Ustadz’s Message: The Limits of Rinsing and Brushing Teeth During Ramadan

Jakarta — Deputy Secretary of the Bahtsul Masail Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (LBM PBNU), Ustadz Alhafiz Kurniawan, has urged that rinsing the mouth and brushing teeth should not be done excessively during the fast so as not to break the fast. ‘One of the things that should be avoided or not done is doing anything that approaches breaking the fast if done excessively, for example rinsing the mouth or brushing teeth excessively,’ Alhafiz Kurniawan said in Jakarta on Tuesday (3 March 2026). The reason is that if rinsing is done excessively, there is concern that droplets of water may be swallowed. The same applies to brushing teeth excessively. ‘(If done excessively) for instance, toothpaste that already forms foam could enter our body, or very fine brush bristles could be swallowed,’ he added. Therefore, rinsing the mouth and brushing teeth while fasting is different from when not fasting.