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Saturday, November 1, 2008

New Thing #295--Clean The Canines

Do you know how long it should take to brush your teeth?

I didn't, but when I recently learned that dentists recommend a minimum of 2 minutes twice a day, I decided to see how my brushing measured up. Today I brushed my teeth for two minutes.

I'm lucky to have good teeth. My biannual visits to the dentist usually end with the hygienist telling me I don't need to come back until the next cleaning. However, I've been trying to treat all parts of my body better, so I grabbed my toothbrush and used the second hand of the clock in the bathroom as my timer.

Turns out that two minutes is a very long time! I did my normal brushing, then had to repeat the procedure two more times in order to fill up the allotted period. However, when I finished my teeth and gums felt really clean.

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If you spent the minimum recommended time brushing your teeth, you'd do it:
  • Four minutes a day (2 minutes morning and evening)
  • 8 minutes a week
  • 24.3 hours a year
  • 77 days in a lifetime
That's a lot of brushing!

3 comments:

  1. I did this somewhere near the beginning of the year. (Actually, I think I did 3 minutes because I was too lazy to look up whether it was 2 or 3 minutes.) It was really long, and the toothpaste got all foamy. My teeth were very clean-feeling afterwards, though

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  2. I brush my teeth for about six minutes in the morning and in the evening. Sometimes mid-afternoon, too. I always brush my teeth in front of the TV so the time flies by.

    The downside is that I've had my dentist tell me that I brush my teeth too much.

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  3. Ooh this is a good one - I know my teeth could use a little more love and care from me. I'm gonna try this tonight - thanks for the idea!

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