Do you brush your teeth at least twice a day, every day? Or do you do so sometimes, when it’s convenient?

 

As you know, brushing your teeth provides you with a ton of benefits, not the least of which is preventing tooth loss as you get older. But so many of us just don’t brush twice a day. Sometimes we even skip brushing for an entire day or two.

 

So how can you get yourself to always brush your teeth twice a day, 365 days of the year? Take a look below for five tips we think will be helpful.

 

1.      Pay yourself to brush your teeth.

 

There’s little like the incentive of cash to get us to do something. Put a dollar in a jar every time you brush your teeth and in a year you’ll have saved $730. Spend it on something you normally wouldn’t buy, or go on long-weekend trip.

 

Think about it. Two dollars a day is nothing when it comes to your finances. But powerful when multiplied by 365 days of brushing twice a day. 

    Have a contest with your kids.

 

Make everyone participate in this contest. Make its duration at least two months. The person who brushes his or her teeth every day for the longest amount of time wins (you decide what the prize will be, and be sure to make it something both you and your children will enjoy).

 

To make sure everyone is brushing his/her teeth, do a breath test to make sure you detect the scent of toothpaste.

 

2.      Reward yourself with something inexpensive – but not cheap – each month you brush twice a day, every day.

 

Your reward needn’t be extravagant, but it should be something you normally don’t “allow” yourself, such as pancakes for dinner, a manicure with your pedicure, a three-inch-thick steak for dinner at the steakhouse of your choice.

 

3.      Brush your teeth at the same times every day.

 

In other words, make brushing your teeth such a routine that you do it at the same time every day. It soon will become a true habit and, like all habits, it will become something you don’t think about: it becomes something you just do.

 

4.      Regularly look at photos of people who don’t brush their teeth.

 

If these don’t make you want to grab a toothbrush right now, nothing will.

 

Image courtesy of nenetus/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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