Have you tried using different techniques? Because i haven’t splattered toothpaste in the mirror since i was young. And I’ve had dozens of dentists tell me, “you brush really well, but you need to floss”. (That was before i discovered floss picks.)
Before i found floss picks, i used a water pick, and i liked how it felt, but it did splatter some, and it developed a leak. And even though it doesn’t actually matter that i was dribbling water on the bathroom counter, that was a disincentive to using it.
I hate all of my physical therapy and regular exercises, mostly because they are mind numbingly boring. I’m not sure why i decided that both brushing my teeth and brushing my hair are enjoyable.
I have a routine I have to go through so that, when I wake up, I have a minimal number of things to do before I can walk out the door. The way I avoid your situation is to run my routine early on a work night like at, say, 8 pm. So, I’m in my nightshirt and on the couch completely done by 8:30. After that, I watch TV till I’m tired and ready and then simply turn it off an go directly to bed.
Yes I am constantly too tired to go to sleep. And my bedtime routine is quite involved. I dread having to do it. But I also can’t skip any of it. I’m also a night shower-er so on days when I have to take a shower before bed, it’s worse.
I do manage to do it every night. But some nights I go to bed way later than I should have just because I put off going to bed for no good reason other than I had to spend time hyping myself up to get there.
I didn’t read all of the posts, so maybe it was already mentioned. When bedtime rolls around for me, I’ve already done everything other than let the dogs out and go to the bathroom. We eat supper around 5. By 6, I’m brushing (electric toothbrush) and flossing (picks), then I hit the shower. Afterwards, I put on my lounge clothes and head for the couch. Brushing and flossing after supper keeps me from snacking all night. So that’s a bonus!
For all of you who brush their teeth a few hours before going to bed: don’t you sometimes eat something or drink something sugary between brushing and going to bed? Because I try to avoid that, for obvious reasons. That’s why I brush just before I lie down.
I often go out in the evening. I can’t get ready to lounge around at 8 because if i don’t have evening plans, I’m still finishing my supper. And if i do, I’m out dancing or playing bridge or playing board games, and i won’t be home until ~11.
(I also wake up later than many of you, i suspect. I usually wake up well before my alarm goes off, but my alarm is set for 8:30.)
I almost always have more to do in the day than can possibly fit; and while I don’t always, I do sometimes get some of it done in the evening. In the summer I sometimes don’t come in from the field till 9:30 or later; in the winter I might rouse enough energy to do some necessary paperwork or email. So getting ready for bed hours ahead of time isn’t going to happen.
Sorry, I used the wrong word. “Hypnotic” is the correct medical term. A drug like midozolam (brand name “Versed”) is an amnesiac. Ambien and zopilcone are technically hypnotics. Not the same thing.
I use Ativan (benzo) very occasionally when I’m too disturbed to sleep, but my sleep apnea doctor says it makes fatigue worse and recommends against it.
I don’t recall it ever causing me fatigue though. It works within about ten minutes and it’s out of my system soon after I sleep. It just gets me over that falling asleep hump and then I don’t need it.
Do you brush with your mouth open? Are you not leaning over the sink? Do you not spit if your mouth gets too full? I am at a loss to understand how toothpaste is always getting onto your shirt beyond an occasional drip once in a while.
My MIL is one of the most fastidious people I’ve ever met. Imagine my surprise one time when I caught a glimpse of her while she was brushing her teeth. I thought she was rabid, such was the sheer volume of foam pouring out of her mouth. Juxtaposed against her personality, it kinda turned my stomach.
And how much toothpaste do you use? I use about the volume of an unpopped grain of popcorn if i have a newish tube, and less as the tube runs out, and honestly, I’ve never felt like i needed more toothpaste.