Is It Better To Brush Your Teeth Before Breakfast or After?
Everyone knows that you should brush your teeth at least twice a day: once in the morning and once before bedtime. But when it comes to your morning routine, is it better to brush before or after breakfast? The truth is that few studies have looked into this question and their results have been mixed and limited, so there is not a definitive answer.
The case for brushing before breakfast
For many people, breakfast includes sugary carbohydrates, said Dr Carlos Gonzalez-Cabezas, a dentist, professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. And when you wake up in the morning, de Aguiar Ribeiro added, bacterial levels in your mouth are at their peak — “that’s why we have bad breath when we wake up”.
So a mouth rife with bacteria and a breakfast full of sugary carbs means that conditions are perfect for the bacteria to flourish and multiply. When this happens, they release acids that can wear down the protective enamel on your teeth, making them more prone to cavities, de Aguiar Ribeiro said. Brushing before breakfast clears that bacteria away, denying them the opportunity to feed on your food.
Another reason to brush before breakfast is to jump-start the production of saliva, de Aguiar Ribeiro added, which is one of the most protective forces for your teeth.
The case for brushing after breakfast
“The reality is that most people don’t brush that well,” he said, so even if you brush right before breakfast, you probably will still have bacteria lingering in your mouth that could multiply and produce acids during breakfast and for the rest of the day, so you may as well brush after you eat to minimize that lingering food. The fluoride from your toothpaste will work better throughout the day if it is not displaced by chewing food right after you brush.
De Aguiar Ribeiro recommended that if you can, wait at least 30 minutes after a meal to brush. If you want to get rid of lingering breakfast bits before then, she suggested drinking or swishing water.
Finally, while it is true that the bacteria present in your mouth right after waking up will feast on your breakfast and produce damaging acids, Gonzalez-Cabezas said that most people eat breakfast pretty quickly — usually completing their meal within 10 to 15 minutes. That is not enough time to do a ton of damage, he said, so again, he believes the benefits of brushing after breakfast outweigh the negative effects of whatever acids might be produced by bacteria while you are eating.