Not using an electric toothbrush. First time I used one it felt like I'd had a proper dental cleaning. An extremely half-assed effort with that kind of brush beats a thorough one with a manual brush. I thought they were a gimmick, but no, they're amazing.
On a similar dental hygiene note, I was told I should brush before having breakfast, coffee etc. It always stood to reason to me that it makes more sense to just eat my first meal and drink, then brush, to keep a cleaner state of my teeth for longer but supposedly according to a few dentists I spoke with, the protection you get from the first brush is more significant than removing those first food particles.
Chances are you already have a lot bacteria in your mouth and once you eat your breakfast (which for many is sugary) they immediately eat and consume this and produce acid. So, brush before breakfast, supposedly.
This can go wrong in either direction. If you brush your teeth and have milk shortly after, the fluoride binds to the calcium in milk and goes to your belly instead of staying with your teeth protecting them. On the other hand if you have orange juice or similar (acidic) and then brush your teeth, say bye to your tooth enamel.
I've only been brushing my teeth before bed for like 6 years at this point, and flossing once a week or so. I don't know if it's the fluoride alcohol mouth wash I use or just dumb luck, but I haven't gotten any cavities
So I think that given this rigorous scientific data, you can safely avoid brushing for the most part
A lot of it is diet too. Not eating or drinking sugary things gives you much more room for error. Of course you still need to brush and floss, but in my experience sugar + rigorous cleaning can still leave you with cavities whereas no sugar + lax cleaning you're probably fine. No sugar + rigorous cleaning and you might never need a dentist again. It took me way too long to understand this.
fwiw, I have pretty bad teeth (~10K for crowns etc a few years ago).
And I switched to only brushing with an electric toothbrush before bed, and don't really floss and think I've only had one small cavity since then and the hygienist said my teeth looked quite good in general.
Worth noting that I have a good diet and rarely eat sugar beyond yogurt.
No need to worry, we are all in the process of dying, so the correct answer is just to ignore everything that isn't either: something that strikes you as incredibly obvious (don't drink poison), recognized in its field of experts (high cholesterol is bad for you), established knowledge, or not too inconvenient.
> recognized in its field of experts (high cholesterol is bad for you)
Public service announcement: this one is controversial. IMHO it's wrong, based on bad science and agendas, and harmful because it deters people from nutritious foods. I recommend everyone do their own reading to form their own opinion.
It's sad how political food and nutrition is because it causes misinformation and malnutrition.
My rudimentary understanding: chronic high blood sugar causes irritation of blood vessels; irritated blood vessels attempt to protect themselves by producing a protective layer (excretion?); cholesterol sticks much more readily to this‚ causing creation of plaques. So, cholesterol is "fine" if you avoid high blood sugar.
Did you know that after brushing with toothpaste you're supposed to just...let the foam hang around in your mouth without rinsing it out for 30 minutes? I didn't until recently, and now that I do, I'm still not gonna walk around with toothpaste foam in my mouth.
How much foam do you end up with? I usually don't rinse out the toothpaste after, but I don't end up with a foaming mouth after. I use about a pea size amount (as recommended on the packaging) and it's not super sudsy when I'm finished. Wipe my face and done.
I'm confused - what food bits? Do you have detectable food bits left over after brushing or is it an impression that there must be food still left over?
At least for me, I rinse out my mouth before I brush, so I don't expect to have detectable gunk left over. I also use a tongue scraper after, so I'm usually feeling pretty clean when I'm done.
Well both, stuff between the teeth that the brush doesn't get (I guess that's why you'd floss after brushing, but also with foam in your mouth?), and also just food microparticles that would go away when rinsing after brushing generally.
I suppose it helps to floss before brushing (as recommended) but for me personally the stray particle isn't something I've worried about. In my mind, the added benefit of retaining the fluoride longer outweighs the downsides of microparticles of food.
Honestly, the timing of flossing is the least important thing about it, considering most people are averse to even doing it. The payoff with flossing before brushing is that any gunk that gets brought out and left over after rinsing gets scrubbed away during brushing.
There's a particular prescription strength toothpaste I use when I get sensitive teeth. I keep it specifically for post-dinner brushing and it's easier to do this at that time.
The evidence is just lacking, people are just using judgement to advise on something that we can't detect one way or another with research.
When it comes to dental care it's not even clear, based on research (Cochrane review in 2019) it flossing makes any difference let alone a clinically useful difference.
The current advice is just based on reasoning that either you brush first or wait a hour after eating due to the abrasive action of brushing.
It's not clear because it IS nuanced, and it doesn't have the same effect on everyone equally. Two people using the exact same dental routine can have vastly different results from it.
I’m glad ifnflossing helps fights cavity but the main reason I do it is because it’s so gross not to. When you don’t floss you basically accept to keep bits of rotten food between your teeth for days. If you’re unconvinced, don’t floss for a week and then do, see what comes out. And don’t smell it. I warned you.
People's teeth (and brushing technique/effectiveness) are way too varied to make such a general statement. I flossed for the first time at some point in my 20s, did religiously for a year or so thereafter, and still do occasionally - but at no point was it like 'how on Earth have I not been doing this' or loads of gunk coming out, nevermind rotten and smelly. Maybe you have just the 'right' tooth gap that it's both too tight for your brushing but not so tight that stuff doesn't get stuck.
(And for whatever it's worth, all dental check-ups since some point in my early teens at the latest have just been a quick look around and yep all good - I'm not saying this from a position (touching wood I don't eat my hat next time of course) of terrible dental health.)
A checkup shouldn't be too quick, there are things they should be checking and looking out for:
https://youtu.be/sDe50j0MFBU?t=95 (Dental Office RED FLAGS)
> People's teeth (and brushing technique/effectiveness) are way too varied
You're absolutely correct, because I don't floss that often, but every time I do a whole meal comes out, so I'm incredibly envious of your naturally clean teeth XD
Regarding flossing, at least in my case, it helps with my gum disease. If I don't floss for a while my gums start to bleed. Although, I use a water floss instead of a regular rope floss
Yeah, flossing is a good idea if you don't want to get gum disease. Also a good idea to learn to floss correctly, not just a quick "in and out". (also good idea so you don't get cavities on the edges of your teeth.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WviE5aa5Ha0 (how to floss)
IMO teeth are the worst part of the human body. Hard to take care of, will inevitably fail, not replaceable, massively painful for even minor injuries. Evolution really screwed the pooch on teeth.
Our diet is nothing like what our teeth evolved for. For example for most people, cutting down the amount of sugars (down to levels similar to our prehistoric ancestors) they consume can go a long way in protecting dental health (and general health for that matter)
Somewhere evolution is saying “well I gave you four perfectly decent extra molars that you insist on ripping out, if you kept those your teeth would be mostly fine for however long your are supposed to live. Mid 50’s?”
Evolution expects us to grind away about a millimeter of our teeth while we are young by eating rougher things to make way for wisdom teeth, for example.
For healthy teeth, you should be very hydrated. If your mouth isn’t watering, you might not be hydrated enough.
Well, teeth perform perhaps the most difficult task of the entire body. Take entirely external substances of all kinds of textures and densities and contaminants, crush all that to tiny particles, try not to get worn down too far in the process...
People in the past had better teeth than us, it's the sugar these days that cause so many dental problems. If you ate like those in the past, you similarly will have good teeth.
> I have never realised something as simple as brushing teeth can be so nuanced lol
I feel like replacing "brushing teeth" with literally anything and your sentence is also correct and a good way to think. Especially the things we think are easy. There's a reason it took us thousands of years to do certain things.
Genes, climate, and types of local foods play a role too, but widespread adoption of agriculture made diets rich in carbs and starchy foods possible, which isn't great for dental health, and the somewhat recent trend (last 200~ years) of highly processed foods that are softer and easier to chew means there's less mechanisms to deal with tooth overcrowding. This has been observed in children from hunter gatherer societies, raised on modern diets, having worse dental hygiene than their parents.
> Teeth-cleaning twigs have long been used throughout human history.[2] As long ago as 3000 B.C., the ancient Egyptians constructed crude toothbrushes from twigs and leaves to clean their teeth. Similarly, other cultures such as the Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Indians also cleaned their teeth with twigs. Some would fray one end of the twig so that it could penetrate between the teeth more effectively.
Acid loosens the enamel, so careful with anything like good rinsing or brushing right after consuming acidic items. Just drink some water (optional light rinse) and wait around 30 minutes to brush.
* Disclaimer: I am not a dentist, you should find a good one and talk to them for real advice.
I try to brush before eating and drinking, but on the rare occasions I end up brushing afterwards, I wait the better part of an hour so that the acids are well enough diluted to cause trouble.
Yep. Thats why they recommended to wait about 30mins after brushing before you eat. Also at least 30 mins after brushing before eating. Ideally don't graze eat throughout the day.
Highly recommend checking out the TeethTalk YouTube, she's a Dental Hygienist and covers allot of dental topics, and it's free. idk where your from, but dentists here are crazy expensive.
https://www.youtube.com/@TeethTalk
I think it's both the bacteria thing – getting rid of them before they can start metablizing your food into stuff to harm your enamel – and the idea that directly following food intake, your mouth pH level will be out of homeostasis and enamel may be easier to erode at "non-native" pHs and one shouldn't brush directly after. I'm not sure where I got that from though.
This is due to the foaming agents used in most toothpastes. The biggest culprit is sodium lauryl (ether) sulphate (SLES/ SLS). These foaming agents are surfactants and they bind to certain taste receptors in your mouth, thus altering your taste perception. You can avoid this entirely by switching your toothpaste to something that uses no foaming agents or those of the non-surfactant type.
Some people are also allergic to them. I was getting canker sores in my mouth for years without understand why.
Then my cousin discovered he’s allergic to SLS. I quit toothpaste with SLS and I never get them anymore. It’s rare but you never know who else struggles with it and doesn’t know.
Do you know any US toothpaste without sulphates that is not a scam like 99% of the brands, that typically charge 300% more for ADs like (whitening bla bla..)
I've heard that brushing right after eating is really bad for your teeth because just after you eat, the bacteria in your mouth start producing acid that, for lack of a better word, loosens the surface enamel in your teeth, and brushing in that state discards that enamel instead of letting it resettle after the acid washes away.
The solubility of enamel is insanely low so the effect should be minor at most, but still.
Mine says half an hour before or after, which I like because it makes sense. He also suggests after lunch, and of course in the evening, which obviously comes after breakfast - so it's kind of annoying (you know, to the kind of person spending time on HN) to leave it at 'brush before breakfast not after' or vice versa...
Acidity is more the issue aiui, I don't really eat breakfast typically but my dentist's example was coffee (to which I don't add sugar) - drink water after coffee, and don't brush for half an hour after.
Trader Joe's peppermint anticavity toothpaste. Was a bit odd at first as it has baking soda in it, but after a tube or two I think regular toothpaste is really the odd tasting one now. Cheapish.
IIRC the reason for this is that antibodies are actually in your saliva, which moves around your mouth much less while you're sleeping. Thus, bacteria have a more favorable environment at night.
I couldn't imagine consuming anything before brushing my teeth, but this is coming from a retainer wearer so I think that might have something to do with it.
This, but for water jet flossing. Why did I muck around for decades with strings in my mouth? A water jet is a lot less effort and much much more efficient/effective.
P.S. If you never tried these gizmos, get a portable, battery powered one, so you can use it over the bathtub (or in the bathtub). They tend to soak everything around you.
I never got used to water flossing, how do you know where to aim it while it's in your mouth? Are you literally dragging the tip across your gum line? I always had trouble getting the proper angle (perpendicular to teeth) and then when it comes to the front teeth it's impossible to do behind them because the tips don't have enough of an angle to them and you're also shooting water everywhere.
Get one with a separate tank and controls on the actual handle part, much easier to manoeuver and can turn toggle it on/off quickly while switching areas of your mouth.
Not who you were asking, but I use a Waterpik WP-100 and I'm very happy with it.
According to my dentist they are less effective than normal flossing, but I hate flossing and was never able to do it on a regular basis, whereas I use the Waterpik once a day.
I worked my way up to a fairly high pressure and it regularly removes stuff that I missed with my electric toothbrush. It also leaves you with a very fresh and clean mouth feel.
I also wasn't very sure about them when I first looked into it, but it's really not a snake-oil product. It's also not the holy grail of dental health, just a reasonable alternative to flossing.
I have a Waterpik cordless and it has been very good - the industrial design is meh but it does the job. It's nice to have a simple handheld unit. I have some gaps between teeth that can trap food and cause gum disease.
It's used in combination with brushing, of course - water-pik then brush.
It's a WF-02 ... it's the kind with 3 AA cells that I have rechargeables in (this is better for my bathroom setup).
fwiw my dentist doesn't shill any products and still highly recommends an electric brush, even the worst ones are better than you can do yourself. She also said a water flosser is great for gum health but to still use floss at least a few times a week because they can struggle with large bits getting stuck where the teeth make contact.
Maybe. A roll of floss is 3$ and 5 minutes a day. A filling at the dentist is 300–500$ and lasts 5–10 years before needing to be replaced + the pain. I’d rather floss just in case, it’s a cheap insurance policy at best and it does nothing at worst.
Five minutes a day is an appreciable portion of my waking life. Granted that's only like .5% of the rest of my life, but do I really want to spend one of my 200 activity tokens on flossing? (That said, I do floss sometimes, but 5-minute-a-day activities quickly add up, is my main point)
You probably spend more time looking at YT ads, scrolling on Facetagram, or sitting on the toilet.
Anyway, not telling you how to live. For me it’s well worth the 0.5% of the rest of my life but you do you. Maybe you have better teeth than me and won’t need to spend hours at the dentist over your lifetime to buy their second country house or pay for their divorce, or maybe you don’t get bits of rotten food between your teeth.
I’ve decided the trade off is worth it for me, but you really don’t have to reach the same conclusion about yourself :)
It may well be worth it! (even for me; as I said, I do floss occasionally) I just have a sort of immune reaction against "It's only <x> a day!" type things, where it's easy to miss how much that adds up to. I'm definitely not advocating for regimenting your life to the extent where you're tracking every five minutes, just... small costs add up.
I used to brush and avoid touching my gums.. then I had a dentist insist I should also be brushing across my gum lines to keep them healthy. So, not sure if you went crazy with the electric, or if maybe it was something else? Also, not sure if you called 5 dentists if you'd get 1, or more than 1 opinion on this. But I am told I have healthy gyms and I do brush over the line between tooth and gum.
My guess would be too much pressure and too much focus on the gums. Get all the way to the gums but don't brush directly on them, just angle the tip to barely touch the gums.
I don't know if this will work, depending if they're scarred or open, gelatine might work, add to warm water until dissolved, then keep in mouth for a while then swallow - I used to have reflux, gelatine helped a lot - it's also good for joint-pain (if u still have jelly in the joints that can be replenished)
I'm sorry this doesn't sound plausible - any links you could share? How does gelatine repair gums, or travel from your stomach to your joints without being broken down somewhere along the way?
Here's one thing I learned over the decades: if you have a problem you can't fix, it is worth just trying people's random ideas even if they sound kooky IF they are cheap and harmless.
Usually kooky ideas do nothing, but every now and then one works for no explicable reason.
I always thought I was a scientist by needing to understand a magnetism before trying, but actually real science is often just trying a bunch of random solutions, finding what works, and only then trying to work out mechanism!
Testing and keeping an open mind is a worthwhile mindset, even if you only get the occasional win.
One thing I've learned over the decades is that my time is finite and precious to me and I don't want to waste it on weird tricks that have no basis in reality, so I don't think there's any harm in asking.
Absolutely agree - time is irreplaceable precious. But a healthy body that allows you to enjoy your time is also irreplaceably precious. Everything is a balancing act between areas of global and local ignorance: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YABJKJ3v97k9sbxwg/what-money...
You said you have a serious ongoing problem, and aszantu‘s suggestion sounds unrelated, but the cost of trying is low, and nurturing the attitude that you may be able to fix things is worthwhile. You seem to have diagnosed the cause as one thing, but perhaps there are other causes too.
I had a problem with bleeding gums (nothing like yours), and Google results suggested lots of different diagnoses and solutions. I tried a few different ideas that were low cost (time, effort, $, risk) and one worked for me. YMMV. Good luck.
PS: “understand a magnetism” — damn you autocorrect — understand a mechanism.
Yeah, this! Also, if you still use manual brush (don't), use soft bristle and be gental. Harder is not better when it comes to tooth brushing. Don't do what you typically see in movies.
As for your gums, they don't grow back I believe, but you can get surgery of sorts by using other parts of your mouth and stick them in your gums. See;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF6EgSM5TlA
Same here. Nothing to do as stopping the hard brushing stopped recession progress and gum graft is a heavy, expensive procedure that definitely leaves marks on the gums. It also makes me queasy knowing you’re basically getting gums grafted from a donor who died. Mine are recessed enough that it can get painful brushing after eating too acidic foods but not enough to justify the procedure. For acidic foods, I rinse my mouth with baking soda dissolved in water right after eating and it helps a lot. Dentists can also apply fluoride to the exposed parts but it tastes horrible while they do it, and only lasts a few weeks before it’s gone.
If you can get it, try use some Biomin F toothpaste for a good few weeks. I've got exposed parts of lower teeth too due to over brushing. This toothpaste goes a looong way to reducing sensitivity to near zero levels.
Many people (including myself) have found their "sonicare" toothbrush break within 6 months. I got mine replaced under warranty, and it broke again after 1 year.
Why does a 3 year old video for repairing Sonicare toothbrush have 425K reviews on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3PBPU2jXbo, with 2.8K upvotes and 192 downvotes. It breaks because a screw goes loose inside the toothbrush.
I recommend you avoid Phillips electric toothbrush completely. I used a oral-B electric toothbrush for at least 8 years with no issues. And Phillips breaks in 6 months.
I have three different Sonicare toothbrushes in my house, ranging from 2 years old to probably pushing 5 years old. They've all been flawless - even the one my kiddo uses and abuses.
I’ve used the same Sonicare toothbrush for 20 years. It somehow still holds a nearly month-long charge. It’s sad to hear their quality has gone downhill
I’ve wondered the same. The reason is that they aren’t waterproof and water leaks onto the circuit board.
I recommend buying the cheapest option and getting a warranty with them. I wish Philips could just figure out how to waterproof them properly instead of creating so much waste.
We replaced their sonicare toothbrush twice already. First one somehow ended up getting water inside and stopped working, second one I think had bent the toothbrush mount too much and it also would disconnect - could've been user error because it was unintentionally pushed harder than it was required. IMO they still have decent price and durability otherwise, compared to everything else so far, and no stupid gimmicks such as an app, lol.
Huh, my dentist told me not to get the oral-b because the rotation is bad for your teeth. They mentioned sonic as the preferred because the motion matches the grain of your teeth.
Or the Oral-B equivalent, the Pulsonic. I found it to be a great upgrade from my old electric toothrush(and it seems a lot more higenic too, because there are no spaces between the bristles in the head to allow movement, since the entire head is vibrating).
got a diamondclean and it took out some plaque that I couldn't get rid off for a long time.
Used Chinese knock off for a long time, a Soocas. Recently thought about upgrading from $30 Chinese to $80 Chinese (OClean), the latter failed after 2 months. YMMMV ofc, but after that, and reading on HN about Chinese stealing IP from Europe, we thought about getting a Phillips (which my dentist recommended).
It was a Black Friday deal, and knowing the differene between 5100 or 5XXX and one of the top brushes, Diamondclean, was like 1/4th of a dentist visit - we got the latter. And both me and wife think it's awesome. + you get a travel etui. The app sucks just like the Soocas and OClean app, but the vibration every 30s is enough "smartness" for me.
Funny that the cheap Chinese sonic brush (Soocas) is still working well and I'm thinking about getting a shoe cleaning brush set for it.
Phillips toothbrush doesn't last as long on one charge as the Chinese brushes do.
Something related I came to know only recently is that it has been shown to be more effective to floss before brushing teeth. I have been doing it the other way around my entire life.
My dentist told me I should only use a sonic toothbrush Sonicare or similar because they actually clean while rotational electronic toothbrushes almost literally sweep the crap to under your gums (so they clean the teeth but harm gum gealth).
Mine told me the rotational ones are better. And I think there's some empirical evidence there because when they polish your teeth, they use a rotational tool.
I recently learned, that you can use crushed eggshells to replenish calcium in teeth, just add them to the toothe paste. (I use a canine supplement)
If you're teeth-grinder at night, a few tiny pieces of eggshells help keep the grinding at bay, because you can grind on a piece of eggshell without danger and then relax again.
This. I discovered electric toothbrush in my mid 30s, I have good teeth and brushed already with regular toobrush pretty good, but to be really thorough I had to be always tired after brushing, now with electric toothbrush I can achieve same result with less energy, less tired.
Btw. I went through bunch of cheap noname toothbrushes to realize there is reason you pay for Philips and Oral-B brands, all cheap toothbrushes will fail within few weeks/months due to humidity or other failures, didn't have such experience with those two famous brands, wife and me use Oral-B Pulsonic Slim for years (extremely slim and light, but less powerful), for son who had problem with teeth I bought a bit better (heavier but more powerful) Philips HX6511 (still quite cheap, next time I'd buy this also for myself). Daughter has still cheap Xiaomi, waiting when it will finally break (from 4 I bought 3 broken), then will probably go for same Philips.
Btw. be aware most of the electric toothbrushes still use old NiCd batteries with memory effect, so to achieve maximum battery life/longetivity you should NOT leave tootbrush in charger, but charge it only when it runs out of battery, if you keep it in charger stand it is significantly decreasing battery life with each charging to the point it is useless already by the end of warranty.
100%, and just a quick note that the quality of the brush makes a surprising difference. I was always skimping and buying $5-$10 electric toothbrushes when I tried in the past and was underwhelmed.
I finally tried a name brand brush from Costco when my wife insisted and it blew my mind. Actually excited to go to the dentist to see what they say this time when I’m not full of plaque for once
I had the exact opposite experience. I bought a Sonicare Diamondwhatever and was incredibly disappointed. After two or three months of using that I had visible stains on my teeth that had never been there before. So now I'm back to manual brushing and I've had no significant problems.
THIS! I used to get like 5 cavaites a year, costing me between $300-$900 a year with insurance (US). Then i spent like $120 on an electric toothbrush, nothing ever since, and my gums are so much healthier according to my dentist. I learned this at age 29. Wish i used them years earlier!
I've tried both water jets and electric toothbrushes and they do nothing for me. In particular the tiny circular brush just didn't feel as good as the full-sized bristles on a normal brush. I didn't feel as clean afterwards.
Not using a water flosser as well. It always looked to me like some novelty shopping channel thing. Then I got one and OMG this thing cleans so well, way better than normal flossing (which I was usually to lazy to do anyway).
Can confirm, I couldn't get over how clean my teeth felt the first time I used an electric toothbrush in adulthood. The vibrating rattled my skull at first though, that took a few sessions to get used to haha.
Some 15+ years ago (Don't quite remember the year, probably 2005) I bought myself an electric brush.
My gf at the time mocked me for wasting money on "such an useless thing".
A few months later she went together with her sister to their annual dentist checkup. The dentist praised her sister for how clean her teeth were, while he told my gf hers were "OK". What was it that her sister was doing differently? She was using an electric toothbrush.
I'm pretty certain you can guess what was the very first thing my then gf did coming out of the dentist.
I switched back from an electric toothbrush to a regular one. My biggest issue withthe electric tooth brushes, distractions. You have 2 mins, 30 seconds for each quadrant. If while I brush someone talks to me e.g. what do you want for breakfast, or you see something that distracts you e.g s spec of dust on the mirror that you quickly clean up. I end up feeling like I didnt do a good job on one of the quadrants. Yes you can start over and do more but I generally dont. So I wanted to get rid of the artificial 2 min time limit. :)
You’re ditching it because sometimes you lose track of the time (and don’t want to push the button again) for something that doesn’t have a timer at all?
I generally take my time and am very thorough in brushing my teeth. It just works for me. Had my first and only cavity in my mid 30s. I floss everyday. To me it seemed like needlessly complicating something simple.
Must say, I just checked back HN and am surprised by this comment all grayed out. It is a real experience and life choice that's working for me. Not sure what to make of it. Guess just don't bother disagreeing online :)
I have a basic Oral-B electric tooth brush and you can actually "pause" it. I gag easily so I sometimes need to turn it off, and when I restart it it remembers where it was. So sometimes I restart it, continue what I was doing and it buzzes after 5-10 seconds because I was almost finished.
If a basic model does it, I'd guess they all do it!
Also don't forget you can ignore the vibrations, just continue after the 2 minutes and count in your head if you need it.
I had the exact same experience. I always thought that the electric toothbrush was something for lazy ppl, then only recently - spotting one of the best electric brushes heavily discounted - I bought it. I felt I never had my teeth so clean. A game changer.
Try using a water flosser after regular floss. You will be genuinely surprised how much crap comes out. Since I started that routine, my hygienist has become extra friendly and chatty and say she loves working on my teeth.
For ADHD brain, the timer built into the toothbrush makes all the difference. Sometimes that 30 second interval feels like five seconds, and sometimes I could swear it's been five minutes and I start wondering if it's broken. Nope, that's just ADHD time blindness. I almost certainly never brushed for anywhere close to long enough prior to my electric toothbrush.
My electric vibrates the timer.. I just brush each quarter of my mouth for each timer period. The vibration is annoying, but it's a routine that works for me.
> an electric toothbrush, but I've only used one off and on
There’s a good little joke in here.
FWIW, I’ve gone back and forth on electric toothbrushes and settled on non-electric. I’ve found that a medium-firmness bristle and a rigorous and thorough brushing is what leaves me feeling cleanest. Plus it’s simple, easy to replace, and easier to properly dispose of.
Then again, maybe a super high end electric would change my mind.
I was not impressed either, but I used a fairly cheap one. The people raving about them seem to have spent quite a lot on a high-end toothbrush. Manual brushing always feels good to me though.
Maybe it's like a lot of things - expensive coffee beans, 144 Hz monitors, dvorak keyboards - the "it's lifechanging!" people are vocal, but 99.9% of people don't care about it at all.
Out of curiosity which toothbrushes have you tried? I've been using a Sonicare and on the few occasions I've needed to use a manual toothbrush since it's been night-and-day.
Because they get money from Sonicare for selling them. They might really be better but how can you trust dentists on this when they’re all bought by either Oral B or Sonicare :(
Disagreed; bought and used multiple electric toothbrushes and quickly stopped. I felt I always did a better job myself; turns out I instinctually brushed for 2 minutes minimum and ensured I didn’t just do the circular motion (as the dentist pointed out the second and last time I went to one in my life). Also, I never flossed, I have an anecdotal theory that if you never floss you never open the gaps in your teeth so it’s actually better. Touch wood haven’t had to do anything to my teeth even though my dietary habits are some of the worst anyone around me has seen
What evidence do you have to support flossing being effective in people who have never flossed in their life (such population exists?) who also brush well..
So have I. And several dentists have actually recommended manual brushing to me as well.
On the other hand, water flossing has been a boon against dental plaque and bad breath. I used to never floss.
Disgusting mistake... A lot of food particles get stuck in the teeth interstitial spaces, macerating in there overnight or even several days... Yuck. :x
