Did you know that an estimated half of adults don’t brush twice per day? Whether this is due to laziness, poor dental hygiene education, or just a lack of time and energy, it’s still a huge problem.
Poor brushing habits can lead to bad oral hygiene. You only get one set of adult teeth, so you need to protect them!
But how long should you brush your teeth anyway, and how often should you be brushing? Let’s talk about it. Read on to learn all about developing good brushing habits.
First: How Often Should You Brush Your Teeth?
For the average person, brushing your teeth twice per day is enough. Brush once in the morning and once before you go to bed at night.
Some people choose to brush before breakfast or coffee, but others prefer to wait until after. As long as you eat soon after you wake up, there’s nothing wrong with waiting until after you’re done eating (and in most cases, that’s actually the best choice).
If you wear braces or clear aligners, it’s a good idea to eat after every meal or snack.
How Long After Eating Should You Brush Your Teeth?
Many people think that you should brush your teeth right after you eat, but this isn’t the case. Brushing teeth immediately could be bad for your enamel, especially if you’ve eaten acidic foods.
If you’ve only eaten sugar (for example, if you had a piece of candy), you can brush your teeth right after you eat. Otherwise, it’s in your best interest to wait for about 30 minutes.
When you eat acidic foods, they soften your enamel. You want to wait for your enamel to harden again.
How Long Should You Brush Your Teeth?
So how many minutes should you brush your teeth?
Two minutes of brushing your teeth should be sufficient as long as you’re doing it the right way. Make sure to brush every surface of your teeth. Many people end up with cavities in their back molars because they don’t brush far enough back.
Use the right toothbrush to get all of your teeth as clean as possible. Check out this manual or electric toothbrush guide for more info.
After you brush, you should never skip flossing or brushing your tongue. All in all, expect to spend about three to four minutes per session taking care of your teeth.
How Can You Brush for the Right Amount of Time?
It’s hard to gauge exactly how long you’ve actually been brushing your teeth, and many people end up brushing for shorter amounts of time than they intend to because they get impatient.
If you struggle to brush for long enough, we recommend playing a song or video for two minutes. This is also an effective tactic for teaching children how to brush for a full two minutes.
Make Sure That You’re Brushing for Long Enough
So how long should you brush your teeth? For most people, two minutes is the right amount of time as long as you’re brushing every surface. If you want your teeth to stay healthy and strong, don’t skimp on your brushing time!
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