Brushing your teeth – better before or after eating? We explain here which advantages and disadvantages both methods have and which assumption is out of date.
What is closer to you in the morning: the grip to the toothbrush or that to the coffee spoon? The question “Brushing your teeth before or after eating?” cannot be answered clearly.
Even dentists: Inside, this question does not agree. We illuminate the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.
By the way: The opinion that you shouldn’t brush your teeth immediately after eating and thus wait at least thirty minutes is considered to be outdated. Here you can read more about the topic: Brushing your teeth after eating: 30-minute rule is outdated.
What speaks to brush your teeth before eating?
Brushing your teeth before or after eating can have different effects in your mouth. Do I choke bacteria at breakfast that have formed on my teeth at night when I only brush my teeth after eating? Can this affect my health?
In advance: If you swallow bacteria, it is harmless, if not appetizing. The acid in our stomach is extremely effective and kills most bacteria.
Brushing to brushing your teeth before eating has some advantages in the inside:
- At night we form less saliva, which quickly multiply harmful bacteria for our teeth. You can remove them with brushing your teeth in the morning. The covering should be out of the mouth into the sink as soon as possible, which relieves the tooth and reduces the number of bacteria before the teeth are again loaded with new substances.
- Not all bacteria are bad, some are even important for our health and our immune system. A study published in the Journal of Clinical has shown that some of the good bacteria after cleaning the oral cavity of numerous re -growing and the oral flora is generally more species.
- A healthy oral flora effectively protects teeth from the next acid attack (for example, coffee or orange juice at breakfast).
What does it speak for only cleaning them after eating?
Both, brushing your teeth before or after dinner, is advocated by experts. The opinion of some experts: Inside, the bacteria in our mouth are only active when you get food from us that you can convert into acids and sugar. These acids attack the enamel and can cause tooth decay. If the surface is removed after breakfast, the bacteria are also withdrawn their efficiency. The recommendation of the German Society for Dental Preservation (DGZ) is: “The teeth should be cleaned after meals so that in addition to an existing biofilm, there are also food residues that could be available as a substrate for cariogenic germs.”
However, this argument faces the opinion that the bacteria could not do any damage if they are cleaned away before breakfast. Because the conversion to acids and milk sugar begins seconds after the first bite. The DGZ also admits that there is no advantageous evidence of clinical studies for brushing your teeth after eating. It is more important to maintain and optimize regular oral hygiene.
Tips for the right oral hygiene
Brushing your teeth places a basic base for healthy teeth. Optimizing your oral hygiene can help you get a strengthened gums and fresh breath. Brushing your teeth properly is not always enough to keep them healthy. Here are a few tips for a healthy oral flora:
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Dental: Interior recommend tooth floss as a supplement to brushing your teeth. However, there are hardly any studies that deal with the effectiveness of dental floss. In some people, the teeth are closely together, the toothbrush is difficult to reach the interdental spaces. In this case, dental floss could be useful as a tool.
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Ideally use dental floss daily. Incidentally, the experts are similarly disagree on the question of “tooth floss before or after cleaning” as in the question of brushing the teeth.
- Also use mouthwash, for good oral hygiene. You can make mouthwash yourself so that you know exactly what is in it.
- Commercial, antiseptic mouthwashes contain the active ingredient chlorhexidine that kills the useful bacteria. A study from 2020 has shown that the saliva microbioma of healthy people who washed their mouth with chlorhexidine solutions changed significantly. The acidity increased, their body was less nitrite available and they tended to a higher blood pressure.
- The DGZ advises toothpaste containing fluoride to prevent caries.
- Children in the early age should be consciously introduced to the right oral hygiene.
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People with reflux risk tooth damage. If you produce too much stomach acid, you can flow back into the mouth via the esophagus and attack the enamel.
Here you can learn more about home remedies that can help with too much stomach acid: too much stomach acid: which home remedies can help
The most important thing when brushing your teeth
Whether you brush your teeth before or after eating is less relevant than the regularity and consistency with which you maintain your oral cavity. In addition to the toothpaste, it is advisable to maintain your teeth with dental floss and if the brushing with a brush after a long night, you can operate damage limitation with a mild mouthwash. If you want to brush your teeth after eating, you don’t have to wait 30 minutes, even if you have eaten acidic food.
Tip: also pay attention to sustainable dental care and avoid products with plastic or other pollutants if possible.
Revised by Jennifer Watzek
Read more on utopia.de:
- Yellow teeth: You can do that against it, you should rather leave that
- Remove tartar yourself: methods and possible risks
- Can you build tooth enamel? Tips for healthy teeth
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