Best Brushing Technique? Who can say…

When it comes to the best way to brush your teeth, dental professionals often do not agree.

Researchers in Britain scoured the information available from dental textbooks, research studies, and  15 of the world’s leading dental associations and found little agreement among the supposed dental health “experts” about the best way to brush.

According to an article in the New York Times, “the study, published in the August issue of the British Dental Journal, found no randomized trials of brushing technique and very little agreement on how to go about cleaning teeth.” ‘Randomized trials’ are the gold standard of clinical study design. Without them, dental professionals are left to debate amongst themselves the relative merits of different brushing techniques.

Sources fall into two main camps. The first group, including the American Dental Association, recommends the Bass technique, which calls for holding the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gums and brushing in short back-and-forth strokes. While others suggest the Fones technique, with its wide, sweeping circles over the entire surface of the tooth.

Our office recommends the use of the modified Bass technique. You can watch this short video to see Dr. Berdy explain the best way to make sure you are taking care of your teeth for a lifetime.