Common Q&A for Dental Hygiene

We often hear that we should brush our teeth twice per day for at least a minute each time. Along with brushing, though, we should also floss our teeth. But, this seems to be the standard for tooth brushing for most people. However, I’ve often wondered what is the maximum amount of times you should brush your teeth per day? Luckily for me, I live with and am married to a dental hygienist. Therefore, I didn’t have to go far to find my answer. Here is a little Q&A I had with my hygienist.

Q. How many times should you brush your teeth per day?

A. “The standard amount of times you should brush your teeth per day is twice. However, we honestly throw this number out because we believe it is attainable for everyone. Brush once in the morning, brush once at night.”

Q. Should you actually brush your teeth more than twice per day?

A. “That honestly depends. In addition to the morning and evening brush, a quick brush after you eat a meal would not hurt at all. But, we definitely don’t want to be over brushing.”

Q. Speaking of which, what is the maximum times someone should brush their teeth? And what constitutes as over brushing?

A. “The maximum amount of times someone should brush their teeth is two good brushings, the morning and evening brush, and then a few quick brushes after a meal. This usually results in 3 good brushings per day. As far as over brushing, brushing too long or too hard is what we call over brushing. You could over brush if you only brush twice per day depending on how hard you’re pressing the bristles to your teeth and gums and for how long you’re doing that. This can lead to damage of the outer tooth layer, and also to severe gum damage.”

Q. In order to avoid over brushing, how hard must you grip the tooth brush to lessen the chance of brushing too hard?

A. “You should grip the tooth brush no harder than you would grip an open bottle of toothpaste if you were trying not to squeeze the paste out. This type of grip will ensure you’re allowing the bristle tips to do the job they were created to do, and not damaging teeth and gums at the same time. Your toothbrush was created a certain way, and that certain way was to be held lightly as opposed to choking it.”