How to use the online timer
Two minutes is the recommended time at the sink, morning and evening, and it is roughly double what most people manage when nothing is counting. Children are worse still, and the back teeth are always the ones that miss out, which is precisely where problems start. A visible countdown fixes the problem more effectively than any amount of standing over somebody telling them to keep going.
Split the two minutes into four, one for each quarter of the mouth, and work in small circles rather than scrubbing hard. Fluoride toothpaste, spat out rather than rinsed away, does more of the work than pressure does. Keep this tab open on whatever is propped on the shelf, since the count stops when the page closes and nobody is watching a screen while brushing.
Brushing hard wears down enamel and it does not come back, so a soft brush used gently for the full two minutes beats a firm one used briskly for forty seconds. Waiting half an hour after acidic food or drink before brushing is worth knowing, and a brush head that has splayed out has stopped doing its job properly.
Common questions
Why two minutes?
It is the recommended time at the sink and roughly double what most people manage unaided. Splitting it between the four quarters of the mouth is what stops the back teeth being rushed.
Is brushing harder better?
No. Heavy brushing wears away enamel, which does not grow back. A soft brush used gently for the full two minutes does more than a firm one used briskly for forty seconds.
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