We’ve all been there many times…
We’re running late getting out the door to go to work, to the gym, on a date, so we drag our brush over our teeth for 20 seconds and promise our pearly whites we’ll make it up to them later (err, scratch that, we probably don’t rush brushing our teeth before a date 🙂 ).
A question we pose to you is this…
When was the last time you really cared for your teeth like you want them to stay healthy and in your mouth for the rest of your life?
A secondary title for this article could be…
Whoever proclaimed 2 minutes was the ‘golden rule’ for brushing anyway?
Quick confession here… I brush my teeth in the car. In fact, it’s a pretty steady habit for me. And honestly, the fun part for me is I’m in good company! When I shared my habit of brushing while driving with our friend and mentor Dr David Kennedy, he disclosed to me that he keeps a toothbrush in his airplane!
An important point to keep in mind here is that we live on an island where the roads are just about always empty, so I feel safe doing this in clear weather. We would NOT recommend doing this if you’re driving somewhere with bad weather, tricky roads, or other traffic around. But, feel free to find another way to incorporate a longer, more thorough tooth brushing session into your day.
When I brush in the car, I may brush for up to 10 minutes. However, the way I brush isn’t how most of us think about the proverbial “scrub them ’til they’re clean because you only have 2 minutes” approach. While driving, it’s more of an exploratory massage than a scrub session. And the secret to doing a thorough job is…
The magic plaque sensor we all have in our mouths
You see, each of us has this wonderful tool to find the most microscopic amount of anything stuck to our teeth. It’s our tongue. Think about it… How many times have you experienced your tongue feeling something on your teeth or stuck between two teeth and your attention is laser focused on removing that goober until the job is done?
Our tongues can feel plaque on the teeth really, really well.
So, when I brush while driving, it’s this dance between brushing a couple surfaces, then removing the brush and feeling that area with my tongue for any plaque that’s still trying to hang on there. If I find that there’s still some plaque, I’ll go back to that same area, change technique, even change hands to get the right angle, until it feels squeaky clean. Then I move to the next area.
Rule of tongue: Brush until teeth feel clean.
(which may take more than 2 minutes)
This whole process can take me 10 minutes while I drive into town.
But, be careful. If you allow yourself to brush unconsciously for 10 minutes, you will scrub your gums too hard and they will scream at you tomorrow for your lack of awareness while brushing. So, the rule here is to stay conscious while brushing for longer periods of time.
There are three main benefits of taking this ‘on the go’ mentality to cleaning your teeth.
1. Your teeth will undoubtedly be cleaner than they have been in a long time.
Think about it, which method is going to do a more thorough job at removing more plaque and lovingly stimulating your gum tissue: brushing unconsciously for 2 minutes (or 20 seconds, for that matter) or treating them to a 10 minute massage session?
2. You will give your teeth the ultimate remineralization treatment while ‘stewarding’ your oral microbiome.
Another benefit to this brushing approach is that by the time you finish, you’ve generated a mouthful of saliva, which makes an excellent probiotic bath to support remineralizing your teeth and caring for your oral microbiome. In fact, here’s a link to a video we made that shares a strategy we have coined, “Mouth Probiotics,” which details how swishing with saliva is a very powerful habit to support a healthy mouth and digestion.
3. The third benefit is helping to bring mystery and levity into the world.
Imagine all the people you see while driving, walking, reading a book in a park, etc. who will look at you and wonder what the heck you are doing, why you are brushing your teeth, and where in the world you plan to spit after! Which brings up a good point…
Where do we spit after?
Well, if you ‘dry brush’ (which simply means that you brushed your teeth with just the brush and no paste, HealThy Mouth Blend, Shine, etc.), it’s perfectly fine to swallow the saliva and bless the rest of your digestive system with the nourishing saliva bath. If that’s too gross for you, just wait until you can find a place to spit (a travel cup will work for this, too). 🙂
So, the next time you are getting ready to head out, consider taking the toothbrush ‘to go’ and giving your teeth some extra care along the way.
(PS: Only try this while driving if you feel safe and drive an automatic!)
Also, for those of you who are new here, these are the toothbrushes we use and why.
Confession time! Where have you given your teeth an extra long massage session? While watching TV? Surfing Facebook? Now it’s your turn to share. We promise we won’t laugh!
Also, if you’re ready to take your oral health to the next level and gain a complete understanding of how to stop tooth decay and reverse cavities, feel free to check out our Shine Remineralizing Tooth Whitening Powder and download our FREE eBook, “How to Remineralize Your Teeth”.
I don’t think I’ve ever brushed my teeth for more than two minutes before. Like you said, it’s not how long you brush, it’s how you brush. However, you can do it too much and it will make your gums hurt the next day.
Aloha Sam,
Agreed. You can make your gums hurt the next day even if you brush less than 2 minutes if you brush unconsciously and scrub your gum line like you were cleaning a grout line in your shower. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Interesting information! To be frank, I was not much conscious about my oral health till I suffered from a tooth decay. Then I had to consult a family dental clinic in Burlington for treatment. My doctor explained the importance of dental care and suggested me to brush properly. Now I am spending more time for brushing. Your idea of brushing while driving is super. It’s interesting and time saving too.
Hi there – I am a homeschooling mom of 3 so I don’t drive to work. But I am busy and still want to give my teeth all they need. I have been giving an extra long brush session to my teeth at night while doing leg squats. I brush in one place while I do about 5 squats. I have been the most consistent with leg exercises (and brushing) ever since starting this. I can do the squats while brushing the top or bottom only or I am getting tired and start to brush too hard. So for the second half, I do gentle stretching to cool down. With this brushing routine, I take about 7-8 min.
Thanks for the very helpful blog posts!
Aloha Sarah,
HAHA, and I thought I was the only person to ‘multi task’ by brushing and working out! 🙂
Great ideas here. Just be careful to not go with ‘extra gusto’ when your heart rate goes up and you start to fatigue! Voice of experience with that error. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Why not use a sonicare for good oral hygeine?
Aloha Jane,
Thank you for reaching out here with your idea. We believe that Sonicare is a fine toothbrush. If you’d like to dive more deeply, here’s a link to an article that we compare and contrast whether manual or electric brushes are better for us.
I hope it helps! 🙂
Great idea! There are far worse things to do while driving. Might have to get a second tooth brush now. I always loved to brush long, because it feels good and is meditative. Now that I have better gear (your tooth brush and mouth blend) and technique I’ll do that without fear of rubbing down the enamel anymore.
Thanks!
Glad you like the idea Tina!
Thanks for stopping by to share your appreciation for the idea.
Let us know how it goes and be sure to smile bright when people driving by you do a ‘double take’ just to make sure they actually saw you brushing your teeth! 🙂
Aloha!
Thanks for the article, Will! It’s great to hear this encouragement to brush/massage our gums/teeth consciously for as long as it takes to remove the filth.
I’m very weary of people texting while driving since I bike/run on the roads more than drive. However, to think of people brushing while driving does not scare me, especially if they’re being conscious about it. It’s not an activity that diverts one’s eyes away from the road, and maintaining awareness is perfect for driving since it’s very easy to zone out watching the trees go by…
So right on! I think that’s a good idea 🙂
I read an article here before that talked about “going on a date with your toothbrush”. That imagery is so awesome and helpful! Of course, sometimes life gets to me and I brush as quickly as possible but since I’ve read that article, have been going on these dates more and more. It’s a time for slowing down and bringing yourself back to the present moment. My dates average 5 minutes and my mouth loves it!
I really have enjoyed the articles coming from this company, and the products!
Thank you!
David from Maine
Thanks for all the love David!
We are honored that you find benefit from our info and products! We went out on a limb a bit with this article so we really appreciate you sharing that you aren’t freaked out about my brushing while driving habit. 🙂
Thanks again and Aloha!!
I utilize the time while I’m watching TV to give my teeth lots of attention and the routine takes about 20 minutes. I do a quick manual toothbrushing in the bathroom to dislodge any major food bits before I sit down in front of the TV. Then I use a wooden dental stimulator pick to gently scrape around and between teeth, then I floss, and then use gauze pad for massaging gums and polishing teeth, and then back to the bathroom where I finish with electric toothbrush and a non-alcohol rinse. I started this routine on the advice of a periodontist who had to treat me for pockets and had to perform painful planings to get my mouth back in shape and now 25 yrs later, dental hygienists always compliment me for my routine and its results.
Wow Joyce,
You definitely have figured out what works for you! That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing with us all here.
Isn’t it awesome when you get the ‘your teeth and gums look great as usual Joyce’ comment? Ahh, the simple benefits of dental self empowerment…
Aloha!
I’m all about saving time (and use Orawellness Blend everday), but I don’t think brushing in the car is a good idea. If you are involved in an accident, I hate to think how far down your throat a toothbrush could get shoved. A friend of mine was wearing a plastic hair clip when involved in an accident. Thankfully, her only injury was a painful bruise and scratch on her scalp from – you guessed it – the hair clip. A toothbrush in the mouth could have been more serious. Give yourself a few more minutes at home to brush. Love your products, but just sayin’….
Aloha Nonny,
Yeah, I hear you. I could add in the article that we live in a pretty rural area that anyone can rarely get over 50 mph. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by to offer your input!
Aloha!
50mph sounds pretty fast – is this country roads? what about animals which come onto the road, and wouldnt stand a chance if you are going at 50, and concentrating on brushing your teeth!
Hehe Maggi,
I hear you. Some people aren’t comfortable with the idea of driving while brushing. Please only do this if it’s comfortable for you. Please know that I’m very careful while doing this and tend to be a pretty conservative driver. 🙂
When you say brushing your teeth do you mean you brush as directed with your toothbrushes, at the gum line and at an angle, or are you actually brushing your teeth surfaces? Sounds like a great thing to do while watching TV as you noted.
Aloha MP,
Yeah, great question! One we plan to address in an upcoming article. Yes, we recommend that you brush for various purposes including, caring for your gum line via Bass brushing, caring for your tooth surfaces, stimulating/massaging gum tissue, etc. We agree, TV is a great place to ‘take a Sunday drive’ with your oral care. Just be sure to stay conscious! 🙂
hmm, i’m not sure about brushing in the car – sounds really irresponsible to encourage people to do this, and isnt there a law about ‘both hands on the steering wheel’, except for changing gear……and what you are saying is its really important to concentrate on brushing your teeth in the car – i always thought it was really important to concentrate on driving the car, and on the road ahead! no, i think this is very silly advice – and goes along with people being so busy they cant find a few extra minutes in their day to brush their teeth! you poor people, you really need to learn to chill a little – use tooth brushing time for a little meditation maybe – woops, no, should be focusing on meditating, not teethbrushing….
Aloha Maggi,
Thank you for sharing your input here. I hear you on the relative safety of brushing while driving. In the spirit of legality, there is no law that I’m aware of that requires a person to keep both hands on the wheel while driving.
We agree with you that it’s sad that our culture has gotten so fast paced that many don’t take the extra time to take care of their oral health and oral health is only one aspect of our lives that suffers from the furious pace of modern culture.
I recall many years ago seeing people literally reading the newspaper while driving on the freeways. It scared me so much! At least when I drive while brushing, I have one hand firmly on the wheel, both eyes on the road ahead and can pay attention to my gum/tooth massage session secondarily. Just so you know, I only do this while driving mellow roads into town. Once traffic picks up, I put away my brush. 🙂
I use My orawellness toothbrush and oils and brush in bed. It’s comfy and meditative 🙂
Thanks for sharing Danielle! Sounds comfy!
I love this! Works when taking a ‘soaker’ bath, you know the kind of bath to warm up from the cold or just relax achy muscles. I plan to send this to a friend who doesn’t know about you yet that iKNOW will love it (and she has a long commute). Thanks.
Great idea Diane! Thanks for sharing the love with your friend!
Aloha!
I shower twice a day, ? and I brush em in there. ???♀️