Brushing your teeth before breakfast

[Apith]

I decided to create this thread after seeing the response on this thread.

I've always brushed my teeth before breakfast, I rarely brush after on rare occasions for different reasons.

Now there are people that prefers to brush their teeth after breakfast. Some of these people thinks it's the same as wiping your ass before you go for a poop. No, it's 2 completely different scenarios, and that metaphor cannot be applied here. Your ass cannot erode like teeth can, nor should your teeth be treated similar to it. There's a reason you go to the dentist every 6 months or so (You're supposed to), there's a reason for all these products that helps your teeth: Flossing, Mouthwash, Toothpaste etc. You don't have anything like that for your ass.

One of the main reasons people brushes after breakfast is the taste the toothpaste leaves in their mouth before eating. Now I'm no dentist, but that can easily be prevented by applying less toothpaste. Yes, applying less toothpaste. Watching/seeing ads of toothpastes has told you to apply more toothpaste, which only leaves a stronger taste in your mouth. But it is unnecessary. I remember reading an article about how a pea size amount of toothpaste is enough, so I decided to google for a different article.

Source 1

Source 2

Toothpaste is supposed to strengthen your teeth, brushing it helps keep it clean. I don't think toothpaste was ever meant to be breath mints or mouth wash. Another reason people brushes after breakfast is it doesn't leave the smell of your meal in your mouth. That can easily be prevented by taking breath mint(s) or mouthwash, or even brushing your teeth again. You could just brush it quickly, if your purpose is to get rid of the taste of your breakfast, and that only takes 20-30 seconds.

Here's 2 links I found interesting that backed up my theory:
http://lockergnome.net/questions/32794/should-you-brush-your-teeth-before-or-after-breakfast

http://www.ihealthstudio.com/2011/0...-teeth-after-or-before-eating-your-breakfast/

Has this changed your mind about brushing your teeth after?
Or
Are you glad you brush your teeth before breakfast?
Or
If it hasn't changed your mind, why not?

After you take a quick skim through those last 2 links, you'll know the negative effects of what can happen if you brush your teeth after. Now you probably doubt that and think it's not that big of a deal, but it may be a bigger deal in the long run.

 

[Loyal 2 da game]

i feel as if the supposed wearing away of enamel from brushing after breakfast is probably such a small amount it'd either barely if ever actually effect you. i personally always brush afterwards as I've done so ever since I had braces in order to get any sort of food outta my braces before i heard to school. not mention orange juice is like drinking bleach if you brush before breakfast.

 

[Try and run]

Brushing before you eat defeats the purpose of brushing.

 

[Zerkerfist]

This thread is hilarious :laugh:

I almost always brush my teeth before breakfast, and I don't see that changing any time soon. If I brush my teeth afterwards, you have the taste of toothpaste in your mouth instead of food.. and I find that after a few hours of not eating anything, the toothpaste starts to taste really stale almost. It is hard to describe unless you know what I mean.

I prefer to brush first and then eat later on. I am never bothered about the taste unless you are eating something cold, or a fruit or diary product right after brushing your teeth.

 

Brushing before you eat defeats the purpose of brushing.

Defeats the purpose? I don't know about that. Bacteria in your mouth increases and the pH level in your mouth drops down while you're sleeping. Eating before brushing your teeth can really increase the risks of disease and just f'ing up your teeth in the long run.

 

[Try and run]

Defeats the purpose? I don't know about that. Bacteria in your mouth increases and the pH level in your mouth drops down while you're sleeping. Eating before brushing your teeth can really increase the risks of disease and just f'ing up your teeth in the long run.

I've been doing this all my life and have perfect teeth. And the main reason for brushing is to remove plaque and food.

 

[Apith]

I've been doing this all my life and have perfect teeth. And the main reason for brushing is to remove plaque and food.

As I said, you wouldn't really notice any effect if you continue to do so. But I said it may show some in the long run.

Food isn't harmful to your teeth. They do say to brush after every meal, but not everyone does that. It's recommended to brush at least twice a day. If food was really harmful to your teeth, that's why you remove it, then shouldn't they be more strict on the "brush after every meal"? They should stop saying brush twice a day if it really was.

Hahanerd said it would ruin your teeth in the long run. Don't expect to see it in a mere 3 years.

I do suggest reading the links I gave, and even asking your dentist. One of those links contains a suggestion given by a dentist. Although you cannot really prove he is one, it's hard to pretend to be a dentist when you say what he said.

The only reason people brushes their teeth after breakfast is because they don't like the taste of food in their mouth, or they don't like how food tastes after brushing your teeth. I gave the solution to both of them.

There is no real medical reason to why it's better than brushing before.

 

[Try and run]

As I said, you wouldn't really notice any effect if you continue to do so. But I said it may show some in the long run.

Food isn't harmful to your teeth. They do say to brush after every meal, but not everyone does that. It's recommended to brush at least twice a day. If food was really harmful to your teeth, that's why you remove it, then shouldn't they be more strict on the "brush after every meal"? They should stop saying brush twice a day if it really was.

Hahanerd said it would ruin your teeth in the long run. Don't expect to see it in a mere 3 years.

I do suggest reading the links I gave, and even asking your dentist. One of those links contains a suggestion given by a dentist. Although you cannot really prove he is one, it's hard to pretend to be a dentist when you say what he said.

Whether or not he's a dentist is not the issue, it's the fact that he's one dentist. Dentists, like doctors, have varying views on brushing, flossing, mouthwashes, etc. As far as it effecting me in the long run, I highly doubt it. I've been doing this for as long as I've lived (19 years), and my mom has been doing it for as long as she's lived (59 years) and both of us have perfect teeth. No cavities, no gingivitis, no nothing. I highly doubt that there will be any sort of real problems associated with brushing your teeth after you eat. Maybe if you had REALLY, REALLY bad teeth you would, but for people like me, I don't think it really matters.

As far as the brush your teeth at least twice a day vs after ever meal thing, I think it's one of those varying views I mentioned earlier. Really, brushing your teeth isn't even the most important thing, flossing is.

Edit in response to your edit: You say that there's no medical evidence to suggest that brushing afterwards is better than before, but you don't say that there's medical evidence to suggest that it's worse.

 

[Kinderlokker]

I always brush my teeth before breakfast, then once again before i leave to go out :laugh:

 

[Zerkerfist]

Brushing twice a day is pretty much the minimum you should brush. For the best results for your teeth, you should brush for a few minutes 3 times per day.

I don't do this all the time, but when I have in the past it tends to keep my teeth extremely clean. Basically:

• Brush in the morning after waking up. Eat breakfast after brushing.
• Brush again after lunch. By this point you've had 2 meals (breakfast & lunch) and your teeth are due for a light clean.
• Brush again before bed

The lunch brush can be a pain in the ass for a lot of people, especially if you are at school or work, but if you brushed your teeth 3 times a day instead of twice per day you would surely notice a big difference. My teeth used to be a lot whiter when I brushed 3 times per day, every day.

There is such a thing as over brushing as well. You don't want to brush your teeth too frequently, or too hard, or your gums will begin bleed and peel back, and your teeth will actually erode faster.

 

[MrLuckyDraw]

Such controversy. Maybe we should consider opening a new "Dental" section under the off-topic forum.

Anyway, this is good to know. I'll brush my teeth before breakfast, but only for a trial run. I'll see how this fare's for me.

 

[Apith]

I said it could, try and run.

Edit in response to your edit: You say that there's no medical evidence to suggest that brushing afterwards is better than before, but you don't say that there's medical evidence to suggest that it's worse.

Read through the OP again, if you even have, and it shows you the benefits of brushing before. That's obviously being compared to after. Did you think it was compared to not brushing your teeth at all?

But if you want me to simply it even further for you, here.

Dental plaque can give rise to dental caries (tooth decay)—the localised destruction of the tissues of the tooth by acid produced from the bacterial degradation of fermentable sugars[2]—and periodontal problems such as gingivitis and chronic periodontitis.

Now that's stated on my first post as well, except this is taken from wikipedia. This is basically simplified.

You have plaque.

But more importantly the reasoning behind this is that if you have acidic foods/drinks such as orange juice then you will be lowering the pH of your mouth (ie. your mouth will be acidic), a low pH is a bad thing for your teeth as it causes deminerlization.

Plaque + Acidic food/drinks is not good. Orange juice is acidic.

It says on one of the links that it minimizes risks of teeth erosion. I'll take it you don't regularly have acidic food/drinks for breakfast.

brushing their teeth after eating acidic food and drink can damage their teeth permanently.Acidic foods and drinks, such as oranges, grapefruit and fruit juices that are often eaten at breakfast time, soften the enamel on your teeth.Brushing immediately afterward wears the enamel away, and can cause dental erosion

You should have gone through the links I provided you before saying otherwise. Not to mention HHN basically said this, but either you ignored it or didn't understand it.

Your only point of argument was your teeth, how they're good. But that doesn't explain anything, except you don't regularly have acidic food/drinks before brushing. The same with your mum. If you really want to put this to a test, eat acidic food and drinks everyday for breakfast, before you brush your teeth. Watch your enamel go and possibly dental erosion.

 

[Try and run]

I don't keep track of what my mom eats for breakfast, but you're right I generally don't drink/eat very acidic foods/drinks. I usually drink water for breakfast, sometimes coffee if I need it, but even then I swig water as I just feel like it gets some of the coffee off of my teeth. I rarely drink OJ for breakfast. I also very rarely drink soda.

Here's basically what I do when I wake up: go to the bathroom, take out my retainer, rinse my mouth out with water, eat breakfast, brush my teeth after waiting a little while (it's best not to brush right after you eat). Maybe the reason I have good teeth is because I have better habits than most people.

As for reading all your links, no, I didn't. I honestly didn't feel like reading 4 different links about something as minuscule as brushing your teeth either before or after breakfast.

As for your initial question in your OP, no, this information hasn't changed my mind. My teeth are in perfect health/shape, and my dentist agrees with me. I get regular check ups (twice a year) and have never had any cavities. I feel that with my current record, there's no reason to change my routine.

 

I always feel like a dirty, dried up, expired overnight saliva, stale piece of ass as soon as I wake up so I just brush straight away.
And sometimes after I brush I have breakfast and forgot that I've brushed so I brush again, true story.

 

[Apith]

I don't keep track of what my mom eats for breakfast, but you're right I generally don't drink/eat very acidic foods/drinks. I usually drink water for breakfast, sometimes coffee if I need it, but even then I swig water as I just feel like it gets some of the coffee off of my teeth. I rarely drink OJ for breakfast. I also very rarely drink soda.

Here's basically what I do when I wake up: go to the bathroom, take out my retainer, rinse my mouth out with water, eat breakfast, brush my teeth after waiting a little while (it's best not to brush right after you eat). Maybe the reason I have good teeth is because I have better habits than most people.

As for reading all your links, no, I didn't. I honestly didn't feel like reading 4 different links about something as minuscule as brushing your teeth either before or after breakfast.

As for your initial question in your OP, no, this information hasn't changed my mind. My teeth are in perfect health/shape, and my dentist agrees with me. I get regular check ups (twice a year) and have never had any cavities. I feel that with my current record, there's no reason to change my routine.

Not really the best idea to go at someone without acknowledging everything they said.

But yeah, I guess your habits are better. And you don't necessarily need to brush before breakfast, especially when you don't consume acidy food/drinks. At this point, however, I cannot say it's better for you to brush before. Not to mention at the rate you consume acid before brushing, it can't be close to what you need to consume to do any visible damage for a long time.

 

[Sabrinaxx]

I would rather keep on brushing after eating, for a number of reasons

It's also just what I've done all my life so I probably wouldn't change unless told otherwise by a dentist

 

[Apith]

I would rather keep on brushing after eating, for a number of reasons

It's also just what I've done all my life so I probably wouldn't change unless told otherwise by a dentist

Have you asked your dentist about it? Or has your dentist told you that you shouldn't do this?

 

[Fre5h]

I always brush after but the key is to wash your mouth out after you eat and before you brush so the tooth paste does not mix with the food and get nasty. The reason I brush after is because my favorite morning drink is Orange Juice and brushing before would ruin that whole experience. Plus Food just doesn't taste as good with toothpaste smeared in your mouth.

 

[Apith]

I always brush after but the key is to wash your mouth out after you eat and before you brush so the tooth paste does not mix with the food and get nasty. The reason I brush after is because my favorite morning drink is Orange Juice and brushing before would ruin that whole experience. Plus Food just doesn't taste as good with toothpaste smeared in your mouth.

Well, I suggest reading through my earlier posts.

You appear to consume orange juice regularly before brushing your teeth. Orange is acid, acid weakens your teeth temporarily, what happens when you brush your teeth after consuming any acidic food/drink is it erodes your enamel away.

I had an argument with Try and Run in the previous posts, but he didn't seem to need to brush before breakfast because he didn't intake acidic food/drinks. You, however, seem to and I can only say that it won't be going good for you in the long run.

Orange juice weakens your teeth, and brushing it shortly after doesn't help, it actually makes it worse.

Refer to this post.

 

[Zerkerfist]

If you brush the back of your tongue, the stank goes away. Minty fresh goodness from there on out.

Real talk.