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When do you brush your teeth?

It is advised to brush your teeth at least twice a day, but when? Just before bed is a gimme because you're about to lie mostly still for 6+ hours. Best to not leave food particles to fester.

What's the best time for an earlier brushing? After breakfast? After lunch? After work/school?

Plus, what's up with TV and movies having breakfast scenes where they get up and head right out the door? Did they already brush and now they're going to leave food to fester all day? Eww.

79 comments
  • Better to brush after getting up to remove any bacteria and plaque buildup. And then right before bed, floss+brush.

  • Before bed and before breakfast. Bacteria grow in your mouth during your sleep, so it's best to keep them low when you start sleeping, and kill them again before you swallow them with breakfast.

  • Following the advice of my dentist, in the morning after finishing my coffee and in the evening before bed.

  • Build up of bacteria at night means that if you eat in the morning before brushing there will be more bacteria to break down the food into acid which will break down your teeth.

    Ideal is to brush first but also brush after each meal*

    *as long as the acidity in your mouth is 5.5pH or less your teeth are being broken down by the acid (which means that brushing would be scrubing them with acid and making it worse) in which case you should wait until your spit (which is a buffer solution) returns your pH to normal. Since most foods are acidic the recommendation is to wait 30 mnutes after eating and then brush. Or you can eat suger free gum right after a meal, this will trick your brain to produce more spit which will return the normal pH faster.

    My personal system is like so:

    Wake up

    Use dental jet floss (water floss)

    Brush teeth

    After any foods eaten chew gum for 10-30 minutes

    Floss

    Dental jet (if at home)

    If I'm at home and have 30 minutes to wait between mouthwash and brushing then I use mouthwash, wait 30 min then brush, if not then just brushing and if I'm not at home then just mouthwash.

    Repeat for as many things as I eat that day.

    Before bed:

    Floss

    Dental jet

    Mouthwash

    Wait 30 min

    Brush

  • Most people will say its generally after you eat but I personally believe it should be before and after you sleep (including naps). I noticed that after naps my mouth feels very weird and things taste different but brushing my teeth stops that. Cavities mainly form while you sleep not while you are awake so going about your normal day with dirty teeth isn't going to harm you even though its a bit gross.

  • I brush a while after eating. My roomie brushes before breakfast and before bead.

  • Bro its not just about the 6 hours, There will be much less saliva and other secretions from your mouth when you sleep. Actually saliva slows down bacteria growth, thats why your breath smells after you wake up

  • After breakfast I would think. Any other time would be rather inconvenient.

  • I brush when I wake up, after lunch, at dinner and before bed. If I eat something during the day, I also brush.

79 comments