People with great teeth- share your routines!

[GoldenCagedBird]

Just finished the last of some relatively simple dental work today (abroad) after years of abuse- going to bed without brushing after nights out, a few extended bouts of depression as a young adult where personal hygiene wasn’t great and also lots of red wine/Diet Coke.

I had 5 large cavities, two that initially needed crowning, but were fixed with a filling. So 5 fillings in total!

I really want to look after my teeth and be a great role model for DD. I would like to improve the colour too- mine are a normal shade, no overt yellowing, but a creamy white. My clinic abroad offers laser and strip whitening- what’s the difference?

could you share your brushes, mouthwashes, toothpaste you use? Do you brush 3 times a day?

I really want to get this right and have lovely teeth. I’m only 29 and was gutted that they were in such a poor state. A small mercy is some of my old cheap composites have been swapped out for porcelain, so inside the mouth is looking much better.

I've recently turned over a new leaf with dental care after getting a massive lecture from my dentist. Was the same as you. Now, given up all food and drink where sugar sits on the teeth for a prolonged time, so no sugary drinks, no sucking sweets etc. Brush religiously twice a day for 2 mins, using technique dentist showed me. And use interdental brushes 2-3 times a week.

I brush my teeth carefully and for ages every evening before I go to bed. I've never used floss, mouthwash etc.

Nearly 50. One filling so far.

Brush twice a day for 2mins with fluoride toothpaste.
Floss each time.
Rinse with alcohol free mouthwash (never water).

Yearly hygienist appointments.

I have no preference between manual or electric toothbrush, prefer soft bristles. Always brush up and down or in a small circular motion. Always brush gums and tongue.

Eat healthily and I keep a spare toothbrush and paste at work if needed.

No fillings

Some of this is going to be in the genes, but I'm the only person in my family with good teeth, and I'm the only one who didn't like sweets. When i did a brief journey into sweets as a young adult i developed cavaties. The lesson was a clear one for me. My DH can eat ask the sweets he wants, but he goes for regular check ups so he's on top of any damage. I have been to the dentist in over a decade.

I have decent teeth. I'm not convinced whitening is good for the actual strength of your teeth. I brush twice a day, electric toothbrush, and floss before brushing at night. Leave it 20 minutes or so after eating and drinking before you brush or the enzymes that are breaking down the sugar are rubbed into the enamel and break it down too (apparently). Spit out, don't rinse, after brushing.

I also chew sugar free gum during the day. It removes food particles from your teeth and encourages saliva production, its very good for your teeth.

Meant to say I have fillings from when I was a teenager, but none since I started doing the above, and I'm in my early 40s now. It's the bedtime brushing which is crucial. Brush in the morning for your friends and at night for your dentist 😀

I have decent teeth but my dentist has commented on an improvement since getting a oral b toothbrush that has an app. It shows you which teeth you've cleaned and how well, I also never rinse my mouth after brushing my teeth, the toothpaste residue protects your teeth.

Laser whitening is essentially more effective than strip whitening, it's worth the extra money.

I use an excellent electric toothbrush (Oral B 9600), changing the brush head every couple of months.

Brush 2 minutes twice a day, plus a couple of shorter brush-ups in between.

Use mouthwash once a day.

Floss every day.

See a hygienist for a thorough cleaning (45 minutes) every six months.

Have a check-up once a year.

My teeth are not perfect since I neglected them when I was young and foolish, but I had the dental work done that was needed to remedy the damage, and I've not had any problems since. My mum died with all but one of her own teeth and I'm planning to do likewise.

Brush in the morning for your friends and at night for your dentist 😀

That's a good one - and very true!!

Oh....... and I don't eat sugar (well, hardly ever...) and virtually no refined carbs.

I actually think a lot stands on how good your routine was as a child. I have really good teeth, but as an adult I eat too much sugary stuff and not enough good stuff, my brushing routine is rubbish (but they do get brushed daily, Manila toothbrush, no flossing or mouth wash etc). But at 50 I consider myself lucky I have no dental issues or fillings etc.

But my parents were sticklers for brushing twice a day, brushing after sweet treats etc and we had no squash, juice or anything in the house growing up.

I'm from a country where people are very careful with their teeth and odontological treatment in teenagers is very common and doesn't cost an arm and leg like here. Not cheap, but still affordable. I wore braces for a very long time as a teen so I should know

Flossing at least once a day, ideally every time you brush your teeth but most importantly before bedtime.
I brush mine at least 3 times a day and I have an electric toothbrush. There's some good ones from £20 pounds, they really don't have to be the supersonic type (but of course go for it if you can afford it).

I'm not the biggest fan of mouthwash but I do it every now and then.

But something I can't live without is my tongue cleaner. I scrape and clean my tongue religiously as a lot of bacteria accumulate in the tongue causing bad breath, etc.

Whether or not you have good or poor teeth is as much to do with their genetic composition, as it is to do with sugar etc, although that obviously doesn’t help.

My teeth are rubbish and always have been, but I go to the dentist and hygienist every six months, I use the recommended electric toothbrush, floss, interdental brushes and edge brushes every day.

I drink mostly water and one or two coffees a day, I don’t drink alcohol, or fruit juice or fizzy drinks. My teeth just break and need filling or crowning, despite doing everything I should. It’s flipping expensive too.

Have you tried taking calcium supplements?

Don't rinse with mouthwash or water immediately after brushing, you're rinsing the fluoride away.

I use mouthwash after eating something sugary, I was told not to brush for half an hour or so after eating or drinking, so I like to rinse then instead.

Routine is : brush with Philips Sonicare toothbrush and Colgate toothpaste as soon as I wake up.
Eat breakfast then rinse with non-alcohol mouthwash
Use interdental brush.

After lunch, either quick rinse or brush teeth, depending on where I am and whatever is most convenient

Evening, same as morning, but I try not to leave it until actual bedtime because that's when I'm more likely to be too tired and it feels like a chore.

Hmm as a minimum:

Brush morning and evening, electric toothbrush
Floss every other day
I use a mouthwash because I am prone to bleeding gums
Hygienist every 6 months, dentist annually

My teeth are pretty good and always were. DH's were discoloured and crooked prone to fillings. Had work done in his 20s. Excellent hygiene as an adult.

DS - no fillings at 28 but teeth crooked and a bit yellow.

DD - nice straight teeth like mine but prone to fillings despite the same hygiene as DS and me. Had a gap between her two front teeth.

DH, DD and DS have all needed cosmetic work. Like DH, DD is prone to decay and has 4 fillings.

Genetics play a large part.

I genuinely think it’s mainly down to genes.

My DH takes loads more care of his teeth than I do (I do the basics - brush twice a day with an electric toothbrush but that’s it whereas he flosses, uses mouthwash, interdental brushes etc etc). But my teeth are straight, white & strong (I’ve never needed a filling) and his, despite a lot of expensive dental & orthodontic treatment, just aren’t. I’m just lucky to have strong teeth.

A lot of it is genes though. I take great care of my teeth and always have but have fillings. My dh brushes daily but apart from that does little else, eats a lot of sugar and didn't go to the dentist for ages when we moved house. Every time we go now they say well done and he has perfect teeth, it's infuriating.

I am in my forties and have one filling and one implant (this was a result of a tooth being extracted in my mid thirties after a root canal failed for the second time - the reason I had a root canal was I had a very shallow and wide filling in my teens. The dentist tried to pin it which caused damage to the nerve resulting in a root canal and crown).

I have had no issues for years - my routine is:

Brush teeth morning and night.

Floss and use interdental brushes morning and night.

Mouthwash or dental gum after eating.

Limited sweets and fizzy drinks.

Yearly dental check ups.

Twice yearly hygienist appointments.

Brush twice a day with whatever is on offer, usually some kind of whitening on.

Don't rinse after brushing. No mouthwash. Listerine apparently causes staining.

I use those dental pick things when I remember or if I have food caught in my teeth.

No fillings, have had wisdom teeth out because of impaction.

I really think good / bad teeth are genetic.

Brush twice a day without rinsing. Morning brushing is down before breakfast as per dentist instruction.
Floss and interdental brush every evening before said brushing.

My dentist would give me a gold star sticker if it wasn't for the fact I'm 57!

Blessed with straight, white teeth to start with

2x a day brushing with electric brush
Tongue scraper
Tuft brush to clean surfaces prone to staining- I chew a lot on my left side, so mostly there
No floss and no mouthwash, unless I need to (I have very tight teeth, so flossing or tepe brushes are nightmare to me)

I am looking into buying one of these water flossers for my husband , so might start using this. Given that I don't steer clear from sugar, fruit etc. I think it's mostly genetics unfortunately, although proper brushing is a must, but not overdoing it like 5-6 times a day.