Brushing teeth, although something we do daily, has sparked considerable controversy over the years - namely, the question of whether it’s best to brush before or after breakfast.
If you thought it was all down to personal preference and either way provides the same result, don’t be fooled. According to dentists, there’s only one right time to brush your teeth, and that’s because of a very important reason.
Avenue Dental Practice shared on its website that the role of brushing your teeth is to keep your teeth, gums and breath healthy.
However, some things can hinder tooth brushing from being as effective —or even make it downright worse for you.
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The practice explained that your mouth is ‘full of bacteria that multiply during the night’ when you wake up, which is why we get the dreaded ‘morning breath’.
At this point, you might get the overwhelming urge to scran your breakfast as fast as possible before you run to the bathroom to scrub away the bacteria, but that’s not a great option.
In fact, it could impact your dental health. Instead, you should think about brushing your teeth as soon as you wake up, and then wait a bit before consuming anything.
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The practice explained that doing this 'keeps harmful bacteria at bay’, prevents enamel erosion, and the fluoride in the toothpaste creates a nice barrier before you eat or drink anything acidic.
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As for Marshfield Paediatric Dentistry, they also agree.
Writing on its website, the practice explained: “The bacteria is not only responsible for morning breath, but for plaque formation too.
"By brushing before breakfast, you don’t allow the bacteria from breakfast add to the plaque already formed. Brushing your teeth before breakfast also lowers the risk that the enamel will be damaged.”
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If you choose to brush your teeth after breakfast, you could be softening your enamel, leaving it open for possible damage.
This is because many breakfast foods are acidic in nature, like fruit juice or coffee. But if you absolutely must brush your teeth after brekky, wait at least half an hour, and rinse your mouth out with water to help with getting rid of the acid before applying pressure from a toothbrush.
Even for Dr Stephanie Dumanian, who featured on HuffPost's Am I Doing It Wrong podcast, she says that brushing before breakfast is the best thing for your oral health.
Dr Dumanian, who is the owner of Park Lex 60 Dental, warned: “Generally speaking, I like to brush before breakfast.
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“I think the main thing to keep in mind is that generally when you’re eating... you’re probably introducing some acidic foods into the mix.
“So, you don’t want to brush directly after having something acidic... like coffee.”
Sad news for those of us who thought brushing after breakfast was the only logical way to go.
Topics: Life, Food and Drink, Health
Britt Jones