10 Ways To Remember To Brush Your Teeth, Routinely
There’s no denying the benefits of good, daily teeth scrubbing.
Brushing your teeth every morning and night can help brighten your smile, freshen your breath, reduce the risk of cavities or gum issues, and can support your overall wellbeing–even benefiting your heart health.
But, this wellness-boosting task can also feel tedious at times and be an easy one to forget, especially during a hectic morning or at the end of a long night.
At Bite, we believe our wellness routines should not just benefit our physical health, but feel good mentally and emotionally, too. That’s why we created this list of ideas to help build a feel-good oral care routine that can make your daily brushing more enjoyable and easier to remember.
What Are Tips To Remember To Brush Your Teeth Each Day?
As you scroll through the list, consider what is getting in the way of your daily brushing. Is a busy schedule causing brushing to slip your mind? Are you feeling too tired or overwhelmed at the end of a long day? Does the teeth-brushing process make you feel antsy or bored?
Once you know what’s at the root of it, choosing the right strategies to help you remember to brush becomes easier. So read on, and see what resonates with you!
1. Set Reminders for Yourself
If you find that brushing your teeth slips your mind when you have a lot going on, try setting reminders for yourself to keep it top of mind until doing so becomes second nature.
You can set a morning and evening alarm on your phone or place brightly colored notes to yourself on your mirror so that it’s harder to forget.
Keeping your toothbrush visible, such as in a repurposed jar on your sink rather than tucked away in your medicine cabinet or drawer, can also help you remember to brush when you’re already in the bathroom.
Especially if you’ve been stressed or overwhelmed, these gentle reminders to yourself to prioritize your wellbeing can serve as an act of self-care and love.
2. Have a Brushing Buddy
If you live with a partner, family member, or roommate, sync up so that you brush your teeth when they do or immediately after. This can help keep you consistent until it becomes easier for you to remember on your own.
3. Add It to Your To-Do List
If you keep a daily to-do list or weekly calendar, include brushing teeth in your agenda. Or if you bullet journal, leave space for tracking brushing in your habit tracker.
The act of checking it off each day can help you build a routine that sticks.
4. Create a Calming and Feel-Good Bathroom Vibe
Bathrooms are functional spaces, but they should also feel comfortable. We do some of our most important business there, after all!
If you’re not loving the feel of your bathroom, it may be easier to let brushing your teeth fall to the wayside. Creating a more relaxing and inviting bathroom environment can help make your teeth-brushing experience more inviting.
Maybe you can hang artwork or place a vase of dried flowers in the bathroom to add a pop of color or move in a few houseplants to bring calming energy to the space.
Keep a pair of cozy slippers by your sink to wear during your teeth brushing routine and incorporate potpourri or an essential oil diffuser into the decor to further enhance your oral care routine by bringing your favorite scents into the mix for a little aromatherapy.
To help keep any bathroom feeling clean and cohesive, we package our Bite toothpaste bits in sleek and stylish glass jars that fit any aesthetic and compliment any space. These refillable glass jars and compostable refills help cut down on the 448 million tons of plastic pollution produced each year, and they look great doing it. How’s that for a teeth-brushing routine you can feel good about?
5. Incorporate Brushing Into a Self-Care Routine
Spruce up your oral care routine by adding a more exciting element: a fun facial mask, a skin-soothing body balm, a rejuvenating morning face wash, a calming bath at night, whatever feels best to you.
By creating a link between brushing your teeth and an activity you know you’ll look forward to each day, you may soon find yourself more motivated to remember to brush.
6. Tack It Onto Existing Habits
Think about what is already included in your daily routine. Do you make coffee every morning? Pack a lunch for the day? Watch TV every night?
As you outline your basic routine, consider where brushing your teeth would make the most sense. Maybe include brushing your teeth as the pre-step of setting up your lunch for the day. Or plan to do it before you watch TV, so every time you’re about to start your show you can ask yourself if you’ve brushed yet. Integrating brushing your teeth into an existing habit can become harder to forget.
7. Start Earlier in the Night
We’ve all been there. Collapsing into bed after a long day–our eyes are bleary, our body feeling too heavy to move, nothing but sleep on the mind. We think about how we should brush before drifting off, but the bed is so inviting, so cozy, so warm; how can we get up now?
To help avoid this conundrum altogether, try incorporating brushing into an earlier part in your nighttime routine. By brushing shortly after dinner, right as we finish dessert, and absolutely before settling into bed, we can save ourselves from the late-night temptation to forgo our nightly brushing at the expense of our pearly whites.
8. Make Sure Your Brushing Habits Aren’t Hurting Your Smile
If you’re experiencing gum irritation, pain, or bleeding when you brush, it’s no wonder you may be putting this task off.
While it is always a good idea to check in with your dentist if you are experiencing these issues, the wrong toothbrush or toothpaste may be to blame.
Brushing too hard or using a brush with overly stiff bristles can cause bleeding and irritation, which is why the American Dental Association recommends softer-bristled toothbrushes. A sensitivity to certain common chemicals in many kinds of toothpaste like SLS can cause burning, irritation, or canker sores for some users.
At Bite, we ensure our oral care products are as gentle for you as they are for the planet. Our sleek and sturdy compostable bamboo toothbrush has soft bristles made from castor bean oil that provide a thorough but gentle cleanse (all without wasteful plastics.
Our zero-waste toothpaste bits are also free of harsh chemicals or additives such as SLS, relying instead on a mild and natural foaming agent that is sustainably derived from coconut oil and fruit sugars. Now that is something to smile about!
9. Prioritize Your Emotional Well-Being, Too
When we are feeling down, it may seem like the last thing we have the brain space or energy for is four minutes each day of brushing our teeth. But remember that you are worthy of these daily acts of self-care.
Along with gentle reminders to brush your teeth, try to further support your physical and emotional wellbeing by drinking enough water, getting enough rest, finding trusted people to talk to, and setting aside time each day for grounding activities you enjoy such as walking, gardening, drawing, or journaling.
If standing still or alone with your thoughts as you brush makes you feel antsy, try switching it up by playing your favorite song, brushing your teeth in the shower, or while walking through your home. Anything that makes you feel more relaxed as you brush can help.
10. Make the Experience of Brushing Fun With Bite
Let’s be honest–the act of brushing can be boring. But finding little ways to spice up the experience may be just what you need.
Choose a flavor you love to better personalize your teeth-cleaning routine. At Bite, we offer three delightful toothpaste flavors:
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Fresh Mint – Available in fluoride or fluoride-free options, our Fresh Mint Toothpaste Bits are naturally flavored with peppermint for an ultra-refreshing brushing experience.
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Mint Charcoal – Level up the mint flavor you know and love with natural activated charcoal to help lift tooth discoloration.
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Berry Twist – If mint isn’t your thing, finding a toothpaste that fits your taste may feel like a never-ending struggle. But struggle no more! Our wonderfully scented and naturally flavored Berry Toothpaste Bits put a fruitastic twist on the teeth brushing experience.
There is also nothing quite like chomping down on a fresh Bite Toothpaste Bit and watching it transform into squeaky-clean foam before your eyes. This unique and environmentally-friendly way of brushing can spark your childlike sense of wonder and help ignite a simple sense of pleasure that will happily draw you back to care for your teeth (and your planet!) each morning and night.
Bottom Line
Using a toothbrush and toothpaste that makes you feel good inside and out can also help enhance your teeth brushing routine, making it harder to forget.
With Bite, you can feel good about the gentle ingredients you’re using, the aesthetically-pleasing toothbrush and toothpaste jar set out on your sink or shelf for easy accessibility, and the ways you are benefiting the planet and those we share it with by choosing cruelty-free and zero-waste products to elevate your daily oral care experience.
So set those reminders, grab your brushing buddy, choose a Bits flavor that excites you, and smile your way through your newly-improved and feel-good brushing routine!
Sources:
Brush Your Teeth for Heart Health | Cleveland Clinic Newsroom
Plastic Pollution Facts and Information | National Geographic
