Toothbrushes come in soft, medium and hard textures. I’ve always kind of prefered the harder ones – the bristles show less deformation and it feels like it’s doing a better job. That being said, I’ve hardly ever seen the “hard” toothbrush for sale in Canada. Maybe they stopped making them, maybe just a case of “preplanned obsolesence” if people throw out the soft ones sooner, maybe the hard ones cause damage or are disliked by Canadians or are less effective.
I went to Mexico a few months ago, and was kind of surprised to see many of the available brushes were hard. Maybe Mexicans have other things to spend money on apart from toothbrushes, prefer the hard ones or have less effective brushes dumped on a market with less stringent safety laws.
So, anyone can tell me why I’m having trouble getting hard?
In the Newmarket area, I find hard toothbrushes at the larger Shopper’s Drug Mart stores. Admittedly, there aren’t a glut of 'em, and I have to wade through the “Softs” and “Mediums”, but inevitably, I do manage to find them there.
I’ve been able to find them at Walmart in Ottawa, but only the REACH brand.
They’re listed as “Firm”
But they are hard to find. I usually pick up a couple when I can find them.
Seems they only order a few as they’re not that popular.
Interestingly, the last time at the dentists, I requested a Firm brush instead of the Soft one they hand out after the cleaning, and the hygienist looked shocked and said:
“You should not use a firm brush as it’s detrimental to your gums!”
Didn’t think of asking her for a cite at the time, but I’d like to know where she got that from.
Free hint. Go to a pharmacy, and speak directly to the pharmacist. State that you wish to purchase hard textured toothbrushes. If they exist in Canada, surely a pharmacist could order them for you.
According to my sister the dental hygienist, hard bristles are bad for your gums, and wear off the enamel on your teeth.
That, and most people brush too hard anyway (if your brush gets deformed after 3 months, you’re using too much pressure).
A quick Google search turns up lots of toothbrush-related sites, mostly from companies trying to convince you to use their product and not that inferior-other-guy’s brand. But some are dental sites, and they seem to agree with this one:
Several sites also say that most of us brush too hard anyways, whether our brush has firm or soft bristles. A preference for firm bristles in the belief that the brush will last longer may be false economy.
Dr. Paprika, I don’t think brushing once or twice a week with a hard toothbrush is going to cause any damage. I also appreciate the clean feeling a harder brush gives you. Do a Google search for “lactona hard toothbrush” and you will find some online. I keep one around to do a once-a-week scrub.
I have exactly the same problem here in Sydney. Whenever I go into a supermarket or pharmacy, there are rows and rows of soft and medium toothbrushes from which to choose, but no hard ones. However, I recently discovered one of those $2 junk shops in the city which had stacks of hard toothbrushes, so I bought up big and now have at least five years’ worth.
Awright! Finally a question I can answer with some certainty! As a large (otc) pharmacy retailer, I order and stock over a hundred varieties of manual toothbrushes (excluding spins, sonics, waterpiks, etc.). We currently carry exactly ONE listed as “Firm” (as a prior poster noted), in the Reach brand. I am routinely asked by customers why we do not have more, and the answer is simply that they aren’t made anymore. Not much anyway. I asked my dental hygienist about this during a routine visit, and she was truly mortified that people still wanted to use ‘hard’ brushes! Apparently, the dental profession is ‘on message’, but they don’t seem to be spreading the word too effectively. If you really like them, (and want to incur the wrath of your dentist), buy a case (they come 12/sleeve; 144/case) when you find them, and store them. They’ll keep (just about) forever out of sunlight!
Thanks for your replies. Guess the reason firm toothbrushes are hard to find here include most of my guesses. So is it unethical to be foisting firm brushes on the Mexicans?
Nope, according to her, even with soft bristles your brush should not splay out. This definitely takes some getting used to if you’re like me and have a tendency to scrub the bejesus out of your mouth.
Wow… I tried brushing lightly, and it just doesn’t feel quite right, like I’m half-assing it.
I wish there was some way other than those nasty red tablets to tell if I’m brushing effectively, so I can retrain myself to brush lightly and effectively.
My hygienist (who also teaches dental hygiene at the local community college) always recommends soft.
I use a battery powered electric toothbrush that has a rotating brush of soft bristles. I think it works great - much better than using a manual brush of any kind of firmness.
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