[glue]

I am a young person with high functioning autism. One problem I really struggle with is brushing my teeth. I know I have to brush twice a day, but usually only brush once because I can't stand brushing my teeth. The foamy texture grosses me out, the minty taste feels like it's burning my mouth, and watching myself brush my teeth makes me gag. I also can't spit any out because saliva grosses me out as well. I use a small amount of toothpaste on a dry brush to try and limit the foamy wetness of the process, but it still really bothers me. Any suggestions?

[CobolCapsule]

I can't stand brushing my teeth either. Your only suppose to use a pee size amount of toothpaste.
I usually keep my head down while brushing, and then close my eyes, when i spit it out, with the water running. That should help avoid any of the discussing aspects of brushing your teeth.

Good luck

[-jimi-]

I mostly brush without toothpaste. It is the brushing that takes the gunk away, not the toothpaste. Also if you can't stand the minty taste, I know I can't, try something else like kiddie toothpaste with bubblegum flavor or something.

It is fine to brush with just a dash of water and not spit. Actually many times it is better because you don't get fooled by the minty freshness if you missed a spot. People who brush this way tend to brush much better.

[boydisappearing]

I feel the same way. I tried a lot of different toothpastes until I found one with a taste I could tolerate. You can get brushes with different levels of hardness/softness too, so you can do some trial and error to find the system that bothers you the least. I still struggle to brush my teeth often enough, but this has helped a little bit.