Why we agree to disagree on dental hygiene

There’s one very important area of daily life where the American me and the Swiss just don’t see eye to eye – dental hygiene. It’s not that the Swiss don’t brush their teeth but it’s how much they brush and when that boggles me.

Isn't it fun to brush your teeth, says the mouse.

I may not have thought twice about the topic if it wasn’t for my kids who were asked to bring a toothbrush and toothpaste to school so that the kids could brush their teeth after they ate a special treat in school. Given kids come home for lunch (a whole other topic), I thought that the request seemed a bit much but who is going to complain about an extra round of teeth brushing especially given the arm twisting that goes on at home to get my kids to brush their teeth.

The practice continued into first, second and even third grade. I found myself giggling every time I saw the toothbrushes placed in cups on a shelf in the classroom, each labeled with the kids’ names.

Two times a day apparently isn’t enough. The Swiss brush their teeth three times – a habit instilled in them very early as I learned. Not only do they brush their teeth after someone brings a birthday snack, but there is also a “tooth aunt” who comes to class every year and shows the kids how to brush. It’s also required to get a dental check-up at your own dentist or at a state-sponsored dental center once a year.

Toothbrushes lined up in my daughter's kindergarten classroom

But the teeth brushing regimen isn’t just restricted to the school arena. This summer my daughter came home from the first day of soccer camp with a new toothbrush in a case with her name written on it and a tube of toothpaste. The next day, the teeth brushing truck, paid the campers a visit. Each group spent 30 minutes inside the truck learning about their teeth from an expert from the Elmex toothpaste company.

At home, it’s another story. My Swiss husband wants this 3x a day regimen to be the norm, but I’ve always felt this is a nice-to-have rather than a necessity and my kids sense it, making it even harder to convince them to do it. It’s already hard enough to get them to brush for a full two minutes two times a day.

But our dental hygiene differences don’t end there. It’s not just how often, but when to brush. My husband strongly believes that toothbrushing should happen after breakfast where I’ve always brushed before, sometimes just after waking up. I mean, sure we brush for the sparkly white, cavity-free benefits but it’s also to get rid of that nasty morning breath.

The teeth brushing truck paid a visit to my kids' soccer camp

To my husband, who apparently thinks my morning breath smells like roses, brushing teeth before breakfast does nothing if you eat a big piece of Nutella bread that stays in your teeth all day. I was willing to buy into the whole reasoning until I realized how hard it is to get your kids to brush their teeth, especially on the weekends, when they might not eat any breakfast or eat it at unusual hours. What happens if they don't eat breakfast until 10 or even 11?

I knew I needed to come with some scientific evidence if I wanted to fight back on this one so I read up on the matter and found that experts are divided on whether it’s best to brush before or after breakfast from a health perspective. I asked our dentist here in Switzerland and she confirmed that there are pros and cons to both – if you drink juice in the morning and brush, you could end up spreading sugar bugs all over the mouth. But if food is stuck in your teeth, it’s definitely better to brush and get them out as early as possible.

Either way, the Swiss don’t have remarkably better teeth than the average American despite the more frequent brushing. So where does that leave us? My answer? Get dental insurance.