An ORDO guide. Free, no sign-up. We are not healthcare professionals: this guide does not replace your dentist's advice.

You have been brushing your teeth for thirty years. Nobody has ever watched you do it.

These seven points come up constantly in the recommendations of dental professional bodies. None of them requires special equipment, and six out of seven are free.

1. Pressing hard

This is the most widespread mistake, and the most expensive. Plaque is a soft deposit: it comes off through contact with the bristles, not through pressure. Pressing does not clean better, it wears the enamel at the gum line and makes the gum recede. That recession never comes back.

The test: rest the brush on your palm. If the bristles flatten and splay out, you are pressing too hard. They should simply tilt.

2. Stopping at forty-five seconds

The recommended duration is two minutes. The actual average is around forty-five seconds. Without a timer nobody gets there: time spent with a mouth full of foam feels three times longer than it is.

The fix: a timer. Your phone, an hourglass, or a brush that stops on its own.

3. Forgetting the gum line

Most people brush the flat surface of the teeth and neglect the junction between tooth and gum. That is precisely where plaque settles.

The technique: angle the brush at about 45 degrees towards the gum, without forcing.

4. Brushing right after orange juice

An acidic food temporarily softens the surface of the enamel. Brushing straight afterwards means scrubbing a weakened surface.

The fix: rinse with plain water immediately, and wait about thirty minutes. Or brush before, not after.

5. Rinsing your mouth thoroughly afterwards

This one surprises everybody. The fluoride in toothpaste works by staying in contact with the enamel after brushing. Rinsing heavily washes it away immediately.

The technique: spit, do not rinse. You get used to it in three days.

6. Keeping the same head too long

Splayed bristles no longer clean: they slide instead of gripping. The general recommendation is to replace the head every two to three months, and systematically after a sore throat or the flu.

The visual cue: if the bristles fan out, it is done. Do not wait.

That is also why ORDO ships with two spare heads rather than none: a head you do not replace is a head you keep three months too long.

7. Believing the brush is enough

A toothbrush, whatever it is, only reaches three of the five faces of a tooth. The two faces touching the neighbouring teeth are out of its reach. That is exactly where most cavities between teeth begin.

The complement: floss or interdental brushes, once a day. Your dentist will tell you which size to use.

No electric brush, at any price, replaces that step.

Bonus: where you store your brush

Head up, in open air, no cap. A cap traps moisture and turns the head into a culture medium. And keep it away from the toilet.

In short

• Pressing hard → rest it, do not press
• 45 seconds → 2 minutes, twice a day
• Flat surface only → angle 45° towards the gum
• Brushing after acid → wait 30 minutes
• Rinsing heavily → spit, do not rinse
• Keeping a head 6 months → replace every 2 to 3 months
• Relying on the brush alone → floss or interdental brushes, once a day

See the ORDO brush — two-minute timer, a signal every thirty seconds, two spare heads included.