Have you ever thought about whether you should brush your teeth before or after breakfast? Lots of us wake up and brush our teeth first thing and others feel that since they brushed their teeth after dinner, they should wait until they’ve eaten breakfast to brush again. Hannah Seo reports for the New York Times that it might not matter, both options have pros and cons.
There’s not a lot of data to support pre-breakfast brushing or post-breakfast brushing. Experts disagree on the best time to brush your teeth in the morning. Here’s the thinking:
The value of brushing when you wake up: It wipes out the bacteria in your mouth. If you eat a bunch of sugar at breakfast and don’t brush your teeth beforehand, the bacteria that has accumulated in your mouth while you were sleeping will feed on those carbohydrates. The bacteria will grow. And that bacteria contains acids that erode the enamel protecting your teeth, increasing the likelihood of your getting cavities.
Brushing also helps you to produce saliva, which protects and strengthens your teeth. While you’re sleeping the bacteria building in your mouth tends to erode the minerals that saliva produces. The bicarbonates in saliva also help reduce acidity in your mouth.
In addition, brushing with fluorinated toothpaste helps protects your teeth from decaying, keeping acids at bay and strengthening tooth enamel.
But, you need to do a thorough brush or you will not kill all the bacteria in your mouth.
The value of brushing after breakfast: Unless you do a thorough brush first thing in the morning and kill all the bacteria that has grown in your mouth overnight, brushing after breakfast will kill all the bacteria in your mouth that comes from eating breakfast. Moreover, the fluoride in your toothpaste is likely to perform better since it will remain on your teeth and not be disturbed from your eating breakfast.
That said, brushing after you drink juice or coffee could hurt the enamel on your teeth. So, if you are going to brush after breakfast, you are better off waiting a half hour or so. And, then, the question becomes will you remember to brush?
Bottom line: Brush every morning, whenever makes the most sense for you, and do a thorough brushing!
Here’s more from Just Care:
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