Actually, Brushing Your Teeth in the Shower Is Good

If you’ve ever taken a morning shower without first brushing your teeth, maybe you’ve shared in my observation that the shower’s magic loses a bit of its oomph when your mouth still tastes like a dank, bat-filled coffee cavern. (The bats are my teeth.)

To solve for this, I recently started getting in the habit of brushing my teeth before my showers. That works fine, but what’s brushing your teeth if not a shower for the inside of your mouth? Why not combine the two?

This by no means a new idea. The haters will say this is gross, but they are wrong. It’s fine, actually. The ew, gross reaction is a result of never having tried it, or because of vague notions that your armpit runoff will get on the toothbrush bristles, or because of the potential for humidity-related bacteria growth. That would indeed be gross, but you are not a monster, and you can probably handle these obstacles. It’s worth it.

Why, you ask? Because a mid-shower toothbrushing also has some fun new benefits that the traditional method lacks. When you’re done brushing, no need to carefully aim your spit in the sink, no no! Instead, you can reenact one of Tyra Banks’ most unhinged moments (it’s a long list).

Ready to give it a go? Here’s the method I use:

1. Start the shower. Don’t get in yet!
2. While the water heats up, squeeze some toothpaste on that toothbrush.
3. Check your teeth in the mirror for any visible detritus that you won’t be able to see once you’re in the shower.
4. Start brushin’.
5. Make sure the shower’s nice and warm, then get in there.
6. By this time, you should be about halfway done brushing, so tilt your head back, get that hair nice and wet, and enjoy the refreshing contrast of hot water against the minty fresh breeze in your mouth.
7. When you’re done brushing, dribble all that lather out and let the shower wash it away.
8. Give the brush a quick rinse under the shower head, then lean out of the shower and put your toothbrush in its home. (If your bathroom configuration doesn’t allow for this, consider a shower wall-mounted toothbrush holder. I’d recommend taking it out of the shower when you’re done, ‘cause that’s how things get gross.)
9. Finish your shower and get on out.

So go ahead: let the minty foam roll down your chin and into the drain. If it ever gets old, it sure hasn’t yet.