Toothbrush timer

A 2 minute toothbrush timer

The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends brushing your teeth for two minutes twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush. This toothbrush timer is set to 2:00 so you do not have to count or guess. Press Start timer when you start brushing and stop when it reaches zero.

Source: American Dental Association: Toothbrushes (opens in a new tab)

Toothbrush timer for kids

Two minutes feels long to a child, so a timer you can see helps. Open Full screen to show large numbers on a phone or tablet at the bathroom sink, and pick a sound the child likes. The ring around the digits fills as time passes, which shows how much brushing is left without reading numbers.

If your child needs a shorter first goal, use the 1 minute button and work up to the full two minutes. An adult should decide how long and how often a child brushes.

How to use the toothbrush timer

• Press Test sound once to check the volume.
• Wet the brush, then press Start timer.
• Brush until the timer shows 00:00 and the sound plays.
• Press Reset for the next person; it returns to 2:00.

Pacing your two minutes

A common way to pace brushing is to think of the mouth in four parts – upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right – and spend about half a minute on each. Use the checkpoints on the 2 minute timer page to see the half-way mark.