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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.

mojo ,

After my morning coffee to try and reduce coffee staining teeth

Also 100% recommend water flossers, they’re a game changer cuz I was really bad about flossing normally

Rocky60 ,

I brush in the morning, and rinse or floss after I eat anything. I brush when I get home from work, after supper, and before I go to bed.

I used to just brush in the morning and at night, and have a partial to show for it

flying_sheep ,
@flying_sheep@lemmy.ml avatar

My dentist says flossing more often than once a week is detrimental.

shapesandstuff ,

maybe he said more than once a day? Mine said 1-2 times a day.

flying_sheep ,
@flying_sheep@lemmy.ml avatar

Flossing? Wtf. Brushing, yes, but flossing is much harsher.

shapesandstuff ,

Idk how u floss :D

shapesandstuff ,

I used to just brush in the morning and at night, and have a partial to show for it

that’s crazy, do you have some condition like acid reflux or a particular issue with your saliva?
twice a day is like THE golden standard everyone learns and is told by dentists.

jackpot ,
@jackpot@lemmy.ml avatar

twice or thrice a day?

MTK ,

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

VelvetStorm ,

Before bed and right before I go to work. I also floss my teeth at least twice a day(typically 10 min after eating and just before brushing) and use mouthwash at least twice a day(typically after brushing).

unknowing8343 ,

There are plenty of studies suggesting that people are actually brushing too much. Kinda like with shampoo… we strip our surfaces from healthy bacteria and oils and it creates a vicious cycle.

On the other side, many foods we eat today are not healthy for our mouth environment, so I still believe there has to be a certain degree of brushing, of course. So, simply put… you should adjust to your use case. Learn when you feel your mouth needs some brushing or not, and move on.

ArcticDagger ,

Could you link some of those studies? I’d be interested to read more about that

thelsim ,
@thelsim@sh.itjust.works avatar

I ermm… only brush in the morning, after I had my shower. I know I should brush at least twice and I really wish I had the motivation to do so, but somehow I just find myself in bed without brushing.
But, to make up for it a little, I brush my teeth very meticulously for a minimum of 6 to 8 minutes. I follow intermittent fasting, so my next meal won’t be for another couple of hours.
My dentist is always full of praise during my half yearly checkup so I must be doing something right?

Seasm0ke ,

My dentist told me it actually takes ~24 hr for plaque to harden up into calculus so not to be too hard on myself if I only manage once a day. I think twice a day is probably best especially if spots are missed, but I rarely manage the morning cause I drink coffee all day and brush after my nightly shower.

howrar ,

I remember reading that only once a day is necessary if you brush properly, but most people don’t brush properly, so the recommendation is twice a day to make up for that.

thelsim ,
@thelsim@sh.itjust.works avatar

Thanks for letting me know, it makes me feel a little less guilty.
I still should make a change somehow, but I’ll figure it out eventually :)

Sowatee ,

Before bed 99% of the time. If I’m leaving the house then I’ll brush before I do.

RBWells ,

At night before bed, 4 minutes. After flossing them.

I just drink water in the morning, coffee later, and you aren’t supposed to brush right after eating or drinking so I’ve not found another convenient time.

If I could remember to do it, I’m sure after lunch would be ideal, I just can’t reliably remember to.

SHamblingSHapes ,
@SHamblingSHapes@lemmy.one avatar

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

sara ,

Apparently I’m disgusting because I only brush and floss at night. I wish I was the sort of person who brushed after every meal but I just can’t be bothered. I haven’t had a cavity in years though, so I guess it works for me.

nevernevermore ,

I, too, am lazy. I brush at nights only, because lazy. I go to the dentist every 12 months and they’re always stoked at how my teeth and gums look. Maybe it’s genetics.

Open_Mike ,

Same here, but I'll chew a xylitol-containing gum after most meals and snacks. (not sorbitol, it doesn't work.) Hard to find a good gum though - the only one I can get here is Mentos.

DeltaTangoLima ,
@DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com avatar

Just before bed, yep. I usually eat breakfast at work, so I brush before leaving, after my morning coffees.

backhdlp ,
@backhdlp@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

After showering.

SilentStorms ,

After breakfast than floss+brush before bed. Before breakfast doesn’t make sense to me because you’re brushing twice when you haven’t eaten anything.

BananaPeal OP ,
@BananaPeal@sh.itjust.works avatar

Yeah that’s my thought.

FrozenCorgi ,

Might seem counterintuitive at first pass, but brushing Before breakfast IS much better.

There’s a couple of reasons for this. One thing being that you want to wash out the bacteria that have multiplied overnight - these are the ones that give you the morning stinkbreath, and that sticky coating you feel on your teeth.

Additionally, when you eat you expose your teeth to acids that weaken and softens your enamel for a while. Brushing the weakened enamel weakens the enamel over time. Brushing before on the other hand helps protect your teeth from said acids, reducing this weakening effect.

That said, brushing after you’ve eaten is still better than not brushing at all.

SilentStorms ,

That makes sense. I can’t say I’ll change, purely because I don’t want to eat breakfast with the taste of toothpaste in my mouth, but it’s good to know.

shinigamiookamiryuu ,

It depends on the day for me, but usually it’s once a day at night because I synchronize it with my showering frequency. If I do it twice in a day, the first time is after breakfast unless I skip breakfast.

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