It is advised to brush your teeth at least twice a day, but when? Just before bed is a gimme because you’re about to lie mostly still for 6+ hours. Best to not leave food particles to fester.
What’s the best time for an earlier brushing? After breakfast? After lunch? After work/school?
Plus, what’s up with TV and movies having breakfast scenes where they get up and head right out the door? Did they already brush and now they’re going to leave food to fester all day? Eww.
Build up of bacteria at night means that if you eat in the morning before brushing there will be more bacteria to break down the food into acid which will break down your teeth.
Ideal is to brush first but also brush after each meal*
*as long as the acidity in your mouth is 5.5pH or less your teeth are being broken down by the acid (which means that brushing would be scrubing them with acid and making it worse) in which case you should wait until your spit (which is a buffer solution) returns your pH to normal. Since most foods are acidic the recommendation is to wait 30 mnutes after eating and then brush. Or you can eat suger free gum right after a meal, this will trick your brain to produce more spit which will return the normal pH faster.
My personal system is like so:
Wake up
Use dental jet floss (water floss)
Brush teeth
After any foods eaten chew gum for 10-30 minutes
Floss
Dental jet (if at home)
If I’m at home and have 30 minutes to wait between mouthwash and brushing then I use mouthwash, wait 30 min then brush, if not then just brushing and if I’m not at home then just mouthwash.
Repeat for as many things as I eat that day.
Before bed:
Floss
Dental jet
Mouthwash
Wait 30 min
Brush
twice or thrice a day?
After showering.
Before bed and right before I go to work. I also floss my teeth at least twice a day(typically 10 min after eating and just before brushing) and use mouthwash at least twice a day(typically after brushing).
After my morning tea and before I go to bed
Just before bed, yep. I usually eat breakfast at work, so I brush before leaving, after my morning coffees.
Better to brush after getting up to remove any bacteria and plaque buildup. And then right before bed, floss+brush.
Every time you finish a meal
Yup, that’s what my dentist recommends. If you do that, just make sure you have a toothbrush and toothpaste which doesn’t hurt your teeth :)
Dentists have a strong pro-brushing bias though.
I’ve always heard that but also been told to wait for some time after eating before brushing to not hurt your enamel? Not sure how true that is
For breakfast if you drink milk and eat nothing acidic (like fruits) that would weaken the enamel, brushing after the meal is the best.
Also brushing your teeth does slightly damage your teeth, which salvia will repair. I don’t want sugar in my slightly damaged teeth, nor do I want sugar on them for the rest of the day, until I brush in the evening. I like to extend the duration of brushed teeth to the maximum. Meaning over night clean and after breakfast, til often evening when I eat once more. With midday being all clean without extra brushing.
But milk is (slightly) acidic, isn’t that a product to avoid as well before brushing?
That’s true, but it’s enough to just rinse your mouth with water before brushing your teeth to eliminate any acidity from the food, or just wait at least 30 minutes before brushing your teeth.
This would be ideal, but some people work jobs where it’s not feasible.
As far as I know, getting cavities is a lot about genetics. I floss and brush after dinner and breakfast and don’t overthink it and I’ve been fine for many decades now.
Getting cavities is a lot about the prevelance of sugar and highly-refined carbs. Some people are more susceptible than others due to differences in saliva, but the typical western diet is horrible for your teeth.
Before bed 99% of the time. If I’m leaving the house then I’ll brush before I do.
I brush my teeth first thing in the morning when I wake up, before breakfast, to ensure I have the perfect coffee breath for the whole day after breakfast.
I brush pretty much as soon as I get up and right before I go to bed.
I brush a while after eating. My roomie brushes before breakfast and before bead.
When my teeth feel gross (fuzzy slippers) or my breath is kicking. Yes I am gross.
First thing after I wake up, very thoroughly with a soft toothbrush. I can’t start my day with gross mouth. Definitely never right after coffee (though I understand the impulse). I never seem to get around to it at night. My dentist seems satisfied. If I leave the house in the evening, I brush before I go out.
how can you sleep with “gross mouth”??
Just brush before going to sleep, like it’s a fixed part of the process… i’m in the bathroom right before bed anyway. Pee, brush teeth, shower/wash/comb, toss my clothes in the laundry basket…
