TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth at least twice a day for two full minutes. However, it does not specify when exactly to brush your teeth. Most people brush their teeth every morning and night before going to bed. In the morning, should it be before breakfast or after?
As reported by Healthline, brushing your teeth before breakfast can protect your teeth and overall mouth health compared to brushing after eating. This routine can reduce bacteria at night and apply fluoride before being exposed to acidic food.
Meanwhile, brushing your teeth immediately after eating acidic food can weaken the teeth enamel due to erosion. Experts suggest that if you want to brush your teeth after eating, you should wait at least 30 minutes after.
Oral Bacteria
As reported by the Times of India, when waking up, the mouth produces less saliva for several hours, bacteria have freely multiplied, and the overall environment is slightly more acidic than at any other time of day. In such conditions, breakfast becomes the first interaction between food, bacteria, and teeth enamel. The sequence of these oral activities will determine how vulnerable the teeth are to softening or abrasion. This needs to be observed because enamel does not regenerate after it's gone.
Health expert Michelle Jorgensen suggests that brushing your teeth before breakfast is a safer approach because the bacteria that have accumulated overnight become very active after they receive a source of sugar or carbohydrates. According to her, when you eat first, the bacteria quickly turn breakfast sugars into acid. This weakens the teeth enamel in minutes, she said.
If you brush your teeth when the enamel is weak, the physical pressure can remove minerals or thin the protective surface. Over time, this contributes to sensitivity or erosion.
As a solution, she suggests brushing your teeth before breakfast to reduce bacteria, apply fluoride first, and protect the enamel before it touches food or drinks. If you really want to brush your teeth after, she recommends waiting about thirty minutes, especially after consuming acidic foods such as orange juice or coffee, so that saliva can naturally increase the pH and encourage the re-deposition of minerals.
Read: 7 Benefits of Eating Oatmeal for Breakfast, According to a Nutrition Expert
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