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.
I made this post, because I have gone through anxious and depressive states where I have completely overlooked it for weeks.
Sometimes it just falls from the priority list. Can be hard enough getting out of bed some days.
It may seem like a simple little thing. But often they are the hardest.
✌️💛
Doesn't your mouth taste bad if you just don't do it regularly? Honestly even general hygiene concerns aside, I'd do it twice a day just to get the fresh feeling. Maybe you could try some different toothpastes to find one that makes you really want to do it and not just feel like it's something you should do?
Wow I never connected this with anxiety/depression but that makes a lot of sense now that I hear it.
I didn’t go to the dentist and didn’t brush my teeth but for maybe the occasional time or for a spurt of a week or two here and there for about the last 15 years, starting in college. I always thought I was special because my teeth didn’t seem to know the difference and my mouth “felt” better. It wasn’t until about a year ago when I had a moler snap in half while eating dinner that I realized I might have an issue. I went to the dentist to have that replaced and was told I needed to make a change or this would keep happening.
I’ve now managed to get myself back on the habit of brushing at least once a day, usually before bed. My mouth hated it at first but after the first month or so it was so much better. I can’t believe I let myself go like I did…
I’m right there with you.
I’ve had good and bad periods of my life, with regard to how well I treat my teeth.
Currently trying to curb a bad period. Brushing daily is a struggle.
I put out reminders and set alarms on my phone.
But depression is a hell of a thing and it can honestly be surprising when I realize it’s been a week of ignoring my alarms and reminders.
My hygienist has been thoughtful about my mental health situation. But I always feel terrible before a trip to the dentist.
I was once a flossing consistently, bruising 2-3 times a day rope guy.
Trying to get back there. But everything is up hill and some things suffer.
During my more depressive episodes my dental hygiene seriously suffered, and due to covid I didn't go to my bi-annual checkup. Last summer I got a sudden and extremely painful toothache, and it turned out my teeth could make swiss cheese jealous. I ended up having to have one of my molars pulled (I had to expedite the process a bit after it literally started falling apart), two root canals (one of which I still haven't had), and a fuckton of small holes to fill. The whole ordeal ended up being really painful and expensive. I'm still not as on top of it as I should wish, but I found that buying an electric toothbrush made it a lot easier, and I also force myself to brush at least every morning. The pain and debt are also good motivators...
Years of depression put me in a spot where I had multiple huge face-swelling problems. Brushing is an afterthought when you hate life and want to die. I hope you're doing well.
I also wrote something like that.
Somebody really needs to figure out a better way to do this.
You ever been tested for ADHD? This could be a symptom of that.
When I wake up and before bed
Same, but I've combined my teeth brushing with showering. It gives you a nice excuse to zone out in the shower for just a bit longer.
Only once per day, in the evening before bed. I have done it all my life(except when I was a kid) and it seems to work for me. Never had any issue with my teeth, at all. I know I should probably do it in the morning aswell, but I cant bother since what I do now works...
The brushing just before bed is the most important one, so you picked a good bare minimum to uphold. No shade, just curious: how old are your teeth?
I'm not the guy, but I'd like to challange my English by talking about this topic. I brush my teeth on a "when I remember to" or "when it's really dirty". so like twice weekly probably. If I need to apear tidy I ofc brush before it. the only problem with my teeth is that they are not straight, very all over the place actually (hope fully I can get braces soon). Regarding cleannes, (to my knowladge) all my teeth are fine, except of a bit of tartar (hopefully correct word, the hard stuff that acumilates and sticks to your teeth) on two of my teeth. The scary part is thst the dentists I've been to did not say anything about it, which leaves me to think they didn't even see it, that leaves me again to, what else didn't they notice? The thing that I notice and hints that I should brush is the frequent canker sores (again, let's hope the right word, little annoying ass white spots that, apears, hurts than dips)
TL;DR: fine, nothing unfixable, minor annoyance
I'm 35 years old, I guess teeth slightly younger!
I’m a once before bed kinda guy atm.
Mouthwash in the morning perhaps. Have a bottle in my car.
My gf used to not brush her teeth in the morning and it stank pretty bad, still I was the first to tell her. Chances are, people arent telling you either.
My wife is pretty sensitive to smells, so I'm sure she would tell me if that were the case. Also, I practise intermittent fasting, so I don't eat anything before lunch, maybe that helps....
I have gingivitis, hereditary. So I strictly brush after every meal, and try not to forget to floss. My mom wasn’t as rigorous and now she has major teeth and gum issues, so I don’t want to end up the same way.
Sorry to hear. Good your on top of it 👍
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.
thats awesome that you were able to turn that around! I'm looking at doing invisalign here soon too.
I hate it so much. I can't stand standing in the bathroom in front of a mirror and fiddle with my teeth. That whole experience is just wholy depressing, and then the foul taste on top of that. I try to at least brush and use mouthwash when I wake up and am groggy enough to not mind that much.
As much as I agree, life is a whole lot more depressing if you DON'T take care of your teeth.
I brush mine in the shower.
I mean I couldn't do that either, not for very long at least. I have the tendency to walk around aimlessly when doing something like that (same when I'm on the phone), which means I have to clean the floor after. So mostly I either brush my theeth in the shower or I sit down/lie down.
Damn, I just noticed that my theeth brushing habits are probably very weird, bit hey, at least that way I do it 2 - 3 times a day.
Have you considered covering up the mirror with like curtains or something so it's not as self-conscious an act? Might help idk
It's not the mirror (for me at least), it's the whole room, and the feeling of messing with the teeth, the scraping in the ears when brushing, all that.
Sometimes I put on earphones with an audioshow or something, which makes some aspects slightly more tolerable, but others even worse.
I only ever brush before going to bed, never in the mornings.
I probably started doing this around 6-8 years ago, and have had no problems at my annual check-ups.
Dude your breath probably smells and people are too polite to tell you.
On your tongue there are a lot of anaerobic microbes (on everybody's tongue, it isn't a hygiene thing, they just live there). When you have your mouth closed for a long time, it creates a oxygen poor environment and these microbes thrive in that. They cause bad breath, so after people sleep or simply have their mouth closed for a while, the breath starts to stink. If you look in a mirror and your tongue has a kinda white or brownish tinge, this is because of the microbes. Everybody should brush their teeth and especially their tongue after sleeping. When looking in a mirror the tongue should be entirely pink and look healthy. Clean the tongue as far back as you can, to prevent bad breath.
If you smoke this isn't true, your breath will stink no matter what.
So for your teeth it probably won't matter much not brushing in the mornings, but for your breath it matters a lot.
Genuinely feel for people who have to spend time in enclosed spaces with you.
Congratulations for winning the genetic lottery with the robustness of your teeth, but brushing is also about hygiene. Body odour isn't physically bad for you, but it is for everyone who has to be near you. Same with your breath.
After breakfast and before bed everyday. Sometimes after lunch too. Keeps me from snacking, makes me feel fresh and my teeth stay healthy.
Once in the morning (with a tongue scraper beforehand), once before bed (with flossing and the tongue scraper beforehand).
Seems to work well enough so far. Oh and an electric toothbrush is a must.
Won't breakfast taste nasty with that toothpaste taste?
Not really, because I don't go straight to eating. After getting out of bed I first brush my teeth (or go to the toilet, depends), then I shower. Afterwards I make breakfast. So between brushing my teeth and eating there's roughly around 20-30 minutes. With a glass of water before taking the first bite there is no taste left.
I've thought about brushing before or after breakfast for a while and neither way seems great. Before is great because you lose the bad breath from the night. After is nice too, except you like coffee for breakfast. General rule is always: Don't immediately brush before or after eating, especially if you eat anything acidic, that fucks your teeth up.
I regularly started flossing during COVID because I went a while without having a dentist appointment. I was shocked at how much brushing and mouthwash misses on a daily basis.
Usually 2x a day, when I get up and when I go to bed.
Twice a day. One when I get up and one before going to bed. I floss occasionally.
Twice, but there’s times when I’m too exhausted to bother.
I'm surprised by how many people do that after every meal. Is it good for enamel?
Mouthwash. Tongue scrapers. Multiple times a day. I feel like it’s overkill. But I dunno 🤷♂️
I’m shocked, because in my country every dentist would recommend you to do it 3 times a day, so hearing there are people out there only doing it as much as twice a day, with quite some people doing just once a day, it’s very shocking for me.
I gotta admit though that more often than not I don’t do it the afternoon because I either forget, or don’t have time to do it. But I do it religiously every morning after breakfast, and every night before I sleep.
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.
Gotta say I feel you. I'm terrible at following through on things/routines and end up disrupting or doing multiple things at once. Funny trend from my experience though is that I remember maybe a decade ago or more the mantra was still 3 times a day. I strive for 2 times but somedays I just knock the fuck out.
At least you are going to the dentist. My uncle was not brushing his teeth. And never to the dentist. Eventually they had to remove all of his teeth because it was all infected and it was too unbearable for him.
I had a depression period of my life where I was doing the worst possible treatment to my teeth - was eating a lot of sugar and would skip brushing here and there; also I was not brushing effectively. My teeth are not in very good condition right now. I wish I had kept a good mouth hygiene even when I was depressed.
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.
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)
Does non-fluoridated toothpaste even exist outside of the niche woo crowd????
Born in the 80-ies I had several cavities before I was 15. Nothing helped, then one day the doc applied fluoride to my teeth directly and I spent a lot of less time at the dentist since then.
Using toothpaste with fluoride from them on made a massive difference.
Interesting. I’ll try find it.
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.
Many people fail to think about the depression and lack of brushing. I too am in the same boat. Turns out my meds are even making my teeth soft no matter what i do..
sending love to you
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.
Water piks are a lifesaver. While I'm sure they are not as good as flossing they do get your gums healthy enough to take a mild beating. At that point you could floss here and there to remove biofilm.
After waking up, after before going to bed and after every meal
Sleep brusher!
Ooops
Good oral hygiene practices don’t really differ between cultures. Cleaning your teeth properly is cleaning your teeth properly.
I’m pretty sure the Congo pigmies don’t have the same hypersonic oral b toothbrush as me.
Yeah like some cultures have used charcoal, others alcohol as mouthwash. There are some key differences aside from the face that we all clean our teeth.
Diets vary a lot, though. In a culture where processed / high sugar / high carb foods are the norm (and sodas) you probably need to clean your teeth more often than someone living in a 'raw foods' kind of culture.
It does a bit here though, in my country dentists recommend 3 times a day, not 2.
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
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...
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 were supposed to do tree times a day, but i end up 2 every day. I also bathe every day
Are you or your parents from a Latin American country? Trying to find a pattern here.
Yep, i'm brazilian
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".
But I recently upped my game to "every night except special occasions".
I'd like to think you record these days in your calendar in advance as if they're something to look forward to like birthdays or Christmas.
3 times a day.
I brush after each meal, floss after lunch, and use a waterpik after dinner before brushing.
Probably excessive, but it’s less than 15 minutes a day total to keep my teeth happy.
Thats absolutely bizarre to me. Do you travel at all? How does that work?
When I'm working, ever morning and most nights, when I'm off, hopefully once a day if I'm lucky. It's easier to just wallow.
I've found my people lol. Work is the only thing that motivated me to brush my teeth. On my off days, my mouth will sometimes feel gross and I'll brush it to get rid of that feeling. When it's not bothersome, I forget to do it
Yup, at that point my social anxiety of smelling bad in public is stronger than my depression.
Twice a day, and if I need to freshen up.
pretty sure brazilians brush 3 times a day.
i just brush twice a day and floss + mouthwash at night on top.
Yeah I noticed that a lot of Latin Americans will brush their teeth after lunch (which I think is pretty commendable). I liked that, especially nice when you have meetings after lunch.
Where I’m from (not LATAM) - twice a day. Floss at night because I still wear my retainers and want to make sure teeth are clean clean before putting them on
I also noticed this when I was living in LATAM. Many coworkers and toothbrushes at work and would brush right after lunch.
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?
Easy fix. Don’t see a dentist. Many won’t, unless they have a problem.
can recommend electronic tooth brush
Important caveat: just because electric toothbrushes are good does not mean "more power = better". For natural teeth, you should always brush gently. Don't go ham just because you've got a powertool in your hand!
If your brush has multiple intensity modes, always use the lowest. Same thing goes for your grip! The whole point of an electric is that it can get you clean with almost zero pressure. Seriously: apply no more pressure than necessary to get full bristle contact. It will extend the natural life of your teeth and gums by years.
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
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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.
Every time I take out my Invisalign :( so 5-10 times a day.
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)
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, but I occasionally miss the one at night after a night out. Still haven't had any cavities!
Had cavities with no local anesthesia in Asia when I was younger so I am now religiously brushing twice a day and flossing at least once a day and visit the dentist every 6 months.
I got a dentist that would give me the option to not use a local for much of the teeth work he did. I actually prefer it, need to find another one that will do the same since the first guy retired.
Brush teeth and tongue in the morning and night, floss each night.
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).
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 (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).
Surely morning is after food and coffee?
Depends. I work from home. That said, technically, it's recommended to brush before because the stuff in toothpaste is meant to protect your teeth. But yes, if I were going out and about into the world, after. 😂
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.
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. 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.
Twice a day here, plus dentist every 6mos. I floss on and off (mostly off). Never had a cavity.