This is a bizarre title to this post, however the answer is yes. I am seeing more toothbrush related damage every day. What I mean is damage caused to the teeth by brushing improperly. This has been exacerbated by the widespread use of electric toothbrushes and the use of toothbrushes with anything but soft bristles. I am not sure why toothbrush companies even make anything but a soft bristle tooth brush. A high powered electric tooth brush with hard or medium bristles is a recipe for some serious potential damage. However, if used properly, an electric toothbrush is a great asset to oral hygiene. This damage will occur at the gumline and will initally present as gum recession to be followed by wearing a divot-like spot at the gumline that may or may not be extremely sensitive to cold. This is caused because as the gum recedes down the tooth to escape the irritation caused by brushing improperly, it exposes a soft surface of the tooth that is not designed to withstand such assaults and will quickly form a worn area in the side of the tooth. To avoid this sort of problem is easy. NEVER buy toothbrushes with anything but soft bristles. When brushing, you can brush the tops of your teeth any way you like, however when brushing the sides of your teeth, especially near the gumline, you need to brush with light pressure making circular motions rather than the sawing motion that I can gurantee better than 99% of people use to brush their teeth. When brushing the sides of the teeth the objective is to lightly get the bristles of the brush under the gum for cleaning. Remember: “More elbow grease” does not mean your teeth are cleaner, but rather means that you are likely doing damage to your teeth.
