Dental professionals recommend brushing when you first wake up and when you go to bed for several reasons. The first being, it is an easy habit to follow. Brush when you wake up and right before your head hits the pillow.
While it's optimal to brush your teeth both in the morning when you wake up and at night before you go to bed, brushing at night is actually more important. During the day, the foods you eat leave particles and debris on your teeth that feed bacteria.
In short, the best times of day to brush your teeth are in the morning and in the evening. Some wonder if after eating breakfast is the best time to brush their teeth, but it's actually best to brush your teeth right when you wake up in the morning.
Takeaway. When you're looking to protect your tooth enamel, brushing right after you wake up in the morning is better than brushing your teeth after breakfast. If you have to brush your teeth after breakfast, try to wait 30 to 60 minutes before you brush.
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.
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.
Twice daily brushing is best for most people – but once a day is better than nothing! If you decide to brush once a day, consider timing it just before bed or just after waking. Also think about other dental care activities you can do. For example, recent research shows antiseptic mouth wash can help reduce plaque.
It takes about 30 to 45 minutes for saliva to remineralize and restore the enamel to its previous state. Brushing too soon can damage your teeth while your enamel is temporarily weakened.
So if you brush before breakfast, you can help avoid plaque and bacteria from setting in your breakfast. Those who brush after breakfast, have a better chance of plaque and bacteria to mix with their pancakes, waffles, cereal, milk, coffee and orange juice.
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.
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.
If you make a habit of not brushing your teeth at night, then your enamel will wear down over time. This can result in a number of oral health issues, most notably a greater risk of developing cavities or gum disease.
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.
When you brush twice a day, plaque can be removed before it hardens into position. While plaque is still soft, it can easily be brushed and flossed away. However, once it hardens, it remains in place until it is scraped away at your next dental cleaning.
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.
The germs and bacteria inside your mouth multiply during the night. When you drink water in the morning before brushing, it will clean out your mouth and make tooth-brushing more effective. When you make a habit of drinking water before brushing, you will notice your immunity becoming more robust.
Rinse, gargle, spit out the mouthwash and that should be enough. But don't use water. Wait at least half an hour after brushing your teeth to drink water or consume beverages.
According to the Mayo Clinic, if you've eaten anything that is acidic, you should avoid brushing teeth for at least 30 minutes. Foods containing citric acid, like citrus fruits, weaken tooth enamel. Brushing teeth too soon after eating foods can damage the enamel in its already weakened state.
Keeping this in mind, brushing your tongue is critical in removing all of the bacteria and germs from your mouth. If you do not brush your tongue, you are skipping a large area where many bacteria gather in colonies, and eventually cause trouble in your mouth.
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.
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.
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.
About plaque removal
Most plaque hardens within 48 hours of formation, and within several days it will become so hard that it is almost impossible to remove. This hard substance is tartar and the only way to remove it is to see your dentist for a professional scraping of your teeth.
How long does it take for cavities to develop? Cavities don't develop overnight. It takes weeks, months, even years for a cavity to form. In fact, most cavities take around six months to five years to develop.
Brushing your teeth at night can help remove food particles, stave off bacteria, and protect your teeth as you sleep. Plaque is the yellowish sticky stuff that adheres to the teeth. Regularly brushing and flossing can remove plaque and limit its ability to build up over time.