While seeing your dentist biannually for cleanings and checkups is important, oral health professionals would be the first to tell you that the most important things you’ll do for your teeth will happen outside of their office. Daily dental hygiene is absolutely vital to keep tooth decay and gum disease at bay.
That means that having a good understanding of how best to care for your teeth is essential to your oral health. For example, you may wonder whether it’s better to brush your teeth before or after you eat breakfast, and whether preferring one over the other could cause problems for your smile. Here’s what you should know.
Should I Brush Before or After Breakfast?
It might sound a little bit silly, but there’s actually a fairly strong consensus on when people ought to brush their teeth. Typically it’s a good idea to brush your teeth as soon as you wake up, or at least before you have your first meal of the day. There are a few reasons why this is the case, and it’s worth running through them:
- Even if you take the time to brush before bed each night, you’re still going to have bacteria in the mouth multiply over the course of the night. This is what causes that funky feeling you may have in your mouth first thing in the morning.
- While brushing is the best way to control the buildup of plaque, it can also potentially raise the pH in the mouth. The effect is compounded if you brush after eating breakfast, especially if you’re in the habit of consuming acids like coffee or orange juice.
- Moreover, if you brush directly after drinking coffee, you risk spreading it around the mouth. It’s better to let it settle in place then remove it with a thorough brushing some time afterward.
About the Author
Dr. Annie Yu has been practicing dentistry for well over 15 years, and even after all her time in the field she has trouble saying exactly what she loves most. She finds it enormously gratifying to learn more about her field, and even more so when her accumulated knowledge helps someone look and feel their best. Dr. Yu received her dental degree from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. She has studied extensively with some of the most venerated dentists in the country, like Peter Dawson of the Dawson Academy as well as clinicians from the Pankey Institute.
If you have any questions about dental hygiene, she can be reached at her website or by phone at (240) 332-1599.