While it may seem tempting to skip brushing your teeth at night if you're already comfortably lying in bed, the importance of brushing your teeth twice a day goes beyond fresh breath. It's an essential part of dental hygiene that helps prevent cavity, tooth decay, and gum disease.
The reality is that not brushing your teeth before bed is bad news. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends brushing your beautiful smile twice a day. Skip a session, and you're on your way to encouraging the growth of bacterial buildup in the form of plaque, which can lead to cavities and even gum disease.
In fact, most experts say that even with just once-a-day brushing, it is already enough to keep bacteria and cavities at bay. Yes, you read it right. Brushing your teeth once a day is enough to maintain good oral health if it is done correctly.
You're basically just letting all of that bacteria sit on your teeth all night and all day long. This can result in all manner of dental problems.
Risks With Only Brushing Once a Day
Cavities. Advanced decay that could require additional dental treatment such as a root canal. Gum disease. Chronic bad breath.
Most dentists believe you should brush your teeth at least twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening. This is important because during the night, the formation of plaque is mostly undisturbed.
Its most important to brush your teeth last thing at night to remove food debris which will prevent a harmful build-up of plaque through the night. Brush before breakfast, not afterwards to prevent tooth erosion. Brush your teeth for at least 2 minutes each time.
The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste for two minutes each time. When you brush your teeth, you help remove food and plaque — a sticky white film that forms on your teeth and contains bacteria.
Unfortunately, when you rinse immediately after brushing, you're washing away a lot of the fluoride in toothpaste before it can strengthen your tooth enamel. To maximize the beneficial cavity-fighting effect of fluoride, spit out excess toothpaste but do not rinse your mouth.
People often think tooth loss is normal as they age, but that is not the case. Permanent teeth are made to last, meaning people can keep their natural teeth their entire lives, even if they live to be 100 years old.
Dangers of Not Brushing Your Teeth
It breaks down the enamel of your teeth, leading to tooth decay, cavities, and gum disease. When you go right to bed without brushing, the plaque in your mouth begins to harden. Once plaque calcifiers, it becomes tartar and is impervious to simple brushing.
One week without brushing:
As soon as a week goes by, your teeth' enamel will start to break down. The plaque that hasn't been removed will make it easy for bad breath to grow. A dirty tooth will make it hard to clean.
Frequently drinking wine, tea, or coffee and eating certain staining foods affects the shade of your tooth enamel. These foods and beverages leave color particles on your tooth's surface that penetrate your tooth enamel over time, leaving you with yellow or dull-looking teeth.
However, brushing your teeth between meals isn't necessarily a bad thing. You should refrain from brushing more than three times a day, because brushing too often will wear down the enamel of your teeth. You must brush at least twice, but not more than three times a day.
We recommend brushing your teeth at least twice a day: once in the morning (i.e. around 30 minutes after breakfast), and once before bed! But if you want to go for three, that's no issue, just as long as you don't brush too hard or too soon after eating!
When you go without brushing, the bacteria in your mouth can put you at risk for tooth decay, can lead to much more serious conditions such as cavities or gum disease. Even in as little as one night, you can put your mouth at risk for developing the first stages of a cavity or gingivitis.
Brushing your teeth is crucial for fighting cavities and tooth decay. A study by Delta Dental found that 70 percent of Americans brush their teeth twice a day, typically once before bedtime and once when they wake up.
Dentists say it's good to let the fluoridated toothpaste set in your teeth for a few minutes regardless if you do decide you want to rinse with water or not. While rinsing doesn't harm you, it prevents the toothpaste from working to its best ability.
So, the temperature of the water used while brushing your teeth is all up to your personal preference – but never use “hot” water, you don't want to scald yourself. People with sensitive teeth, however, may want to use lukewarm water to help with the sensitivity that cold water may cause.
While it may be surprising, a study has found that flossing first followed by brushing with a fluoride toothpaste is more effective in removing interdental plaque than brushing first, flossing second. In addition, flossing before brushing results in greater fluoride retention between teeth.
Brushing at night can help clear out these tiny particles of food from your mouth. If you maintain a brushing practice every night, it prevents the build-up of plaque in the long run.
Although this is not always a bad thing, when you start brushing too much or for too long, you can ultimately damage your teeth. Brushing more than three times a day, and for longer than 2 minutes, can sometimes lead to your tooth enamel wearing down as well as cause damage to your gums.
Similarly to flossing, your dental team will also be able to tell if you don't brush your teeth often enough or even if you brush too hard. Those who don't brush the recommended two times a day will often have larger areas of tartar buildup and puffy, red gums.
The Ideal Time to Brush. Actually, brushing your teeth in the period between dinner and bedtime is ideal. This is because it gives the fluoride in your toothpaste extra time to strengthen your teeth and form a barrier against acid before you go to sleep. BUT don't head to the bathroom right after you've finished dinner ...