Use your toothbrush properly (Picture: Getty)

There’s been a bit of an uproar about how Love Island stars are brushing their teeth with their electric toothbrushes.

Some have been criticised for scrubbing back and forth, while Michael was called out for using his brush to clean his tongue.

But do you know how exactly you should brush your teeth if you’re a fan of an electric toothbrush?

Dentist Dr Raha Sepehrara, from the Dental Suite in Nottingham says using one can really help with your dental hygiene – but you need to do it properly.


She tells Metro.co.uk: ‘I love my electric toothbrush and everyone in my family ( including my children) has one. I also recommend it to all my patients.



‘It really does make toothbrushing easier. They have timers to let you know when you have brushed for two min and they have alerts if you are brushing too hard.

‘They have a nice small head which is very effective at cleaning teeth, depending on the make the toothbrush head will either rotate or oscillate which makes the process very effective – but we can’t rely on the toothbrush to do all the work for us.’

Don’t scrub too hard! (Picture: ITV/Love Island)

He has some tips to make sure you’re getting it right:

Hold the toothbrush at the right angle

When brushing, make sure you hold the toothbrush at 45 degree angle to the gum line making sure the bristles are touching the tooth and the gum line .

Use gentle pressure

It is essential not to scrub or press to hard as you can cause gum recession, wear the enamel of your teeth away and end up with sensitive teeth.

Cover all the surfaces of the teeth

Brush the front, the back and the biting surfaces of all teeth

Brush for at least 2 minutes

If you do less, you are likely to miss out many areas

Use other dental aids to get in between the teeth

The toothbrush will clean most of the surfaces of the teeth but will not get in between your teeth and therefore it is important to use floss and/or other interdental brushes to clean in between the teeth

Don’t forget to clean your tongue

It turns out Michael was right to use the brush on his tongue. Bacteria can be found on your tongue and they can also cause bad breath.

Look after your toothbrush head and don’t share it with anyone

Make sure you replace the head regularly when the bristles become splayed (usually every 3-4 months).

Keep it away from other people’s toothbrushes and do not share with anyone as bacteria can be passed on from toothbrush to toothbrush.

Let’s just hope the Love Island contestants don’t completely destroy their teeth before they get out of the villa. Someone have a dentist on standby.

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