--- title: Dentists Disagree On How To Brush Your Teeth description: What's the right way to brush your teeth? New research suggests that the experts don't really know. canonical: https://time.com/3093157/dentists-teeth-brushing/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-08T17:27:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:34:35.064Z article:section: Health og:title: Dentists Disagree On How To Brush Your Teeth og:description: What's the right way to brush your teeth? New research suggests that the experts don't really know. og:url: https://time.com/3093157/dentists-teeth-brushing/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt865846b9fc5fe3a9/69869ee71eebf76c453722e2/170471010.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5100 og:image:height: 2869 og:image:alt: Young boy brushing teeth, Italy og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dentists Disagree On How To Brush Your Teeth twitter:description: What's the right way to brush your teeth? New research suggests that the experts don't really know. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt865846b9fc5fe3a9/69869ee71eebf76c453722e2/170471010.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Even Dentists Disagree On How To Brush Your Teeth > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=025450b9-5700-4a2d-869c-20e519323921&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 8, 2014 5:27 PM UTC  Young boy brushing teeth, Italy. (Photo by: Godong/UIG via Getty Images) Young boy brushing teeth, Italy. (Photo by: Godong/UIG via Getty Images) Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 8, 2014 5:27 PM UTC What’s the right way to brush your teeth? New research suggests that the experts don’t really know. The study, published in the _British Dental Journal_, said that teeth-brushing advice provided to consumers is “unacceptably inconsistent” in its description of how often to brush and for how long. “The wide range of recommendations we found is likely due to the lack of strong evidence suggesting that one method is conclusively better than another,” said lead author John Wainwright in a University College London press release. The discrepancy is problematic, Wainwright said, because it leads to distrust in dentists and their profession. “For something most people do twice a day, you would expect dentists to send a clearer, more unified message to their patients on how to brush their teeth,” said Wainwright, who now works as a dentist. 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