Featured Image Credit: andriano_cx via Getty Images
Topics: Health
Rachael Davis
In an ideal world, we’d all spring out of bed feeling bright and refreshed before making a beeline for the bathroom to get our teeth ready for the day.
Overnight, our mouths are hotbeds for bacteria. Literally. Warm, wet and mostly static while you snooze away; an ideal place for bacteria to develop.
If you’ve ever smelled someone else’s morning breath, you already know all of this.
Advert
But the trouble is that mornings aren’t always peaceful, easy, and perfect. Rolling out of bed feeling like you haven’t slept, being in a rush to start the commute or log on for a day of working from home, and necking a coffee to get things moving are all common experiences.
In the rush, you might forget to brush your teeth until late morning, or even until the early afternoon. You may skip that first brushing session altogether.
It’s bad news for your nashers, but there are some specifics to take into consideration. If you want to keep your teeth in good condition, morning and evening brushes are essential.
But, if you do it after your coffee or breakfast, you may be doing more harm than good.
Dr Shaadi Manouchehri, a practising dentist under the @dr.shaadi.manouchehri handle on Instagram, shared that brushing after you’ve zipped yourself up with some coffee and grub is a recipe for yellowing your teeth.
"Never brush your teeth after you've just had coffee," she said, noting that brushing soon after eating or drinking anything acidic is bad news for your enamel.
"Coffee is quite acidic,” she said. “If you go and brush your teeth straight away, you're rubbing the acid onto the tooth and wearing the tooth away.
"Wait at least 30 to 60 minutes [before brushing],” she said, noting that if you want to clear the acid from your mouth “you don't actually have to brush your teeth, just rinse with some mouthwash or drink water."
Not only does the acid in coffee weaken your enamel, it can also stain your teeth over time. If you brush your teeth while your enamel is weakened, it will potentially come off while you’re at it, leaving your teeth exposed to the elements.
That exposure makes them more susceptible to staining.
Dr Manouchehri also stressed the importance of avoiding brushing your teeth soon after eating or vomiting, too.
"Don't brush your teeth after you have breakfast," she explained. "Brush them beforehand because if you brush straight away you're going to be damaging your enamel.
"When you first wake up in the morning you have quite a lot of bacteria in the mouth and that needs to be brushed off before you have your breakfast."
While you might be keen to freshen your mouth up after being sick, it’s important to hold off for similar reasons.
"The contents of the stomach are extremely acidic and your teeth are made up of minerals," Dr Manouchehri continued.
"So, when the contents of the stomach have come into the mouth, then the mouth is very acidic. And if you brush straight away, you're rubbing the acid onto the tooth even more. So, wait at least 30 to 60 minutes before you brush your teeth."
While you wait, your best to swill your mouth out with water or mouthwash to clear the acid away. Then wait for half an hour to an hour before brushing so you enamel has the opportunity to harden back up.
And of course, be sure to brush your teeth both morning and night. Your smile, and your wallet, will thank you for it down the line.