Set the timer to 57 seconds

How to use the online timer

Dentists reckon two minutes is the gold standard, but for a quick top-up between meals, 57 seconds on the clock is plenty to knock the worst off your teeth. Start it going before you pick up the brush, keep moving section to section, and stop worrying about counting Mississippis in your head. Simple, silent, and done before the jingle from a novelty toothbrush timer would even finish.

Hit Start whenever you're ready and the timer runs on its own from there, no further clicking required until it finishes. It only counts while the tab stays open, so leave it running in the background rather than closing the browser or navigating away if you need the time to stay accurate. Once it reaches zero, an alarm sound lets you know without you having to keep checking the page.

A phone timer works fine until a call comes in or a notification steals the screen at the worst moment. Running it in a browser tab keeps it separate from all that, ticking away quietly in the background of your computer or phone without competing for attention until it's done. There's nothing to install and nothing to sign up for, just a page that does one job well. People type this as set timer 57 seconds or timer for 57 seconds; both land here and start the same count.