Brushing Teeth (& Gums)

TL;DR

Brush your teeth twice a day, every day, for two minutes to keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy. To further maximise the benefits of brushing, consider brushing your teeth first thing in the morning & last thing at night and using floss or interdental sticks beforehand. Avoid over brushing, brushing hard and using tooth picks. Don't rinse your mouth after brushing (even if it's with mouthwash). See your dentist at regular intervals and consider seeing a dental hygienist.

We should all brush our teeth to keep them, along with our gums, clean and healthy which helps to prevent tooth decay and gum disease. Unlike a lot of areas of health, this is well understood by most in the western world (at least) and uncontroversial - perhaps because the effects of not doing so arise fairly quickly and consistently.

Whilst brushing your teeth twice a day, every day, for two minutes provides the biggest bang for your buck, there are some habit changes that can maximise the small effort brushing involves.

tongue too?

Don't rinse

Fluoride - is it bad?

Toothpaste

As long as it has 1400ppm or higher (0.145%) it's good.

Toothpaste for sensitive works but you may need to try a few different types.

Novamin

Toothpaste for gum disease such as Corsodyl also work, if you need it.

Do not use whitening toothpaste! See the whitening article for more details. Ditto toothpastes containing charcoal.

If you're able, avoid toothpaste with SLS in it, especially if you have or develop ulcers.

Calcium sodium phosphisilicate sounds good.

Note that Colgate is an American company and tests on animals¹. You'll note the link in the reference only states they no longer do animal testing with their Personal Care Products, not their Oral Health products (such as toothpaste).

Brushing Your Teeth

Frequency

Twice for two minutes every day

Don't over brush

When

Best done first thing in the morning, which helps to hydrate teeth enamel (which becomes dehydrated because you produce very little saliva while asleep). You should do so before consuming food or drink, as either can temporarily weaken your tooth enamel.

Last thing at night is the most important as your teeth get dry (you produce far less saliva when asleep) and if they are not clean, more damage is done by ...

Wait 30mins after consuming food as doing so can temporarily weaken your tooth enamel.

How

Don't rinse afterwards.

Toothbrushes

Manual vs electric

Convenience benefits;

the two minute timer with thirty second indicator feature on most brushes makes it easy to brush for long enough and know when to switch between the quadrants of your mouth
a pressure warning indicator can help to avoid brushing too hard
may have some advantages for those with dexterity issues
the typically smaller (than a manual) brush head may make it easier to get to hard to reach areas in your mouth
the oscillating head 'does the work for you'

How often to change? (3 months)

Brushing Your Tongue

Mainly to prevent bad breadth but we think there's more to it

Removes bacteria that cause bad breadth (halitosis).

Some chance brushing the tongue (as well as using mouth wash) can adversely affects the size and diversity of the oral microbiome. ²

Tooth Decay

Plaque (thin film of bacteria) accumulation which leads to calculus (tartar)

food stagnation

Gum Disease

gum inflammation (gingivitis)

Further Information

NHS