Brushing your teeth is a must for good oral hygiene, but are you sure you're cleaning yours as often as you should — and for the recommended amount of time? We reached out to a top-rated orthodontist for a definitive answer. Read on to make sure you've got your brushing basics down pat.
How often (and how long) should you brush your teeth each day?
Quick overview
Oral-B iO Series 3 Limited Rechargeable Electric Powered Toothbrush
No surprises here: The American Dental Association recommends brushing twice a day for two minutes with a soft-bristle toothbrush. But pros say there's a bit more to the story.
"My personal recommendations as an orthodontist follow the recommendations of the ADA, with some additional supplements for optimum oral hygiene," said St. Louis-based Dr. Erin Fraundorf. "For my patients, I recommend [they] brush minimally twice daily for two-plus minutes each time."
The key word there is minimally. Fraundorf added that she suggests brushing a third or fourth time, "but never immediately after eating as it can cause enamel breakdown from the acidic oral environment formed during eating."
She also says that everyone should invest in an electric toothbrush for a more thorough cleaning as long as the bristles aren't too abrasive. "Always ensure it is a soft-bristle brush head, and change it at minimum every three months or more frequently if you're sick," she added.
Why is it important to brush for this long?
What we were taught as kids still applies: Failing to brush your teeth regularly leads to plaque buildup, which can cause complications that can make it much more difficult to maintain good oral hygiene.
"Brushing helps remove food particles, bacteria and plaque off of your teeth and other surfaces of your mouth," Fraundorf said. "Following eating, the bacteria in plaque consume food particles that it encounters and makes as a by-product of acid, which in turn breaks down tooth enamel and can lead to cavities."
She added that if this plaque isn't removed from brushing, it can combine with the minerals in your saliva and harden on your teeth, "turning into what we call calculus, or tartar." And once tartar forms on your teeth, it becomes harder to keep them clean and can lead to gum tissue inflammation and gum disease.
While maintaining a regular brushing routine is key, most people don't realize that it's actually possible to overdo it. Strike a balance.
"Overbrushing with excess force or frequency can lead to wearing away of gum tissue and enamel, which can lead to long-term tooth, gum and bone health and stability issues," Fraundorf explained.
She added that the easiest way to avoid both over- and underbrushing is by investing in an electric toothbrush with a built-in pressure sensor. Most brushes on the market have this feature.
"I love a toothbrush with a pressure sensor that lights up green when it's the perfect pressure and red when it's too hard," she said. "It eliminates the guesswork of determining how hard you should brush because there's no way to know until you see the consequences."
Amazon
Oral-B iO Series 3 Limited Rechargeable Electric Powered Toothbrush
Fraundorf recommends this popular electric toothbrush, a favorite among dental professionals for many reasons. It's rechargeable and travel-friendly, has a brushing timer and pressure sensor and features three cleaning modes (daily clean, sensitive and whitening).
$100 at Amazon
What other products are necessary for good oral hygiene?
In addition to an electric toothbrush with a built-in pressure sensor, Fraundorf recommends a toothpaste with fluoride or nano-hydroxyapatite, any kind of traditional floss, a water flosser, a tongue scraper and an alcohol-free mouth rinse. Alcohol "will create an acidic environment and actually promotes demineralization of your enamel," she said.
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Oral-B Water Flosser Advanced
Fraundorf suggests using both manual floss and a water flosser at least once a day. She said this cordless Oral-B with three cleaning modes is her favorite.
$86 at Amazon
Explore more purchase options
$100 at Walmart$90 at Target
Amazon
Sensodyne Fresh Mint Sensitive Toothpaste
According to Fraundorf, use a toothpaste with fluoride for better gum health. For patients with general sensitivity or sensitivity with teeth whitening, "I have them utilize a toothpaste that also has potassium nitrate," she added. This option from Sensodyne covers all bases.
Brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste for at least two minutes each time you brush. This recommendation is from the American Dental Association. When you brush, you help take food and plaque off your teeth. Plaque is a sticky white film that forms on teeth.
Therefore, tooth brushing twice daily is recommended by most of the dentists in order to improve plaque control. This rule is followed by most of the patients taking care for their oral health and has shown to be effective in maintenance of oral health in numerous studies.
Overbrushing your teeth – either by brushing too vigorously or too often – can accelerate the loss of enamel on your teeth and lead to gingivitis and gum recession. So, two (not more) is the recommended number of times to brush daily for optimal tooth health.
Many dentists agree that proper brushing takes at least two minutes while many insist that people must brush for three minutes — one and a half minutes on both the upper teeth and the bottom teeth. Most people don't even come close to brushing for two minutes, let alone three.
Similarly to flossing, your dental team will also be able to tell if you don't brush your teeth often enough or even if you brush too hard. Those who don't brush the recommended two times a day will often have larger areas of tartar buildup and puffy, red gums.
A review of studies showed that, in general, electric toothbrushes do decrease more plaque and gingivitis than manual toothbrushes. After three months of use, plaque was reduced by 21 percent and gingivitis by 11 percent. Oscillating (rotating) toothbrushes seem to work better than just vibrating toothbrushes.
Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing
After brushing, spit out any excess toothpaste. Don't rinse your mouth immediately after brushing, as it'll wash away the concentrated fluoride in the remaining toothpaste. Rinsing dilutes it and reduces its preventative effects.
Takeaway. When you're looking to protect your tooth enamel, brushing right after you wake up in the morning is better than brushing your teeth after breakfast. If you have to brush your teeth after breakfast, try to wait at least 30 minutes before you brush.
Brushing in the morning cleans off the bacteria that may have settled overnight, while incorporating teeth brushing into your nightly routine removes food particles and acid that your teeth may have encountered during the day.
For the vast majority of people, a soft-bristled toothbrush will be the most comfortable and safest choice. Depending on how vigorously you brush your teeth and the strength of your teeth, medium- and hard-bristled brushes could actually damage the gums, root surface, and protective tooth enamel.
Dental hygienists use a flavored polishing toothpaste made of pumice, flavoring, and usually a tiny amount of fluoride. This normally follows the scaling process, which is when hygienists use metal tools to scrape plaque and tartar from your teeth. The polishing toothpaste is much more coarse than regular toothpaste.
Gently brushing your gums while you brush your teeth will go a long way toward promoting overall gum health — provided that you brush lightly. The benefits of brushing your gums include the reduction and removal of plaque and food debris from the gumline.
Recent research suggests flossing before brushing your teeth is the way to go. This approach is superior for eliminating dental plaque on tooth surfaces and boosts the fluoride concentration in your mouth. Flossing before brushing helps strengthen your tooth enamel, making it more resistant to decay.
Work on your mouth in four quadrants: the top right, top left, bottom left and bottom right. You should spend 30 seconds on each section and 2 minutes brushing in total. If your electric brush has a timer, that's even better, since you'll get a full and even clean every time.
This toothpaste helps to prevent cavities, gingivitis, and plaque buildup while freshening breath and whitening teeth. This one also contains fluoride, which (as we've mentioned) helps strengthen your tooth enamel and creates a barrier against tooth decay.
After even longer without brushing or flossing your teeth, tooth decay can advance into the inner layers of your teeth, causing more enamel to be broken down and exposing the soft parts (the dentin). The tooth pulp can also become exposed, which can lead to a higher risk for tooth pain and sensitivity.
Though good oral hygiene that includes brushing and flossing helps in preventing cavities, you may still get cavities. The reasons can be many, like the spaces between teeth that easily trap food, consuming too much cavity-causing foods and beverages, avoiding regular professional-level cleanings and checkups, etc.
In a poll of 562 people around the world (including 332 Americans), 49% of men and 57% of women said they brush their teeth only once a day on average, while 44% of men and 37% of women said they were twice-daily brushers.
The American Dental Association recommends you brush your teeth for 2 minutes, twice a day. People sometimes brush after every meal, or brush midday to freshen up. Although this is not always a bad thing, when you start brushing too much or for too long, you can ultimately damage your teeth.
Introduction: My name is Trent Wehner, I am a talented, brainy, zealous, light, funny, gleaming, attractive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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