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Want to establish a healthy tooth brushing routine?

Take into account the frequency of brushing, water consumption, energy and recycling

Procter & Gamble (P&G) Oral-B and Crest conducted a study of nearly 3,000 people in the United States and Western Europe to better understand current oral care habits. Based on the data, they developed a series of tips that improve personal health and reduce the environmental impact of routine oral care.

1. Brushing twice a day: The World Health Organization recommends brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes with a fluoride-containing toothpaste to reduce plaque and tartar, cavities, and gum problems. Study participants who don't brush their teeth say they fall asleep (27%), are too tired (24%), or get lazy (23%).

2. Turn off the tap: In addition to the personal health benefits, some choices we make when brushing our teeth can reduce our environmental impact. Nearly 1 in 4 people (24%) admit to leaving the tap running while brushing their teeth, and more than 1 in 2 (60%) underestimate the amount of water wasted per minute. Turning off the tap saves up to 28 liters of water per day. Also, if we use cold water we will consume less energy.

3. Unplugging the charger: Nearly half (47%) of study participants who use an electric toothbrush say they sometimes or always leave the charger plugged in, and 31% leave the toothbrush on the charger all the time. Most appliances consume electricity whenever they're plugged in, so it's best to unplug the charging base when you're not charging your toothbrush.

4. Recycling Options: Personal care items may be recyclable, which is indicated on product and packaging labels. However, 19% of participants admit that they rarely or never recycle bathroom products or packaging. The causes? Almost a third (30%) had never thought about it; 22% do not know how to recycle it and 19% state that they do not accumulate enough to recycle. All actions count, and those individual habits help reduce the waste that ends up in landfills.

Oral-B and Crest are working to help 2 billion people adopt healthy oral care habits by 2030, reduce their environmental impact and facilitate responsible consumption. This effort is part of the “Healthy Smiles. Healthy lives. Healthy Planet.” , which tries to spread healthy oral care habits to transform people's health and reduce the impact on the planet. The brands will focus on education and promotion, facilitate access to dental products and services, and innovate to make adopting healthy habits more enjoyable.

Data are from an online survey conducted October 7-15, 2020 with 2,905 responses from the general population (1,093 from the US, 647 from France, 465 from the UK, 353 from Germany and 347 from Italy). The results are analyzed by country, age and sex.