The Protocols of the Elders of Toothbrush

[Granger]

No mention of flossing? Nor scrubbing your tongue? I don't know if it's just me, but my mouth would be gross without doing either.

It depends on genetic markup and bacterial cultures that live in you. Some can scrub, fluss, wash, rinse and disinfect 24/7 but their teeth still will rot in fast forward and they have the constant feeling of growing compost inside their mouth - others need a brushing every some days, have nevertheless fresh breath most of the time (sans garlic and onions) and get put into the ground with 90+ years and all their teeth still in and intact.

So yes, it's you. But don't despair, most don't have maintenance free dentition as not everyone has won the genetic lottery.

[Ysh]

(Though they say the kitchen has even more germs than the average bathroom.)

There had been some scientists testing the kitchens of student shared apartments and ones ran by bourgeois housewifes from a bacterial standpoint:
Result was that, while not looking that good, you could basically eat from the floor of the student kitchens without getting into serious troubles while the housewife ones were way more dangerous - as the bacteria there had been selected for resistance through being repeatedly and continually treated with all the nice anti-bacterial stuff that's so in these days... but there are always some that survive and mutate to like all these nicely colored fluids they're fed with.

This is why I will just clean kitchen with vinegar and baking soda!

[Barem10]

Hmm to add another category of people to this post, i am probably one of the few here, but im being honest about it. I have a real problem with brushing my teeth consistently, but for some reason i just am not able to get into that habit. I average around 1 brushing of teeth every two days. But then again i live relatively sugar-free, ofcourse i ingest sugars that come in the form of everything these days, but these are nearly unavoidable unless i want to live like a rabbit. I tend to do a thorough brushing of every nook and cranny of my teeth in this brushings. Then i spit out as much as possible and rinse my mooth with water. My toothpaste of preference is one on the basis of salt, which apparantly helps the gum's, Whatever the reason is, i use it out of a habit (which for buying and using i apparantly am able to have).

[borka]

Simple solution: get rid of your teeth, then you never have to worry about this again!

yep and the daily surströmming with onions and nobody even dares to ask about your dental hygiene ... strips you of from different other worries in life too ...

"don't need a cure, don't need a cure, need a final solution"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VelS-YCtHV4

[ricky]

1. Cup hand under faucet to bring water to mouth to rinse
   how I do it. Doubly effect as I brush my teeth like michael J fox and toothpaste gets all over my face.
2. Stick head under faucet and suck up water to rinse
   too many variables to make consistent usage effective. you mentioned some in your OP
3. Buy little one-time use paper cup to keep near faucet to fill with water to bring to mouth to rinse
   Oh, what next? you expect me to only wear my socks once and wash my bedsheets every week and that i'll do my taxes? people with this much structure are dangerous.
4. Rinse toothbrush and then after it is clean, suck water from bristles to rinse
   yeah, i've tried this after I heard about its usage. great way to get .15 ounces of water in your mouth.
5. Keep ordinary (glass, plastic, clay) cup near faucet to fill with water to bring to mouth to rinse
   see 3
6. Spit out as much as possible, then ignore any leftover
   arguably the best way to do it, or so i've heard. washing out your mouth of all the toothpaste residue is basically wiping the slate clean for all the bacteria to start rebuilding. leaving some toothpaste residue (or mouthwash residue) in your mouth makes the whole process more effective. or so i've heard

as for personal habits and experience: I brushed every day as a kid (probably key here). Nowdays I brush my teeth every few days. I usually brush when the physical discomfort of having a dirty mouth becomes unbearable. I don't drink carbonated beverages. I don't eat a ton of sugary foods. I do eat processed foods though, like chips and such. I cant stand the feeling of food in my teeth so I passively 'clean' my mouth after meals with plackers. Given all that, I've never had a cavity. or major 'not brushing your teeth' related mouth issue. my teeth aren't very white though

[MagicManICT]

Spit out as much as possible, then ignore any leftover
arguably the best way to do it, or so i've heard. washing out your mouth of all the toothpaste residue is basically wiping the slate clean for all the bacteria to start rebuilding. leaving some toothpaste residue (or mouthwash residue) in your mouth makes the whole process more effective. or so i've heard

Fluoridated or medicated mouthwashes will explicitly give directions to not eat or drink anything, including rinsing your mouth, for 10-20 minutes after use.

[Orcling]

If you eat exclusively meat you won't get cavities.
Also- don't share drinks with anyone, or their filthy mouth bacteria/cavities will spread to you.
Kissing is forbidden.

Holding hands is okay.

[Granger]

Also- don't share drinks with anyone, or their filthy mouth bacteria/cavities will spread to you.

Drink the right stuff (with enough alcohol contents so it disinfects) and that'll be a non-issue

[DatSheep]

Ysh, why didn't you survey my brushing habits? D:

Anyways lol love the post. I usually do method number one myself, and for a few years I never used toothpaste cause of the whole dumb soap content in most of them. I just brushed plain though, I was too lazy to use coconut oil or baking soda or salt lmao. My dentist said I especially need fluoride rinse since I have some issues with my congenital toothsies, otherwise I think I'll start brushing with salt. Thanks for bringing that to light Barem10

[DatSheep]

Hmm so I found this and other sources saying the same thing basically:
Using salt water as a mouth rinse regularly can be a cheaper and an effective way of achieving good oral health. But as salt water is good to maintain oral health, reducing bad breath , for mouth sores ,inflammation after tooth extraction and for alleviating toothache, it may damage the tooth outer layer (enamel) if used for prolonged periods. Salt water is alkaline in nature thereby causes enamel damage which can lead to tooth decay. In addition to cavities, it can cause chipping and excessive wearing of the already damaged tooth enamel.