I have a Japanese friend (grew up there til 9 and then moved to France ever since, we’re 25 now) who really looks down on me and my other friends for brushing our teeth only twice a day (morning and before bed). She was shocked to learn that people don’t brush their teeth right after each meals which means at least 3 times a day, ”like all Japanese people do”.
I myself am from another asian country so I get the culture of brushing your teeth after lunch at school, but that was mandatory for us only til the end of primary school and then middle/highschool students are rather eager to drop this habit, only brushing their teeth twice a day like most people in the world I think.
So she told us that in Japan people keep this habit til their adulthood, wherever they are, at uni, at work, at restaurants, or in any public bathrooms, you can see people brushing their teeth at noon.
Now I don’t care about her opinion on our teeth brushing habits, that’s not the problem. It just made me thinking if what she says still applies to Japan nowadays, since a lot of other stuff she tells us about Japan seem to be biased by what she remembered as a kid …
So yeah, is it really that common for Japenese people to brush their teeth at noon when they’re outside of their house? Or is there only some of them like my friend who kept this habit growing up? Either way, I acknowledge it’s a good habit!
Thank you for your answers!
5 comments
No. I think she’s falling into the trap of thinking what’s normal for her is normal for everyone in the country. (And she doesn’t even live there! lol)
I’ve heard it’s common in Korea where they’re likely to eat kimchi at lunch.
Tell her it’s unhealthy and you can wear your teeth out doing it.
I would say about 10% of people at work are doing it in my Japanese company. The one who does it longer than the others is a foreigner trying to prove something I guess.
Not all Japanese brush 3 times a day. LOL. 😅 Some of the people I know who are working in Japan with Japanese people said that some Japanese even has a smell during work. So yeah. Not all of them are too clean and responsible when it comes to hygiene.
Yeah, I lived there for a long time and I would say it’s… common but not mandatory?
Like, there were always quite a few women who’d brush after lunch every day; but otoh nobody was gonna judge you or look at you weird if you didn’t.
So, my elementary school didn’t have after kyushoku (school lunch) brushing sessions. Nor my middle school. The only time I saw anyone brushing at school was on the dental education day, and a couple people in high school when there was no regimented schedule so spending their lunch break was up to individuals. I know some schools have that session. Maybe I’m a bit outdated, but definitely was up to school or class.