54
submitted 1 year ago by wolf@lemmy.zip to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

I almost always read in the news/press that dentists recommend to brush teeth two times a day for 2-3 minutes.

This drives me crazy, because it does not make sense; The point for dental health is to systematical clean every surface of your teeth twice a day (and use inter-dental brushes/floss once a day). For me, brushing my teeth takes around 6 minutes, if I hurry up. For someone faster it might be possible in 1 minute.

So, why do dentists always give the 2-3 minutes recommendation?

(page 2) 36 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Brush? Are you crazy! Plaque build up makes for a powerful bite. You'll need it to be at the top of the Zombie crowd.

[-] muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What's really strange to me, is that for all the expertise around dentistry, AFAIK there has never been an actual evidence-based study for how long and how often you should brush and floss.

Its literally the most important piece of dental advice they could study, and no research has been done. How much plaque builds up on average when only brushing once per week, once per month? It makes me question the whole discipline and wonder if they don't just say "brush 10 times a day" in order to sell more dental products.

Maybe they'd discover that actually you only need to brush twice a week, and floss twice a week. Maybe it ends up being flossing every day, and brushing once a month... who knows.

[-] Dr_Cog@mander.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

From someone with a science background: There are a lot of expenses with that type of clinical trial.

In particular, if you're going to assign someone to a group that is known to be unhealthy (brushing once a month) you need to pay for any dental or medical problems that arise from them not brushing.

[-] muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago

For sure, and they should def stop if there were any serious long-term affects, like any medical trial.

[-] TonyTonyChopper@mander.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

my mouth feels nasty after half a meal so uh... twice a day or more is good for me thanks

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] pelletbucket@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

i just go over my teeth twice with a manual brush.

[-] floppingfish@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

Back in the day, it was recommended after every meal!

[-] Cromalin@hexbear.net 0 points 1 year ago

i figure it's a good point that'll get most people most of the way there. not too confusing

load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›
this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
54 points (84.6% liked)

Asklemmy

43958 readers
1140 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS