So I always thought toothbrushes were just these mundane, everyday items that you don’t think about. You use it, and rinse it when done, then maybe give someone else a sideways glance if it’s overtly frayed or strangely sticky – why?? – and that’s the end of that. Sure, they come in all sorts of colors and the names are sort of ridiculous with the aggressive sounding, Ultra Clean Max Force 3000 or something, but they’ve always kinda just been, —-tools. Function over form. You grab one, brush your teeth, and go about your day.
Until I saw a video that made me reconsider my entire brushing experience. Seriously, some little blip of a video on TikTok really flipped a switch in my brain.
This person, @jmac8781, posted one of those “did you know” type videos, and very casually drops in the fact that those different colored patches in the bristles of your toothbrush? Yeah, they aren’t just colorfully random. THEY MEAN SOMETHING. They’re, wait for it… toothpaste guides.
Seriously. That little darker piece of bristles, usually somewhere near the top? It’s not there just to add to the aesthetic, or distinguish your toothbrush from the others in the cup. It’s literally showing you how much toothpaste you should be using. Like a mini, silent dental assistant living on your sink. Crazy.
According to dental professionals who study this (not TikTok), adults are only meant to use a pea sized blob of toothpaste. Not a huge swirl that rests on the entire toothbrush like every commercial. And apparently, the colored bristle section is usually about that size. This whole time when I was maybe generous with my toothpaste usage, I was just wasting the product and being… useless.
Also, remember kids toothbrushes? More precise, apparently. The video said that for babies and kids under three, you can just use a smear – like the size of a whisper. And then, from three to six, it’s pea-sized again but that same blue area on the bristles? Yep, that is what you use to determine the amount to use. Which begs the question, how are we learning about this now? Has this been information and we’ve just… ignored it?
Also, the bristles themselves? They’re not all the same. At all.
Once I started to descend the rabbit hole of toothbrushes, then I learned that the bristles themselves are kind of a whole situation. And not in a nerdy, “here’s a list of bristles strengths” situation–like, actual science and innovation happening right under our noses, twice a day, every day.
So modern toothbrushes are made with nylon bristles, as of 1938. (Fun fact: this is not that long ago in oral health history as we were still figuring out about oral hygiene up to 100 years ago, ew.) Anyway, nylon changed the game. It was flexible, cleanable, and didn’t fall apart after a week like natural bristle brushes did. It was also functional, and did remove plaque from our teeth without creating bleeding gums. Win.
But now? We have silicone bristles too. Which are like nylon’s cooler, higher-tech cousin. Some dentists swear they’re even better. They’re softer, much gentler on sensitive gums, and kind of naturally antibacterial. Silicone doesn’t harbor bacteria the way nylon can. So if your gums irritate easily or you are grossed out over the idea of bacteria proliferating in your toothbrush, silicone might be worth a shot.
So yeah, it turns out that random $4 toothbrush you bought in the check-out line of the grocery store probably had more thought put into it than your last phone case. The color stripes aren’t random. The bristle material matters. And the shape, firmness, and layout of the bristles had probably done more work you can imagine while you have been brushing in autopilot mode, half asleep.
Back to this color thing for a second because I still can’t wrap my mind around it
Isn’t it funny how many years I’ve been looking at a colored strip right at the top of the bristles and just assumed it was . . . a style statement? a branding element? like, oh cool, my toothbrush has blue and green strips, how nice. all while it was over here trying to communicate to me! Visually – silently – telling me how much toothpaste to use, and I just completely ignored it! Squeezing on enough toothpaste to survive a natural disaster! The best part is that the companies don’t even bother calling this out, which makes it even stranger. Like, why isn’t this written in 50pt font on the packaging? “COLOR STRIP = TOOTHPASTE AMOUNT” feels pretty important? Maybe they think people just know this, or maybe they’re secretly fine with having us overuse toothpaste because it just means we buy more. Who knows?
So What Are We Supposed to Do With That?
So, if there is any lesson, which there likely isn’t: next time you pick up your toothbrush don’t just squirt the toothpaste on there like you’re a frosting decorator with an automatic squeeze trigger. Look at what you’re doing—look at the bristles—look for the color. Look for the color patch, and try to squish your toothpaste to that. That’s it. That’s the hack. It’s not going to change your life in a real significant way, but at least you may be using less toothpaste (which is good for your enamel and your bank account) and maybe you’ll have a weird sense of satisfaction that rock ragged-brushing with the rest of us rubes—for decades—is now a thing of the past as you finally use the toothbrush correctly.
Maybe try different bristle types if your gums are pissed. If you feel like you are being punished every time you brush your teeth, it’s probably not the right toothbrush. Soft bristles exist for a reason. If you’re like me and constantly battling inflammation, it’s possible silicone types may help as well.
And for the love of molars—clean your toothbrush. Don’t just rinse it and stick it back in the cup. It lives in your bathroom—bacteria central. Give it the attention it deserves. Air dry it upright. Replace it every 3 months-ish. You know this already, but now you know why it matters more than you thought.
Anyway. I didn’t expect to feel this way about toothbrushes. But here we are. Color-coded bristles. Bacteria-repellent materials. Infographic on how to use toothpaste. What even is this world?
The moral of the story? Toothbrushes are smarter than we give them credit for. Or maybe we’ve just been brushing wrong this whole time. Either way, I can never look at mine the same again.
