Dentists Say We're Brushing Our Teeth Wrong 🪥

Apparently, after decades of brushing our teeth, some of us are still doing it wrong.

Which feels a little insulting. I’ve been brushing my own teeth since the ’80s. I thought I had seniority.

Dentists say there are a few common mistakes many of us make every day.

1. You’re not brushing long enough.
You should brush for a full two minutes, spending about 30 seconds on each quarter of your mouth.Two minutes doesn’t sound long until you’re standing there brushing your teeth. Suddenly, it’s the director’s cut of toothbrushing.

2. You’re skipping the bedtime brush.
This one is especially important because we produce less saliva while we sleep, and saliva helps protect our teeth from acid. So that exhausted little “Meh, I brushed them this morning” doesn’t count.

3. You’re rinsing after you brush.
Dentists say you should spit out the excess toothpaste but avoid immediately rinsing with water, because you want the fluoride to stay on your teeth and keep doing its job. Excuse me? You’re telling me I’ve been washing off the good stuff for 45 years?!

4. You’re missing parts of your teeth.
You need to clean the front, back, sides and chewing surfaces. Basically, treat every tooth like a hotel room after checkout. Check EVERYWHERE.

5. You may be flossing in the wrong order.
Flossing before brushing can help loosen debris between your teeth so brushing can finish the job. And yes, dentists would also like you to floss regularly.

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6. You’re forgetting your tongue.
Your tongue can harbour plenty of bacteria, so give that a gentle clean too. If you’re brushing your teeth but ignoring your tongue, you cleaned the house but left the garbage in the kitchen. And finally, if you chew gum, dentists recommend choosing sugar-free rather than sugary gum.

So there you go.

Brush for two minutes.
Don’t skip bedtime.
Floss before brushing.
Clean your tongue.
And don't immediately rinse away the fluoride.

Apparently, brushing your teeth now has more instructions than assembling IKEA furniture.