How long do you brush your teeth for?

@Shar19 (8231)
United States
March 24, 2009 8:15am CST
My automatic toothbrush has a two minute timer on it. The toothbrush stops after the two minutes and I'm done. I will admit though that I don't always let it go to the full two minutes, especially when I'm in a rush. How long do you brush your teeth for?
1 person likes this
13 responses
• India
24 Mar 09
I brush my teeth usually for 5 minutes, maximum time is 15 minutes.
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
That's a long time.
• Philippines
24 Mar 09
I often brush my teeth for 5 minutes in average. I think it is a desirable amount of time to clean your teeth and mouth.
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
I don't think I have the patience to brush them for that long.
@hcromer (2710)
• United States
24 Mar 09
My toothbrush has a timer on it also. I always let my toothbrush run all the way through the timer. Sometimes I don't even feel like the timer gives me long enough so I'll turn it on for a little while longer. I'm a total oral hygiene freak! :)
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
There have been times when I couldn't believe I used the whole 2 minutes already.
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
24 Mar 09
Honestly, I have never really paid attention to how long I brush my teeth. I can almost guarantee that it is not a full 2 minutes though. I would say more like a minute or minute and a half probably.
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
I think that's about how long most people brush for.
@rymebristol (1808)
• Philippines
24 Mar 09
i don't have a stop watch when i brush my teeth but i notice, i think i brush my teeth for 2 or three hours.
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
Your arm must get really tired.
@alankor (478)
• Singapore
24 Mar 09
maybe around 1 minutes to 2 minutes?i don't count the time i am brushing my teeth.when i feel it is ready, i rinse and spit out.i always floss my teeth in the evening when i brush my teeth.it keeps the food bits away from the openings between the teeth.
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
Always good to floss.
@dom1312 (27)
• India
24 Mar 09
Well my dentist friend had advised me on that topic. You should brush your teeth for at least 2-3 min. More than that doesnt make much difference. Its the technique of your brushing which matters. Suppose you divide your teeth in 4 quadrants, then 30 sec of brushing on each will suffice. Also be it night or morning you should not rush on it as then it doesn't matter even if you don't brush!
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
That makes sense to me.
• United States
31 Mar 09
Probably two minutes. My kids have those ones that play a song while they brush their chompers. I think its a neat idea, better than me telling them for two minutes to "Keep brushing" while I hold a stop watch.
@taface412 (3175)
• United States
25 Mar 09
I don't really ever time myself. I just load up the toothbrush and brusha, brusha, brusha....basically I brush and then spit and I will do this three times until there is no more paste on my toothbrush...so maybe a little less than a minute or maybe two. I dunno. Cool that your auto brush has a timer. I bet the inventor made a fortune on that one.
@savypat (20216)
• United States
24 Mar 09
I use the whole two minuets for each 30 seconds I stand on one foot, to help keep my feet strong and balance. No i don't have four feet.I just switch feet every 30 seconds. I guess you could call that multitasking
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
Good idea. I should try that sometime.
@kenroxas (131)
• Philippines
24 Mar 09
5 mins minimum maximum 30
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
Very interesting. That's a long time.
• United States
24 Mar 09
I used to have a Spinbrush with an automatic timer it was also for 2 minutes. I usually would let it go for the full 2 minutes. Now I am using a regular brush again and I am definitely guilty of not always doing the full 2 minutes...I can't really tell for sure since there is no longer a timer. I would guess I spend 1 minute or so.
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
24 Mar 09
I think that's plenty of time.
@mikhatri (120)
• India
24 Mar 09
i brush my teeth for 2 or 3 min but i never seen the exact time may be more than that...