeks, the researchers compared their gum condition and the amount of plaque. It was found that the amount of plaque on the teeth of the first group of volunteers was significantly higher than that of the latter group of volunteers. There was no difference in the condition of the gums between the two groups. It does seem like an old toothbrush is less effective at removing plaque. Experiments have also shown that people are so different from each other. Some people's toothbrushes are terrible after only 2 weeks of use; some look good after 10 weeks.

However, as the investigation deepened, the Myth Crusher investigators found surprising follow-up research. In 1996, another article, also published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, addressed the issue again. This time, the researchers' experimental protocol was slightly different from the previous one. They compared the plaque of the same subjects using the same toothbrush at different stages. The experiment was carried out for 9 weeks, every 3 weeks as a phase. As the toothbrush wears on, the amount of plaque decreases. Likewise, the wear of a toothbrush over the same period of time varies from person to person. Even when volunteers were divided into "severe" and "minor" groups based on toothbrush wear, there was no significant difference in the ability to remove plaque between groups. Various experiments concluded that the old toothbrush is not inferior in effectively controlling the formation of plaque.