Friday , March 29 2024

Should I Brush My Teeth Before Or After Breakfast? Why You Should Know This! Teeth Beat

We always talk about how many times we should brush our teeth, how long we should do so, which tooth brush is the best to use, how long we should use a tooth brush, and how to move the tooth brush in our mouth while brushing. Of course, we all know we need to brush twice a day, in the morning and at night before going to bed. We all know the best bristle texture of tooth brush to use is medium, except other textures are recommended for special reasons. We also know we should brush for just about two minutes and several Dental Associations in different countries including American Dental Association have recommended that we change our tooth brush between three to five months or once the bristles beginning to get frayed.

What we normally do not emphasize is whether we should brush before or after breakfast. Let’s just go straight to the point.

Most people just ensure that they brush their teeth as part of what they ought to do daily without actually paying detailed attention to what is better for your oral care. People consider time and schedule, or how brushing affects the taste of their breakfast. That is probably why they choose to brush before or after breakfast. But let us check out the real reasons why you should either brush before or after breakfast.

Is there really a difference between brushing before or after breakfast? And which is better for your teeth and oral health?

The most common argument for brushing your teeth after breakfast is to get rid of the food that might be left over. But that’s not all.

Of course, removing food is important when brushing teeth, but the main reason we brush our teeth is to remove plaque.

Plaque is the sticky white film that forms on your teeth that contains millions of bacteria. If we don’t remove this by brushing, the bacteria will attack our teeth causing tooth decay and gum disease.

So why should we remove plaque? Why is it essential to do so? When we eat, the bacteria in the plaque uses the sugars from the food to produce acids that will eat away at the tooth enamel. These acids will be attacking your teeth for at least 20 minutes after you eat (https://www.buttercup7daydental.co.uk/brush-teeth-before-or-after-breakfas).

There are arguments for brushing your teeth before breakfast and for brushing after breakfast. It is important you see the two sides. So why should I brush before breakfast?

Many experts, including the British Dental and Health FoundationMayo Clinic and the NHS, recommend brushing before breakfast.

Here are two notable reasons why they say so:

Plaque builds as we sleep

Plaque forms quicker as we sleep due to there being less saliva production. So even if you brush your teeth before bed, there will still be plenty more come the morning.

Brushing before breakfast will help get rid of this buildup of plaque. This means that the sugars from your food won’t be able to combine with the bacteria from the plaque, to form the acid which attacks and destroys your tooth’s enamel.

If you wait until after you eat to brush your teeth you are allowing the sugars to mix with all the plaque that’s built up over night, creating the acid that will eat away at your tooth’s enamel for at least 20 minutes after eating.

You may be saying “I know how to solve that. I’ll just brush my teeth straight away after I’ve had my breakfast.” Checkout the next fact to know why this is not even a good option.

The change of acid levels in your mouth

Eating a breakfast high in sugars and acids, for example orange juice and sugary cereal, can change the pH level in your mouth which weakens the tooth enamel.

Brushing straight after you eat can result in you scraping off the softened or weakened enamel letting the acid go even deeper into the teeth.

Also, the fluoride toothpaste you use when brushing will give an extra protective layer against this acid attack if you have brushed before breakfast.

But if you wait until after, then the acids are in full force and the teeth are at their weakest.

Now that you have seen arguments for brushing before breakfast, let’s see arguments for brushing after breakfast. So why should I brush before breakfast??

The most common reason for brushing your teeth after breakfast is to remove the food and the taste of your recently consumed food.

Experts suggest that simply rinsing your mouth with water after eating should remove any leftover food particles that might cause issue. Even better, if you have time why not floss as well.

And the taste?
If you want to get rid of the taste of your breakfast why not rinse your mouth with a little bit of mouthwash instead of water.

If the case is that you would still rather brush your teeth after breakfast probably because it suits your routine, well that’s a decision you have made. What is most important is that you brush your teeth twice a day, with a fluoride toothpaste.

If you have decided to brush after breakfast even after your night meal, note that it is strongly recommended that you at wait at least 30 minutes after you eat so that the pH level in your mouth can return to normal and your teeth are restored enough to handle brushing. This applies to both morning and night meals. Wait for at least 30 minutes before you brush. That’s a healthy oral care routine you should get used to.

 

About Chinenye Nwabueze

Nwabueze is a writer with passion for cutting-edge news

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