Dental Hygiene

For a long time now I’ve wondered how much time each day I spend brushing my teeth. This only came up because there are new lines of products for kids to make sure that they spend enough time on this task. I don’t know if you’ve seen them. There are battery operated toothbrushes that vibrate or make music for the 2 minutes that you are supposed to spend. There are also toothpastes that come with flashing lights, and you are supposed to brush as long as the lights flash.

So I wondered, how long do I brush? Well, I couldn’t just set a stop watch and check, because chances are, knowing about the timer would affect the integrity of the experiment. So I waited patiently, until just the right opportunity presented itself. I won’t go into the how’s, just suffice it to say, it was pretty much an accident. However, I learned that I spend 5 minutes brushing my teeth at each setting. This doesn’t include mouthwash or flossing, this is just brushing teeth.

The rest of my family says that I must be OCD about my dental hygiene. My sister tried brushing that long and she had to give up; she said that it hurt her gums. I don’t know about the whole OCD thing, but I have an internal checklist and a process for my proper cleanliness. Maybe I am a freak and I brush way too long, but my teeth are white and silky smooth, so I don’t care what other’s think! Now, I want you all to ask yourselves: How long do you brush?