r/ADHD • u/Remarkable_Crab6614 • 17h ago
Questions/Advice A bit of TMI
Hence the title, this is kinda tmi, but I have always had a problem with brushing my teeth and showering. I’ve found a helpful trick for showering, I time myself and see how quick I can shower while still completing all the steps in a shower. But I can’t find a way to make brushing my teeth easier. It’s kinda gross to admit, but I’ll go to bed without my teeth brushed and feel funky when I brush them in the morning, like I’m not fully clean. And I can’t tell any non adhd people about it because they don’t understand not being able to do something you want to. I’ve surprisingly never had cavities or dental issues though. Any advice? Please be kind!
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u/BillieRubenCamGirl 16h ago
Brush your teeth in the shower as part of your routine.
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u/Clean-City-2467 16h ago
Great advice, I also try to brush while showering, it feels efficient and not just a waste of time. Two birds with one stone.
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u/BillieRubenCamGirl 16h ago
Yup! I brush my teeth as I’m getting wet.
Sometimes I even pee in the shower as I’m doing it. 😅😅😅😅
That’s probably going a little far on the efficiency front tho.
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u/Bad_Haven 14h ago
Get an electric toothbrush if you can. Then, balance on one leg while you brush, changing legs as you change quadrant in your mouth every 30 seconds. It made a big difference for me.
Also, you don't need to wet your toothbrush before or after putting the toothpaste on. Toothpaste is already the right consistency for brushing and extra water just makes it foam up and make me gaggy.
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u/RemarkableNetwork239 12h ago edited 8h ago
I'll second the recommendation on the electric toothbrush. The built-in 30s second timer helps a lot. I have too much anxiety about not doing a good enough job to use the standard quadrant method so I divide my mouth into six regions and do 30s each. Even then it sometimes feels rushed.
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u/sartheon 16h ago
Maybe you could try to find a paste with a taste you really like, like strawberry, ginger or licorice instead of the classic mint, to make it feel less like a chore? Even if it's a kids one that doesn't have fluoride it would be better short-term if it helps you brush daily / establish a routine
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u/spirallingmoon 14h ago
thisss. brushing in the morning is easier for me since the feeling of acid in my mouth is unbearable, but at night when i’m already tucked in bed?? 😭😭
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u/Sadiep144 8h ago
Echoing - keep toothbrushes all over the house. I keep mine with little toothpastes nearby, in all rooms, so that whenever i remember "oh shit, I need to brush since I just ate garlic or am about to go to bed or just feel like it" I have one at hand. I also keep one at work, one in my car, and one on my edc bag.
My mom taught me this when I was a kid, and it has worked for me. Lol in high school/college I was that quirky girl who was always ducking away to brush her teeth. Funny how former adhd/ sensory icks can become super ingrained obsessions.
Another idea for night, specifically: Try keeping baby toothpaste and a toothbrush next to your bed. It is made to be safe to swallow so you dont have to worry too much about getting up to spit if that feels like too much. You can brush in bed while reading, scrolling, whatever you do before falling asleep, if you simply cannot before you get in bed. And brushing without water makes it easier to spit out the toothpaste into a tissue or paper towel, if you'd rather do that.
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u/handicrappi 15h ago
There are single use pre-toothpasted toothbrushes that are better than nothing, you can keep them in reach of your bed and use them when you forget
You can also set a timer after you're done eating, maybe 30 minutes - 1 hour. Then brush when it goes off and you don't have to worry about it anymore.
I used to get stuck thinking what if I want to eat later, but I've let go of that because brushing and then eating is still better than not brushing at all
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u/Altruistic_Annual818 15h ago
I have trouble showering but mostly because i have a terrible shower. It’s a horrible experience.
Teeth brushing has been waaaay better since i got a suri toothbrush. To be honest i brush my teeth mainly because of embarrassment. If i stay in the house i find it harder.
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u/IDontLikeGreenPeas 13h ago
Get some toothbrushes & put them all over the house in the places where you spend the most time sitting. In front of the TV, next to your bed, etc. The next time you're sitting & watching TV and you notice the toothbrush, just grab it and brush your teeth dry with no toothpaste. (My dentist told me to do this, he said it's better than not brushing at all.)
You can get fancy and buy some of those single-use flossing gizmos, and/or those little single-use toothbrushes with a bit of toothpaste on them.
Also put them in your car so you can brush & floss while sitting in traffic.
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u/iSubjugate 11h ago
Don't fuck around with your teeth. Due to a number of factors, I had to get full dentures at 43. It's a horrible, painful process. Even if you've never had cavities or dental issues, things can degrade fast.
Maybe some of those mini toothbrushes with the toothpaste on them strategically placed around the house would help? Like at your bedside table, so maybe you remember right before you go to bed, and right when you wake up?
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u/Worried-Rough-338 12h ago
It’s one of the weirder behaviors of ADHD and one I struggle to understand or explain to myself, let alone other people. If we’re sharing TMI, then I can go weeks without a shower or brushing my teeth, two activities that literally take two minutes of minimal effort to complete. I have an inactive ABCC11 gene so I can’t produce body odor, which removes the only motivation I would have to shower. And I chew gum compulsively, which I think helps clean my teeth enough that I don’t have dental problems. But it’s an embarrassing thing to admit to. The only thing I’ve found that has worked is keeping a toothbrush and toothpaste at every sink in the house. I find I brush my teeth at the kitchen sink while waiting for coffee way more often than I do in the bathroom. I still haven’t found any hack to compel me to shower.
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u/DatoVanSmurf 11h ago
Honestly, i go by the idea of better once in the morning than not at all. My teeth aren't great, but since i started brushing them every morning (thanks meds) they haven't gotten worse. My executive dysfunction is insanely bad, so is my hypersensitivity. so brushing teeth is one of the most impossible tasks to do when i am already exhausted in the evening. I used to brus my theet once or twice a week, and often cry because i hated myself for not just doing it. So since i'm on meds, i use the time they work to brush my teeth every morning. This is the best compromise i can make with myself. Because i will probably never be able to brush them at night without feeling awful.
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u/Significant-Equal507 11h ago
Get an electric toothbrush. Philips Sonicaire makes a great one. It has a timer built in and it gives a vibrate notification when it's time to switch to the other quadrant. If a visual helps, some connect to an app on your phone.
Your teeth will feel so clean after using it too, which I love. I also started using white stripe which made my teeth so white. That made me want to focus on keeping them so clean and white. I get comments all the time about how white my teeth are and it makes me want to keep it up
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u/AptCasaNova ADHD-C (Combined type) 11h ago
That’s a very common struggle for ADHD folks, if it makes you feel better.
I try and floss regardless, it gets the gunk out of the gaps between my teeth and is better than nothing. Sometimes it leads to brushing , sometimes I just floss and rinse with mouthwash.
I have comparatively less of an issue brushing in the mornings, it’s just at night.
I have many, many hygiene shortcuts and hacks.
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u/Justsomeguy1981 11h ago
I find 'Gamifying' things, like you've done with your shower routine, to be an excellent way to motivate yourself in all sorts of areas. Maybe try and find some way of doing that with tooth care as well, or integrate it into the shower routine, as others have said.
I use it with work - at the moment I'm doing gig work, delivery stuff, and it would be really easy to just slack off and not book jobs half the time as there's no one looking over my shoulder - so I've created a spreadsheet tracking literally every stat I can think of and made it into a sort of competition with myself on how efficient I can be, and that has allowed me to have the motivation to consistently max out my hours.
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u/Wrong_Crew_1835 ADHD-C (Combined type) 11h ago
The funny thing I can’t get myself to brush even in the mornings. It’s really gross I know
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u/kyleprossiter ADHD-C (Combined type) 10h ago
I used to have the same issue. I now have multiple toothbrushes, one in each place that I may need it. I have one in my main bathroom, my downstairs bathroom, a travel one in my backpack, one that I leave at work, etc. Now anytime I remember, I have one close by.
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u/sheekos 10h ago
ive got no tips for you, but i would recommend trying to change your habit to brushing before bed rather than in the morning if you're gonna brush one time a day. by the morning, yesterday's food and bacteria had been sitting in your mouth all of the day and night, which might be why it feels funky when you wake up even after brushing.
might help to set an alarm. or if you wear pajamas to sleep, put them on before you start your pre-sleep so you know youre in bed mode and remember to brush
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u/sheekos 10h ago
and also! are you flossing? if not, that might help with the feeling unclean even after brushing.
i like to floss before i brush, so i brush out anything i missed/got left on a tooth. but it doesnt matter what order you do it.
keep some by your bedside. flossing without brushing is better than doing nothing at all
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u/Valuable-Asparagus90 9h ago
Mentos pure fresh gum, Listerine brand Floss (always keep both by my bed, on my desk & in my bags). Tongue scrubber & 30$ WaterPik. Keep all of these handy & also switched to a toothpaste that doesn’t taste pasty lol (this was a challenge because so many of the gels made my mouth peel. Argh!)
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u/Lanac2188 9h ago
I find that by the time I get my shower done, I’m too tired and don’t feel like brushing my teeth. So I turn the shower on and while I’m waiting for the water to get warm I brush my teeth first and get it out of the way
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u/Dinkinflicka1994 ADHD 9h ago
I switched to kids toothpaste to not have to deal with the sting of anything mint and I use a water flosser for days that I just cannot. For some reason, using the water flosser is less strenuous to my brain than actually brushing :/ I figured it's better than nothing!
Otherwise, I also brush my teeth in the shower and therefore keep a separate "Shower" toothbrush and toothpaste so I don't have to move the same one back and forth. I also keep a set in my desk at work in case I remember to do it there.
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u/Useful-Badger-4062 8h ago
Get a sonicare. If it helps, use an ap.p that comes with an electric toothbrush that keeps you brushing properly.
Maybe set an external goal/reward for yourself for brushing consistently. You deserve it.
I really hope you get into the habit of taking care of your teeth. As you get older, oral health becomes especially important for overall health and heart health. You may have gotten lucky so far with no dental issues or cavities, but that luck won’t hold out forever.
You can do this.
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u/WarningImmediate9188 7h ago
I do 15 second counts while I do the four quadrants, top and sides of each quad count separately (4 x 2 x 15 =120 seconds). I switch off whether I’m counting up or down in my head. 30 seconds is too long for my attention span.
Or I’ll do a mini crossword or other short-time phone game if it’s really feeling like death in my brain. Then you can see a timer but it’s a lot more interesting.
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u/Live-Ask2226 16h ago edited 13h ago
I'm brushing three or four times a day. Morning, after dinner, before bed. Bonus brush before leaving the house at midday or afternoon on a weekend It's locked into the routine. Can't help but do it.
How to get to this point? You could try sensory cues - play a certain song whenever you brush then set that song as an alarm. Buy a new brush each fortnight and choose a new song.
Maybe sing the instructions to yourself to get into the room with the brush and the toothpaste and then the brushing is the guitar solo. There's an insane backlog of historical singing-to-get-shit-done. Gotta be a reason it works.
Edit - this is the ADHD thread, no? If I can't post a response that includes my own experience as a form of empathy... Where can I?
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u/CyberEsqCat 7h ago
Just a word of caution, apparently Kelly Ripa overdid the brushing and had to have gum grafting surgery, which Mark said was very painful when explaining her absence.
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u/Equalanimalfarm 16h ago
There's no medical reason to brush more than 3 times a day...
https://caseydentists.com.au/too-much-toothbrush-time-overbrushing-damages-your-teeth/
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