How many times a day should I brush my teeth?

Question

Hi doctor,

How many times a day should I brush my teeth? I recently bought an electronic toothbrush with five modes. I am not new to electronic toothbrushes. I brush my teeth in sensitive mode and I used to wash them three times a day after having food. Sometimes, especially after I had my teeth cleaned professionally, I experienced sensitivity. I do not want to get my enamel wear off. Is it correct to wash my teeth three times a day? Or should I do it only two times a day? Should I use mouthwash at night? I am using a product without alcohol. I read that it might upset the mouth's natural bacterial environment, although it helps preserve teeth. Is that correct?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Welcome to icliniq.com.

The best oral hygiene maintenance method is to brush your teeth with a soft or medium toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. The electronic toothbrush does not offer any real additional benefit to normal individuals. It is the movements of the toothbrush made by our hands that bring about thorough cleaning. Most of the toothpastes available in the market are good as long as they contain up to 1000 ppm fluoride. Brushing three times is good. The main goal is to clean the food deposits from all areas. Rinsing the mouth after meals is good yet a simple method to keep the mouth clean. Using mouthwash causes no real problem about upsetting the microflora or healthy bacteria.

You can continue to use it once a day. Professional cleaning is recommended every 6 to 12 months, depending on your plaque and calculus-forming tendency. Due to plaque deposition over a long period, there is temporary decalcification that might occur on the tooth surface. Thus, on professional cleaning when it is removed there will be a slightly increased sensitivity. However, it does not remove the enamel layer at a significant level. So, once we continue to use the fluoride toothpaste with a toothbrush, along with natural fluoride in water, the tooth surface gets remineralized. And then, the sensitivity disappears.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.