How often should you change your toothbrush?

You should change your toothbrush every 3 months! In my family, we change it when the season changes.

I had a patient yesterday with a failed implant. Now she has to go through the whole process again. It just became loose and it was easily removed. Why did it fail? It got infected.

She confessed did not regularly brush her teeth and as we were saying our goodbyes, she said with pride, “I’m still using the toothbrush you gave me!” I gave her this toothbrush at least 5 years ago! No wonder the implant failed!

Why do we need to change the toothbrush?

The most important reason is that it loses its effectiveness. The bristles become too soft and splayed to remove the plaque. This is why it often feels like a new toothbrush is too hard and causes some bleeding when we first use it; we get used to the softness of a worn brush and it is able to now clean the missed areas.

Another reason is the accumulation of microbes and debris on the toothbrush. As the toothbrush is used longer, the bacteria that are able to thrive in the environment of the toothbrush will accumulate. So when you use this old toothbrush, you are actually introducing these thriving microbes into your mouth!