How often do you brush your teeth?
How often do you brush your teeth?
How often do you brush your teeth? Sure, we’ve all been told the ‘twice-a-day’ , but how many of us strictly follow it?
Are there any cultures out there with alternative practices that still maintain good oral health?
I’m intrigued to hear your brushing habits, thoughts on this, and any interesting findings you’ve stumbled upon.
A lot of y'all are clearly not as depressed as I am. It has been a struggle most of my adult life to force myself to brush my teeth. It's something I've gotten much better at lately, and I've luckily not had any serious dental issues yet. But I'm shocked that no one else has said they struggle with it. Y'all are inspirations.
Brush in the morning to keep your friends, brush at night to keep your teeth.
At least twice a day, usually three times a day, but I have "reasons".
After not taking really good care of my teeth for too many years, I needed surgery. I recovered completely and kept my teeth, but was clearly given the message that if I want to keep my teeth I need to be diligent about their care. I've lived long enough to understand the value of having a working, pain-free set of a choppers. So, I complied.
Once I had recovered from the surgery and infection, it became clear I needed braces, so my dentist suggested Invisaligns. These have the "benefit" of making you brush your teeth every time you take them off (to eat, to drink anything staining) and put them back on. I have to wear my braces 22 hours a day to comply with the treatment.
My normal routine is to get up in the morning, take my braces off, have as much espresso as I want and maybe some yogurt, then brush my teeth with a stain-removing paste (Arm and Hammer Peroxicare) and put my braces back in. Then at lunch I pop out the braces, eat, brush my teeth (Peroxicare), then pop my braces back in until dinner. Dinner, rinse repeat, but then I use a Crest Gum Detoxify before popping the braces back in before bed as part of my ongoing post-surgical routine.
I also use a water flosser at least once a day.
My teeth and gums are really healthy now and I intend to keep them that way.
I brush at least twice a day for 2min 30sec each time. I have an oral b io toothbrush that times it for me, and helps me know when I'm brushing too hard or too soft. I also brush for about 30sec before and after naps, or if I'm about to go out somewhere.
My husband makes fun of me for it, but my teeth are super important to me!
After breakfast and before bed everyday. Sometimes after lunch too. Keeps me from snacking, makes me feel fresh and my teeth stay healthy.
Usually 2x a day, when I get up and when I go to bed.
Twice, but there’s times when I’m too exhausted to bother.
Twice a day. One when I get up and one before going to bed. I floss occasionally.
Depends on my mood, if i have energy or not. I'm trying get back to how i used to, when i brushed multiple times a day, but i usually brush once a day on a good day.
Fucking hell there's a lot of dedicated people here, or a lot of liars.
I've been unable to build any kind of oral hygiene routine my entire life. My parents were absentee parents so I never built the habit when I was young. I've had major bouts of depression my whole life, I was only recently diagnosed ADHD, and in general am shit at any routines, and on top of that I never have tooth/gum pain to remind me to brush and the dentist doesn't hurt/bother me. Even having been in the military didn't establish any kind of routine. But I've definitely paid for it. I don't know how many thousands of dollars worth of crowns I have, and I know it's just a matter of time before I have to pay for bridges/implants.
It literally just doesn't occur to me that it's a thing unless I am specifically reminded externally and do it immediately. I've tried reminder apps, notes on the bathroom mirror, Alexa reminders, but they all become background noise after a while.
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i've been depressed my entire life and my dental hygiene used to be atrocious as a kid. these days, in my late 20s, i typically brush once a day in the morning and mouthwash before bed because the day takes a lot out of me energy wise and brushing my teeth ends up feeling like a monumental task. i go to the dentist every 3 to 4 months so more than the average person, but my insurance covers it. i use an electric toothbrush. i've only had one cavity and have all of my teeth including my wisdom teeth because they're not damaged and don't have cavities.
There's a recent podcast edition of Science Vs. about this very thing.
According to their interviewed experts and their research, brushing your teeth does nothing to prevent cavities UNLESS it's fluoridated toothpaste.
Flossing also doesn't really prevent cavities, but it is important for me gum health. They recommend regular flossing (more than once a week)
I have less than desirable teeth..I have a Few missing, but thankfully (?) they are at the back. I never flossed as a youth/young adult even though I brushed twice a day. Since getting my act together and regularly flossing, I've never had better oral hygiene.
Funnily enough I only brush once a day now
Twice a day, once in the morning or whenever I get ready for the day and once before bed. I also brush my tongue with a tongue brush/scraper. My current struggle is trying to get flossing into my routine. I know if I keep at it, it'll get better, but right now it's hard to want to go to bed with the taste of blood in my mouth.
To all of you who don't brush in the morning, are you all nose blind? Morning breath is the worst, second only behind coffee+morning breath. Have some consideration for your fellow humans.
I brush twice a day. I had a kind of gross moment that forced the habit. One day I looked up microscopic pictures of teeth. Normal teeth kind of look like a cool lattice structure under a microscope. Non-brushed teeth... the bacteria looked SO disgusting. I do not want that in my mouth...
I have a pattern which really works for me where I wake up, brush my night guard and brush my teeth with no toothpaste and then eat breakfast. That way I don't have the horrible mint toothpaste / orange juice clash I'm sure many of you are familiar with.
Then at night I floss and brush with toothpaste, and put in the night guard.
I used to make myself floss only every other day (like if I didn't floss last night I MUST floss tonight), which I highly recommend rather than sporadic or no flossing. But I recently upped my game to "every night except special occasions".
Twice a day, plus a small metal tongue scraper and flossing. I used to use mouthwash until I found tongue scrapers worked much better.
I tend to brush after I eat anything. If I eat 4 times, I'll brush my teeth 4 times. Sometimes I forget to brush immediately, but after an hour or two I can't take the way my mouth feels and I'll stop whatever I'm doing to brush them. It also helps that I like the way my toothpaste tastes :P
Twice: after waking up,before bed. Floss, tongue cleaner , mouth wash is a part of the ritual. On a related note : can recommend electronic tooth brush.
The amount of individuals here who brush post breakfast or not at all in the morning is alarming ! Of course, mental health can affect the schedule but that's a different conversation and is understandable.
The rest, how is your dentist not harassing about your oral hygiene?
Twice a day, and if I need to freshen up.
Every time I take out my Invisalign :( so 5-10 times a day.
Twice a day, but I occasionally miss the one at night after a night out. Still haven't had any cavities!
If Toothpaste Ads Were Honest:
If Dentists Were Honest:
I floss and brush religiously every night, have for many years. I had a cavity when I was young and the whole experience was terrible.
I still ended up with multiple cavities as an adult.
Twice a day: After breakfast and before going to bed.
The latter one goes with mouthwash, and at least once a week some floss. Has worked for me quite well. You might need some more depending on your genes, but it seems to be the golden middle I found for myself (and others who ask me), and even the dentist has yet to tell me to change anything in that routine.
Beginning of the day and after my last meal of the day, plus before I take a nap if I do (they feel funny if I don't)
2-3 times a day, depends
If I'm at work, I also brush after lunch
If I'm home, I just casually skip it because yeah fuck it
Usually twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening before bed. I usually floss once a day and use mouthwash and a tongue scraper occasionally.
Twice a day here, plus dentist every 6mos. I floss on and off (mostly off). Never had a cavity.
Twice a day, first thing in the morning and when I am going out in the evening. I use mouthwash about three times a day after eating.
Brush teeth and tongue in the morning and night, floss each night.
3 times a day. Someone once mentioned to me years ago that I hadn't brushed my teeth, and from the onwards I make sure to brush 3 times a day, every day.
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Twice a day (sometimes three). Once when I wake up, before breakfast/coffee (but might get pushed til after on occasion), and once before bed, every day. A third time might be in the middle of a day before heading out somewhere if my mouth feels like it needs it, especially if I've eaten something with garlic (etc).
When I was a child my parents never enforced or made sure I brushed my teeth, so I never learned to do it regularly. Like, I brushed my teeth once or twice in couple months. Now as an adult I had to learn to do it, and establishing new routines is hard (especially because I’m ADHD af). I have a rule in my head that bare minimum is once a day, good days twice a day, but I have depression days when I just don’t do it.
It’s a miracle I haven’t gotten any cavities in my life, and even tho I keep better care of my teeth nowadays, I have had a chronic salivary gland infections for years and my gums have painful blisters now and then. Apparently I have some autoimmune disease going on in my mouth area.
Edit: typo
3 times a day (breakfast, launch and dinner).
My problem is that I am not sure that I clean them well enough and I don't know how to clean them (I use an electric toothbrush too).