To be honest, sometimes we still time ourselves to make sure we’re brushing for a full two minutes in the morning and at night. When there are kids running around in the bathroom behind us or there is food on the stove, it’s hard to make sure we pay enough time and attention to our pearly whites. Helping our kids brush properly and for the right amount of time is even harder! We know it’s not going to happen every day, but the American Dental Association (ADA) recommends brushing for two minutes twice a day in order to really do an effective job removing plaque from the teeth.
Colgate.com has great pictures to go along with their brushing technique tutorial:
Tilt the brush at a 45° angle against the gumline and sweep/ roll the brush away from the gumline.
Gently brush the outside, inside and chewing surface of each tooth using short back-and-forth strokes.
Gently brush your tongue to remove bacteria and freshen breath.
Now that you have the technique down, you want to make sure you are brushing for two minutes in the morning and at night. Why the two minutes? Two minutes is a loooooong time…especially for kids!!! First of all, it really takes that long to get all of the fronts, backs, and tops of the teeth if you are brushing properly. Secondly, there have been studies that say that it takes two minutes for the fluoride in the toothpaste to get absorbed into the other layer of the tooth, optimizing it’s effectiveness.
A lot of battery toothbrushes on the market have timers built in that automatically turn off after two minutes. That is a great way to get your child used to the longer brushing time. You can also play a song on the radio or set a timer in the bathroom so everyone knows when their time is up.
The 2min2X campaign was created by the Ad Council for The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives, a coalition of nearly three dozen dental health organizations, including the ADA. This campaign focuses it’s energy on brushing technique and timing. Check out the 2min2X website for more helpful and fun facts!