How often do you brush your teeth?

A couple of times a day.

Usually only in the morning, after I shower. I don’t have an evening bathroom routine, and brushing in the morning was how I was raised.
I do have one of those $150 bells-and-whistles toothbrushes that do everything but suck the spit out of your mouth, at least. (Bought brand new at Goodwill, unopened, for $25.)

Twice a day. Sometimes I fall asleep without brushing and I am grateful if I wake up in the middle of the night so I can brush them then. I feel like a huge cavity is going to be made in one day when I fall asleep without brushing. Problem is, I don’t routinely wake up in the middle of the night.

I don’t want to sound OCD but…. after every meal and after coffee, and in the shower. 5x, 6x?

After I eat, I brush with some toothpaste like Optic white and don’t rinse it out completely. That way I can believe it is working. (I have no proof it actually does.) I’ve found that after I brush my teeth I do not eat anything until the next meal. I do not snack or graze during the day. If I meet somebody for coffee I brush as soon as possible to get rid of the filmy feeling and prevent staining.

Sounds like OCD to me.

@LuckyGuy It seems to me it doesn’t matter when you brush after coffee to prevent staining. Not that I am discouraging you from brushing immediately after, I think it is the healthiest way to go. It’s not like the staining properties of coffee are still sitting on your teeth I don’t think.

@JLeslie I don’t know either. It just seems the earlier the better.
The bathrooms at Fluther camp will be equipped with at least 6 different types of toothpaste.

I also have a WaterPik which I use every couple of days. I load it with warm water and a little mouthwash.

LOL. You are obsessed and compulsive.

@LuckyGuy I don’t want to sound OCD…
Too Late
:)

Brush at least 3 x’s a day and floss twice a day.

It’s the first thing I do when I get up, and the last thing I do before bed.

Twice a day, once in the morning and before going to bed.

When I wake up, when I go to sleep, and anytime during the day when I feel the urge or need to do so.

Typically twice a day – after the morning shower and right before bed. However, if I come home and go back out (or when traveling, return to hotel room and then go back out) I will brush then, too, as part of my “freshening up.”

I just finished lunch: A 2 egg omelet with fresh chives from the garden and a dash of Summer Savory. cooked in olive oil, the remainder of the coffee in the pot left over from breakfast and sweetened with vanilla soy milk, and 2 oatmeal cookies. After the coffee is gone, I’ll chase it with some water to clean the pipes. I’ll brush again and be fresh and clean until dinner. This is the third time today.

This makes me realize that if I leave the house in the middle of the day I brush three times. I always brush my teeth before I leave the house.

I keep a package of the small interdental brushes for plaque control and a mint dental floss in my purse, next to the computer, near the TV and in nighttable drawer. I use them a lot at random times. It’s amazing what you can do if you are alone in the car at a red light or a railroad crossing with a 300-car freight train passing through.

Brushing and flossing are refreshing, but it is amazing how much plaque they do not remove and how often you forget to tickle the gum area and below the gum line/My dentist now has a computer screen that he can demonstrate this on. I sit in the chair, having been a scrupulous patient for 6 months, and then he shows me the particles of plaque remaining between back teach.

Bushing for that fresh minty breath: aftering getting up, just before bedtime and often when I go out.

Morning and night, unless there is reason to brush in between, like garlic. haha
I have really good teeth and consider myself lucky, they can handle a little neglect and I am terrible at daily flossing, yet, my hygienist always says ” Oooh, you take such good care of your teeth.” haha

I shoot for morning and night. I never EVER skip a morning brush, but sometimes I get lazy and just swish some scope before bed, depending on how tired I am. I don’t floss as much as I should, even after multiple attempts to make it a habit.

There are a couple of women at my work that brush their teeth after lunch in the bathroom. Good for them, but I’ll refrain from being that crazy person.

Two times a day.

Twice a day. I also sharpened my teeth to fine, triangular points.

@Symbeline Reminds me of the Hessian Horseman in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow

It is exactly he who has inspired me.

I bet you roar good too.

Practicing it at night to random people on the street. Works pretty good.

It’s always been twice a day for me. I tend to wait until after I eat in the morning to brush, though.

Once a day, but for about 45 minutes…sometimes an hour. I never skip this, and my teeth have always been perfect.

Only as needed.

@longgone…seriously? That’s quite possibly the oddest thing I’ve ever heard.

^ So people keep telling me. Yup, I’m serious. I read while I’m brushing, and by now, it’s become a bedtime ritual.

@longgone: Do you have any enamel left? Cleaning teeth is really about getting below the gum line and removing the plaque between them. The surfaces don’t need much attention.

An hour?

That’s what I was thinking, @gailcalled. It’s excessive and probably doesn’t do much good. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

And too much of a bad thing becomes a worse thing.

I have a few spots on the surface of two teeth where I have worn down the enamel; my dentist says that it is from overzealous brushing, and that’s only two minutes at a time.

@longgone Do you change the toothpaste every now and then? If not it must be pretty gross after a short while. :/

Several times a day… I’m a bit OCD about that. Not even sure when I started doing that but i keep a toothbrush and toothpaste in my desk drawer. So pretty much, morning, after coffee, after lunch, after work, before bed.

Twice a day – once in the morning, once at night. I try to remember to floss every night but am not consistent about it. I’m thinking about taking a toothbrush to work so I can brush after lunch.

Once a day in the morning. I might brush again later in the day if they feel gross.

@longgone 45 MINUTES?!!! Have you ever calculated how many months of your life this obsessive teeth brushing is consuming? lol

I do keep those floss picks in the “change” (furry ashtray) drawer of my car and floss a lot, up to several times a day sometimes, depending if and what I eat.

I agree with @longgone Brush and floss once a day at night. Use floss picks and electric buzzy toothbrush (not the one that spins [that one is bad for your gums])
And then swish and rinse with hydrogen per oxide (kills germs and bacteria far more efficiently than any mouthwash)
Since I don’t eat all night while asleep I see little reason to brush when I awaken.

So longgone’s brushing is obviously not excessive as his/her results speak for themselves.

@gailcalled Cleaning teeth is really about getting below the gum line and removing the plaque between them. The surfaces don’t need much attention.

Actually, the surface does need attention as many cavities form far above the gumline on the chewing surface itself. Why do you think all those silver fillings are on top of most peoples’ teeth?
But you’re right too as the gumline and below is also an important area to clean.

@Dan_Lyons Peroxide is one word. hahahaha ;-)
Had to razz you, just had to.

@Dan_Lyons: @longgone‘s brushing is excessive by most people’s standards and probably the majority of dental professionals would recommend not brushing for 45 minutes to an hour each day. Although she brushes once a day, the length of time she spends brushing is probably eroding her enamel faster than necessary.

^^^^ Apparently it is not eroding her enamel, as she stated her teeth have always been perfect. However, she may only be 14 and so all the extra brushing hasn’t had time to destroy her enamel. maybe she will return with an answer to this dilemma.

@Coloma Thanks I made it two words to see if anyone was reading! hahaha
And I mix the H2O2 with a bit of H2O too!

I thought maybe you’d named you little 5-fingered bride-to-be Oxide. “Rinse with hydrogen – per Oxide…” @Dan_Lyons. You know how she likes oral, too.

I use to brush a lot (more than 3 times a day) and ended up stripping some of the enamel from my teeth. Now I only do it twice a day (morning and night) and I haven’t had any more issues.

For those of you that brush after eating, be careful. If you brush your teeth too soon after eating, you could strip the enamel away because it softens with acidic foods. You should wait 30–60 minutes after eating to help avoid this. Just a heads up.

How did you know her nickname, @ibstubro AND how did you know she loves oral????

To everyone who is concerned about my teeth: I brush extremely lightly, and I take breaks. Yes, I change the toothpaste in between. My dentist is fully aware of this habit, and he approves. Apparently, the results speak for themselves. My enamel and gums are perfectly fine. If my dentist ever advises me to brush differently, I will. Not all teeth are the same, but thanks for the advice.

To those who are concerned about the apparent waste of time: I read while brushing. I’d be reading either way, so…

Being an engineer I decided to see how much time I spend brushing. I brushed 5 times Yesterday – 30+ seconds each time. I have an electric Braun Oral B brush that signals every 30 seconds and at 2 minutes. They expect you to do a quarter of your mouth for 30 seconds for a total of 2 minutes.
I brush everything in a little more than 30 seconds, but I do it frequently and leave the toothpaste on when I’m finished. I figure I spend a total of 3 minutes daily on my pearly whites.

@longgone For 2 of the brushings I am in the shower so I am not wasting time either. ;-)
In 45 minutes you can almost have a zen experience. You can be doing kegel exercises as well. Enjoy!

On the 15th and 31st of each month. If there’s no 31st in the month just on the 15th. I don’t know why my friends nicknamed me Fuzzy.

@LuckyGuy Thank you, I will continue to enjoy it :]

@LuckyGuy You shower twice a day?

^^ ONLY twice a day??

@GloPro Um…Yes… most of the time….
I like to go to bed clean and fresh. And in the morning I prefer to get dressed after breakfast and a shower.

I am not OCD. I am not OCD. I am not OCD.

Twice a day usually, but I always keep floss in my pocket. It’s hard to brush more when you’re breaking your back at work for 12 hours a day.