Should You Brush Teeth Before Or After Food

Different dental associations around the world recommend twice daily brushing of the teeth. This should be done for two minutes with a fluoride toothpaste. For example, the British dental association said brushing with a fluoride toothpaste last thing at night and on one other occasion during the day before and after food is good.

Many explain how but they fail to mention when. How and when we brush our teeth is a function of how we were brought up by our guardian.

In school, we learn how and when to brush at a very tender age. School taught us to brush first thing in the morning and last thing at night. This sounds like a rule of thumb. But it was just to help us remember a daily routine. It is easier to make it a habit when an activity falls into the first and last priority everyday. Just like prayer and exercise is to some people. It becomes difficult to forget such a routine.

But when the advice puts it in-between some other activities, it is possible to forget once in a while since it does not have a direct impact on our lives just like food. If they said brush your teeth before leaving home, many people including myself will forget especially when I am late for where I am going.

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The most common method many adults adopt is to brush before food in the morning and night. However, there are two theories postulated as to when to brush your teeth.  Brush your teeth before or after food in the morning and night. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Why Brush Teeth

Before we look at it, let us know for a fact that we brush not to make the teeth white but to remove plaque, particles and microbes from the teeth and mouth. Plaque is a sticky white film that is formed on the teeth and contains bacteria which produce acid in the presence of sugar. The acid then attacks the enamel causing tooth cavities. Plaque can also harden into tartar. Tartar build-up on the gums leads to inflammation that causes gum disease. Particles are food materials left after a meal which bacteria feed on.

At night, saliva production drops drastically to about 10-20 percent. To make matters worse, the mouth gets dry from breathing through the mouth while sleeping or snoring. Saliva has antibacterial activities as well as cleaning mechanisms. Reduce saliva gives rise to plaque and bacteria proliferation. The bacteria feeds on food particles such as meat and sugar from food the previous day to produce acid. This acid leads to a foul smelling mouth in the morning.

To brush teeth before or after food

Brushing Before Food

Brushing the first thing in the morning before a meal removes those plaque, bacteria and acid formed overnight. The fluoride also coats the enamel offering protection against food and bacteria. It also increases saliva secretion that aids digestion of food and destruction of bacteria most likely in food.

Brushing again at night before food does the same thing too. But it can be detrimental to the teeth when food particles remain and some bacterias find their way into the mouth during sleep. That is when we have to look for another alternative.

Brush After Food

Let us now look at another scenario of what can happen if your brush after food. With plaque, bacteria and acid in the mouth, you eat food. There are enough bacteria to feed on the food particles in the mouth. Within a space of 20 minutes, they have produced extra acid that is detrimental to your tooth enamel. You may want to brush immediately after eating to remove the food particles, plaque and bacteria. Not so fast. It is wrong to brush immediately after eating. This is because some foods are acidic. They corrode the enamel. Acid from the night and acid food in the morning increase the level of the acid in the mouth. This acid makes the enamel soft. Brushing with a fluoride toothpaste can remove the soft enamel letting the acid go deeper into the teeth. To avoid a situation like this, wait for like 20-60 minutes before brushing after eating. This way, the acid must have left the mouth. But if you insist on brushing right away, rinse the mouth with water.

But the above scenario is critical in a person who did not brush last thing at night. Brushing at night after eating removes bacteria and reduces the food particles for bacteria to feed on. It also offers some level of protection to the teeth throughout the night. This makes your breath fresh in the morning more than somebody who did not.

Right Time To Brush Teeth

Many people can't stand the bad taste in their mouth in the morning before eating. Others can't stand the extra minty taste of the paste and how it makes their food taste. If you like to brush before food and hate that minty taste, go for sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) free paste according to the label. SLS is the ingredient responsible for it.

From the discussion so far, brushing your teeth with a fluoride toothpaste before breakfast is better. It offers protection for the teeth from acidic food. During the day, the saliva protects the teeth. But if you wish to brush after eating, do it after at least 20 minutes. It is also recommended that you can brush any other time if you think you are something that is detrimental to oral health.

If you brush last thing at night after food, there is some level of protection for your teeth throughout the night. Because the night is long and oral health is poor, this seems good. That can take you through breakfast. After that, another brushing section couple with presence of saliva will offer a new level of protection throughout the day. If you brush before food, the protection seems higher. Whatever the case, two times a day brushing a day protects the teeth all the time.

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Looking at all the advantages and disadvantages, it is good to brush first thing in the morning before food and last thing at night after food. The morning brushing protects the teeth from acidic food. Saliva during the day offers natural protection and another section after night food gives all night protection. You can use dental floss or antiseptic mouthwash after eating. Mouthwash does not offer extra protection than the paste but gives a fresher breath.

Brushing the teeth after eating in the morning does little or no good as the saliva alone can take care of teeth. It only gives fresh breath and assists the saliva. Brushing before food at night protects the teeth from acidic food and offers protection to the teeth for some hours. But the food may reduce the strength of the flouride IN. The mouth. The saliva will also reduce. This exposes the mouth to formation of plaque. But brushing after food at night prevents all these.

How To Brush Teeth

To be effective, lubricate the brush with water before applying toothpaste. I prefer applying water  after adding the paste as it works also. Apply a pea size paste. Gentle vertical strokes for the front teeth to bring out particles from in-between the teeth. Horizontal strokes for the inner teeth to get to too hard to reach places. Also brush the areas for chewing and the tongue. Spit out excess fluoride.

Don't rinse your mouth. Allow the flouride to remain in the mouth to offer much needed protection. You may not feel comfortable if the toothpaste use was jumbo size. Just clean your mouth. But if you want to rinse the mouth, it should be done immediately after eating with antiseptic mouthwash.

Avid brushing with pressure. The aim is to remove plaque and not to make the teeth white. Removing plaque is very easy with fluoride. Removing food particles may be a little bit more difficult depending on which part of the teeth it is found. But don't bother yourself with removing food particles. They fall out on their own after some time. The teeth have a way of doing it.