Asklemmy

When I wake up and before bed

Usually 2x a day, when I get up and when I go to bed.

After breakfast and before i go to bed.

Once in the morning (with a tongue scraper beforehand), once before bed (with flossing and the tongue scraper beforehand).

Seems to work well enough so far. Oh and an electric toothbrush is a must.

Fucking hell there's a lot of dedicated people here, or a lot of liars.

I've been unable to build any kind of oral hygiene routine my entire life. My parents were absentee parents so I never built the habit when I was young. I've had major bouts of depression my whole life, I was only recently diagnosed ADHD, and in general am shit at any routines, and on top of that I never have tooth/gum pain to remind me to brush and the dentist doesn't hurt/bother me. Even having been in the military didn't establish any kind of routine. But I've definitely paid for it. I don't know how many thousands of dollars worth of crowns I have, and I know it's just a matter of time before I have to pay for bridges/implants.

It literally just doesn't occur to me that it's a thing unless I am specifically reminded externally and do it immediately. I've tried reminder apps, notes on the bathroom mirror, Alexa reminders, but they all become background noise after a while.

I'm surprised by how many people do that after every meal. Is it good for enamel?

Twice a day. One when I get up and one before going to bed. I floss occasionally.

There's a recent podcast edition of Science Vs. about this very thing.

According to their interviewed experts and their research, brushing your teeth does nothing to prevent cavities UNLESS it's fluoridated toothpaste.

Flossing also doesn't really prevent cavities, but it is important for me gum health. They recommend regular flossing (more than once a week)

After waking up, ~~after~~ before going to bed and after every meal

Depends on my mood, if i have energy or not. I'm trying get back to how i used to, when i brushed multiple times a day, but i usually brush once a day on a good day.

Good oral hygiene practices don’t really differ between cultures. Cleaning your teeth properly is cleaning your teeth properly.

I brush twice a day. I had a kind of gross moment that forced the habit. One day I looked up microscopic pictures of teeth. Normal teeth kind of look like a cool lattice structure under a microscope. Non-brushed teeth... the bacteria looked SO disgusting. I do not want that in my mouth...

Twice a day, once in the morning or whenever I get ready for the day and once before bed. I also brush my tongue with a tongue brush/scraper. My current struggle is trying to get flossing into my routine. I know if I keep at it, it'll get better, but right now it's hard to want to go to bed with the taste of blood in my mouth.

To all of you who don't brush in the morning, are you all nose blind? Morning breath is the worst, second only behind coffee+morning breath. Have some consideration for your fellow humans.

I were supposed to do tree times a day, but i end up 2 every day. I also bathe every day

3 times a day.

I brush after each meal, floss after lunch, and use a waterpik after dinner before brushing.

Probably excessive, but it’s less than 15 minutes a day total to keep my teeth happy.

I have a pattern which really works for me where I wake up, brush my night guard and brush my teeth with no toothpaste and then eat breakfast. That way I don't have the horrible mint toothpaste / orange juice clash I'm sure many of you are familiar with.

Then at night I floss and brush with toothpaste, and put in the night guard.

I used to make myself floss only every other day (like if I didn't floss last night I MUST floss tonight), which I highly recommend rather than sporadic or no flossing. But I recently upped my game to "every night except special occasions".

i've been depressed my entire life and my dental hygiene used to be atrocious as a kid. these days, in my late 20s, i typically brush once a day in the morning and mouthwash before bed because the day takes a lot out of me energy wise and brushing my teeth ends up feeling like a monumental task. i go to the dentist every 3 to 4 months so more than the average person, but my insurance covers it. i use an electric toothbrush. i've only had one cavity and have all of my teeth including my wisdom teeth because they're not damaged and don't have cavities.

Brush in the morning to keep your friends, brush at night to keep your teeth.

Twice: after waking up,before bed. Floss, tongue cleaner , mouth wash is a part of the ritual. On a related note : can recommend electronic tooth brush.

The amount of individuals here who brush post breakfast or not at all in the morning is alarming ! Of course, mental health can affect the schedule but that's a different conversation and is understandable.

The rest, how is your dentist not harassing about your oral hygiene?

I floss and brush religiously every night, have for many years. I had a cavity when I was young and the whole experience was terrible.

I still ended up with multiple cavities as an adult.

Every time I take out my Invisalign :( so 5-10 times a day.

Beginning of the day and after my last meal of the day, plus before I take a nap if I do (they feel funny if I don't)

Twice a day, but I occasionally miss the one at night after a night out. Still haven't had any cavities!

Had cavities with no local anesthesia in Asia when I was younger so I am now religiously brushing twice a day and flossing at least once a day and visit the dentist every 6 months.

A lot of y'all are clearly not as depressed as I am. It has been a struggle most of my adult life to force myself to brush my teeth. It's something I've gotten much better at lately, and I've luckily not had any serious dental issues yet. But I'm shocked that no one else has said they struggle with it. Y'all are inspirations.