What's your brushing routine?

[Joe70h8]

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I don't know why, but for some reason I was curious to how we all care for our teeth. I'll go first.

-Brush 3-4 times a day
-Floss 2-3 times a day
-Plax before each brushing
-Crest Whitening Rinse first and last brushes of the day

 

[KOM]

Brush once in the morning.

Eat lots of candy.

Brush once in the evening.

Repeat as above.

 

[RDH2DDS]

Wow Joe70h8! You take really good care of your teeth. If you want to do a rinse, make sure it doesn't contain alcohol which dries out your tissue and can be an irritant. I would cut out Plax and substitute ACT which has Fluoride. A whitening rinse really doesn't whiten and may be too harsh on your tissue. Also be sure you are using a soft bristle brush. Sorry, that is the hygienist coming out in me. I brush 3 x day and floss at night following up with ACT rinse.

 

[Joe70h8]

Thanks RDH2DDS, if my gums start becoming irritated, I will certainly remember your advice.

The whitening rinse is more of a trial thing and I certainly wouldn't use it continuously. I wanted to try it and compare it to the whitening strips. I've been using Plax for sometime and it has caused no irritation and I think it's helping. I forgot to say that I do use an ACT rinse before bed.

I'm doing my best b/c I won't be getting any dental treatment until I go back to school, so if I can prevent some problems that would be great.

 

[SugarNaCl]

Thats crazy! LOL. I brush once in the AM, and then I brush, floss and use scope right before I go to bed... when I have it. I probably should have known this right along, but I just read that it is TERRIBLE to brush your teeth right after eating sweets. I guess it makes a lot of sense bc you are actually pushing the complex sugars into the grooves etc before amylase can continue to break down carbs, but I never thought of it. 😳 Is that the rationale behind it? I'm not even sure.

 

[Mainer in Exile]

Brush morning and night, floss at night and after eating if necessary. Chew gum regularly (usually sugarless). Unfortunately, I drink 1-2 regular Cokes a day and grind my teeth like hell while sleeping....but they're still looking pretty nice!

 

[djeffreyt]

brush in the morning and at night. SOmetimes if I come home for lunch from work...I brush then too. Floss at night. Every now and then I fall asleep without brushing or flossing at night.

 

[griller]

brush 3 times a week, rinse with coke and sleep with skittles in my cheeks. havent had a cavity yet! SKEET SKEET!

 

[StephL26]

I definitely need to brush as soon as I get out of bed in the morning. And then I brush after breakfast (if I'm late, I skip this step), but then I brush (while at college) after lunch, and then again after dinner, if I'm eating at home or closeby. If I'm not, I brush before I sleep.

Then last year, I started to brush my teeth when I got bored of studying. This was some random habit I formed.

So, in a typical day, I brush at least 3 times. 😀

 

[CSI Dentist]

brush 3 times a week, rinse with coke and sleep with skittles in my cheeks. havent had a cavity yet! SKEET SKEET!

hahah I hope you are black, and I so darn hope you know what SKEET SKEET means hahahahha

 

[cdmOMR]

I used to be a once-a-dayer (morning) and occasional flosser...and I remember even eating Reese's peanut butter cups and washing it down with coke before bed without brushing/flossing. I cringe when I think of it now .

Now I brush morning and night, floss at night, occasional ACT. Also replaced drinking pop with water, and cut out the sweets for the most part.

 

[IndianaAsh]

When I was about 8, my mom was going through dental hygiene school so as one of her requirements, she put sealants on my teeth. She pretty much told me it would be hard to get cavities so I became really lazy and started only brushing in the mornings. I had my first cavity last year 🙁 so now I try to brush a little more often. I floss twice a year... when I go in for a cleaning.

 

[Mila]

Thats crazy! LOL. I brush once in the AM, and then I brush, floss and use scope right before I go to bed... when I have it. I probably should have known this right along, but I just read that it is TERRIBLE to brush your teeth right after eating sweets. I guess it makes a lot of sense bc you are actually pushing the complex sugars into the grooves etc before amylase can continue to break down carbs, but I never thought of it. 😳 Is that the rationale behind it? I'm not even sure.

That's so interesting - I had absolutely no idea you weren't supposed to brush after eating sweets. Well now I know.

 

[pmantz]

?

 

[FutureFreshDDS]

I brush, floss and rinse once a day in the morning. That is all. If you brush and floss effectively, you only need to do it once. Somes times I brush at night if I don't crash. Yah it is nasty in the morning, but it generally does not bother me.

 

[KOM]

brush 3 times a week, rinse with coke and sleep with skittles in my cheeks. havent had a cavity yet! SKEET SKEET!

Add a new vocabulary word to my list straight from the double tongued dictionary website.

 

[StephL26]

Hahaha, if we don't take care of our teeth now, what would our own patients think?

And also we may not know it now...but in the long run, when we become all crinkly, wrinkly old, if we didn't take care of our teeth when we were young, we would be having major dental problems...learned this from the experience of people I know. 😉 I want to be able to still chew my steak when I'm 80 yrs. old. 👍

 

[Duysal]

Brush 3 times a day and after eating.

Floss twice a day.

Alternate days with ACT and Listerine.

Works to keep my gums and teeth healthy!

 

[griller]

geez, you all brush way too much. your gums are going to receed and your teeth will fall out. have faith in the power of your saliva and dont work so hard to flush out the bacteria in your mouths. you wont get a cavity in an hour, lol, so chill out on the brushing 10 times a day and rinsing with acid.

 

[toothy2112]

-morning
-after lunch
-before bed

TRY to floss at least once a day and use Crest mouthwash in the morning. (I should try to stick to the flossing ONCE a day though!)

 

[toothy2112]

Thats crazy! LOL. I brush once in the AM, and then I brush, floss and use scope right before I go to bed... when I have it. I probably should have known this right along, but I just read that it is TERRIBLE to brush your teeth right after eating sweets. I guess it makes a lot of sense bc you are actually pushing the complex sugars into the grooves etc before amylase can continue to break down carbs, but I never thought of it. 😳 Is that the rationale behind it? I'm not even sure.

WOW...hadn't thought of it like that!

Thanks!

 

[IzzyMarieDMD]

One Hygenist that I shadowed told her patients to brush BEFORE they eat. Supposedly it is supposed to break up the bacterial film so that the bacteria are unable to metabolize the food that you are about to eat. I guess that makes sense but I would still brush after meals so I won't be walking around with food in my teeth, lol.

 

[Dr. Dai Phan]

I take my dentures out and stick them in the diswasher. No brushing no scrubing, just turn on the dial and forget about it. DP

 

[jlicious]

I usually floss, rinse w/ water, then brush, rinse again right before bed. Most days I don't even brush in the morning, I just eat breakfast and let my saliva do the work all day. I don't drink much pop or Gatorade (which is just as bad I think).

 

[GiveMeDMD]

I brush in the morning/night.....and after every meal during the day. I floss only at night. Use listerine in the mornings.

 

[RDH2DDS]

One Hygenist that I shadowed told her patients to brush BEFORE they eat. Supposedly it is supposed to break up the bacterial film so that the bacteria are unable to metabolize the food that you are about to eat. I guess that makes sense but I would still brush after meals so I won't be walking around with food in my teeth, lol.

WHAT??? Brushing does not put a protective field around your enamel for later. As soon as you close your lips, plaque is introduced back onto your teeth and the pellicle (film) begins to form. Every time you eat something with sugar or starch in it there is an acid attack on your enamel sometimes lasting for more than an hour. So if you can, brush after you eat. . .even sweets. I doubt anyone would paint their teeth with chocolate and then scrub it into their enamel. Rinse the food/sugar debris out first with water and then brush and floss.

 

[IzzyMarieDMD]

WHAT??? Brushing does not put a protective field around your enamel for later. As soon as you close your lips, plaque is introduced back onto your teeth and the pellicle (film) begins to form. Every time you eat something with sugar or starch in it there is an acid attack on your enamel sometimes lasting for more than an hour. So if you can, brush after you eat. . .even sweets. I doubt anyone would paint their teeth with chocolate and then scrub it into their enamel. Rinse the food/sugar debris out first with water and then brush and floss.

It's just what she told me.... if it's not true then that sux b/c that's what she tells her patients to do.

 

[RDH2DDS]

It's just what she told me.... if it's not true then that sux b/c that's what she tells her patients to do.

I know, that is just the psycho hygienist coming out in me.

 

[wenz482]

I know, that is just the psycho hygienist coming out in me.

Brush morning and night. Floss extra good approximately 2 weeks before dentist appointment to prepare my gums for the "psycho" hygienist's flossing

 

[RozhonDDS]

never brushed my teeth once, but still no cavities hmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[koochooloo]

Brush morning and night. Floss extra good approximately 2 weeks before dentist appointment to prepare my gums for the "psycho" hygienist's flossing

hahahah i feel your pain