I almost always read in the news/press that dentists recommend to brush teeth two times a day for 2-3 minutes.
This drives me crazy, because it does not make sense; The point for dental health is to systematical clean every surface of your teeth twice a day (and use inter-dental brushes/floss once a day). For me, brushing my teeth takes around 6 minutes, if I hurry up. For someone faster it might be possible in 1 minute.
So, why do dentists always give the 2-3 minutes recommendation?
Buy high fluorine toothpaste and put a TINY (I mean, miniscule amount) on your toothbrush. There should be only a few speckles of the stuff on there. Then brush just enough to ensure each and every nook and cranny is covered in the stuff, rinse and spit. If the next time you go to brush you still taste the toothpaste, you put on too much and therefore don’t need to reapply it. Just put on a little less next time.
Never had a cavity since I started doing that, and I’m not even a 1/16th through the tube. Best money I ever spent.
EDIT: A few other dental tricks that will help dramatically:
- You don’t need to brush twice a day, once is plenty and preferably before bed
- Don’t brush right after eating/drinking especially if it was acidic, that tears your enamel apart
- Use only a pea-sized blob of toothpaste, if you use it like they show you in the commercials, you’re an idiot
- The primary goal of brushing is to apply fluoride, the secondary goal is to get shit out of your gums
- Tooth whitening is a scam designed to poke at your insecurities. If you buy into it, you’re an idiot
- Dr. Fortnite says floss every night. Use a water flosser or pay attention to how your dentist flosses as their technique is immaculate
- All floss is blood-flavored, do not try to push back against this universal truth for it is absolute
- There is no sensation more elating than your dentist actually being impressed at your dental health
- Some toothpastes and flosses cause cancer, research which ones and stay away from them
- A Colgate tee shirt looks almost exactly like a supreme one and costs a fraction of the price
Okay you already had my attention but I’m absolutely running with #10
i find it inconvenient to do that every day, so i brush once a month for 2 hours.
With this simple trick you can save time EVERY DAY
I think it’s an average estimate, not a hard rule.
The exact time doesn’t matter, but it’s an approximate reference for how long you could aim for
- some people don’t brush enough
- some people brush too much (harms enamel and damages gums)
In a sense, I guess op is right though — I recently read that ~70% of people in a study were brushing ineffectively, no matter how long they were told to brush. Their brushing only improved after being told to make sure to brush every every “sector” of their teeth.
I’m also like you with my timing but most people I know say I take ages with my teeth. Apparently most people are done with their brushing in less than one minute. Therefore, dentists recommend spending at least two or three. I don’t think you need to brush for less time than what you already are.
Thanks, good to hear, I am not the only one. :-)
So I’ve had something like 25-30 cavities filled in my life. I haven’t had a single cavity in 10 years, though. I brush only once a day, and floss. The trick is flouride rinse afterwards. That’s the secret.
but the fluoride is gonna turn me into a government sleeper agent!1!!?!
Only if it gets in your water
Have you asked your dentist?
Fair and good question. I literally ask my dentist on every single visit the following points
- is my dental hygiene ok?
- do I damage my gums with my brushing?
- what can I improve in my dental hygiene?
The dentist always tells me it is okay and I cannot do more, than I am doing.
Are you aware some of us can’t afford that?
This, so much!
It really makes me angry, that there is no free dental hygiene training for children/teenagers.
I life in a comparatively rich society (Germany), but our retarded health care system pumps billions every year in preventable diseases (like most dental problems) and exactly zero in prophylaxes.
Since OP has firm views about what dentists says, I’m going to assume that they visit the dentist on occasion.
I’m not. I read the lit and do what I can.
Ah yeah this hits a nerve for me: the idea that some individuals are the arbiters of medical science and knowledge. Answers to questions like “why should I brush my teeth” is something to be found in a textbook, hopefully at a public library, not to be dispensed out by some individual with fat fees.
You are harming your teeth if you brush them that much, that’s why. Overbrushing is just as bad as brushing too little.
Brushing for longer has diminishing returns and hurts your gums. I’m just speculating, but it’s mostly about removing debris from your mouth and applying flouride to your teeth.
My electric toothbrush does 30 seconds per quadrant, 2 minutes total. I’m 38 have zero cavities and my teeth are fine. I only brush once a day.
There’s other factors than just brushing your teeth but brushing is probably the easiest factor that most people can reasonably take control of.
Genetics, obviously you can’t do much about. But you can avoid sweets and decide not to get pregnant (hormonal changes during pregnancy can cause mouths to get more acidic and make plaque harder to remove, and can also soften the gums and bones that hold teeth in, or even weaken the teeth directly). Also, if you want nice teeth, it’s especially important to abstain from smoking crystal meth. And that’s even more important during pregnancy.
But telling everybody “brush twice a day for two minutes” is a small ask with huge returns.
There are two things with brushing your teeth: first, the mechanical action of the brush and the microparticuls in the toothpaste will clean the tooth. Second, the fluorine in the toothpaste will consolidate the enamel of the tooth, but it needs a bit of time to be absorbed.
This is why it’s important to use real toothpaste and not the natural shit you can do yourself at home.
So 2-3min is the right time to brush the tooth and allow the fluorine to be absorbed. Some dentists will also tell you to not rinse the mouth, only spit the saliva and paste, I imagine so that fluorine has more time to work.
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Because it should take you about 2 minutes to brush your teeth.
If you’re actually brushing for 6 minutes straight, you’re overdoing it and damaging your enamel and gums.
Brush gently, floss thoroughly.
Seriously, I have no idea how one could brush teeth in 2 minutes. I brush gently, use the simple swipe away from the gum technique and just work systematic chewing surfaces, inner surfaces, outer surfaces. Each part gets 2-3 swipes. I had a professional dental cleaner teach this technique to me, and she also told me that she couldn’t finish within 3 minutes. (Do not misunderstand me; I would happily get away with 2 minutes.) BTW flossing is another interesting topic, AFAIK there is no study which can show that flossing helps your teeth/gum. (I floss daily, but I just cannot understand why there is no study which supports this practice.)
Wait, so the summary states clearly, that a.) flossing is effective b.) mouth rinsing is more effective?!? It seems to good to be true, why does not every producer of mouth rinsing make advertisement with this? I also always ask my dentists about tips for dental hygiene, and none every recommend mouth rinsing. (Germany)
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I was stupid enough to believe the interview with a dentist a few month back in a reputable German newspaper. Now I feel dump for not doing my own research. Thanks for helping me out of ignorance!
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No, it’s not. I have never brushed my teeth too hard and have always used very soft toothbrushes, but I used to brush for 6-7 minutes, and my gums have suffered for it. Way too much of my teeth are now exposed, which is both ugly and causes sensitivity.
In the long run, if one keeps this up, teeth will start falling out.Don’t overbrush.
I am sorry to read about your gum problems, fingers crossed it does not get worse!
My electric toothbrush works in four 30-second increments. Each 30 seconds is plenty of time for me to cover a quadrant. I slowly go over the outside, inside, top/bottom, gums in each quadrant. Maybe if I was meticulously brushing each tooth one by one, I could see the issue, but that’s not necessary, is it?
