Should You Brush Your Teeth Before Or After Breakfast? ?
This is a highly debated topic!
First, let’s take a look at what’s actually happening in the mouth while we’re sleeping. During the night, the amount of spit, or saliva, that the body produces is substantially less than during the day. This leads to an overgrowth of bad bacteria which cause “morning breath”. Saliva is crucial for maintaining the health of teeth and gums. This is also why having sugary sweets right before bed increases the risk of tooth decay.
Now, let’s skip to the morning when you’ve just woken up. Is it best to brush your teeth as soon as you’re up, or wait until after breakfast? The truth is, it doesn’t really matter! The most important thing is to just DO IT! However, one important thing to note is whether or not your breakfast foods are acidic. If they are, it is a good idea to wait at least 30 minutes before brushing to prevent enamel wear.
Tips
Here are a few simple tooth brushing tips:
✅ Don’t scrub your teeth!
Some people love the feeling of a medium or hard toothbrush. In reality though, the harder the brush and the more pressure we use, the higher the risk of wear and damage to the teeth. A soft brush using a gentle technique allows for the best possible clean as the bristles are flexible and will clean around and between the teeth without wearing away the tooth enamel or traumatising the gum.
✅ Brushing twice a day is enough.
Brushing for two minutes morning and night (and flossing ideally once a day) is sufficient to remove plaque and bacteria from the mouth. The right technique is also much more important than the frequency so if you’re not sure on how to brush correctly, ask your dentist for a demonstration!
✅ Only use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste.
✅ Don’t rinse after brushing!
Almost everyone rinses their mouth out after brushing. However, this is just washing away the protective fluoride found in toothpaste! If possible, try to spit out as much as you can without rinsing. If you feel like there is still too much toothpaste in your mouth, try a tongue scraper.