Tooth Brushing Technique from a Six-Year-Old

This embarrasses me - that my 6-year-old niece gave me a refresher course in teeth brushing. And, that I needed it. Should I just skulk away into the dark woods now, never to be seen in polite company again?

Nah - maybe if I ignored her wisdom. Happily, though, I have improved my oral hygiene.

One hundred twenty seconds is the key. Two minutes. (I can't write this without thinking of the song from Rent: Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes.) My niece has a petite sand-filled egg timer. She flips it and that is how long she brushes.

Before you think all sorts of awful things about my mouth, I own seven toothbrushes. I brush about five times a day, rotating the brushes so that each can dry. However, compared to my niece, I am a rotter. I brushed all areas of the teeth plus my tongue, but the entire operation lasted... maybe 25 seconds? The difference between 25 and 120 is HUGE!

Once I heard a dental hygienist for public elementary schools talk about her job. She shared some of her teaching patter: She asks everyone (you can play along here) to gently keep their lips closed and "brush" their teeth with their tongue. Without asking for public sharing of the results, she continues, "If your teeth feel slippery, they are clean. If they aren't slippery or if they feel fuzzy, they are not clean enough."

Well, I also will decline public sharing. However, I will admit that the slipperiness factor for me improved when I spent two whole minutes brushing.

Sheesh.