I always thought you were suppose to brush your teeth AFTER breakfast. NAY NAY say the dental wizards. Brush right when you get up… BEFORE breakfast.
- The goal is not to clear you teeth of food debris, it’s to rid the mouth of plaque. Nighttime is the perfect plaque environment (less saliva, less swallowing, little tongue movement) so any plaque anchors in your teeth have a field day during those unconscious hours.
- Brushing your teeth after you eat acidic foods results in FASTER food decay. Reminder: coffee = acidic. The acidic foods soften your enamel, so if you brush after acidic foods you could inadvertently damage your teeth.
- As an added bonus, Brushing spurs saliva production, which aids in digestion so by brushing first, the consumption of your breakfast will be more productive/efficient.
WHAT?
I wonder what other normal lifetime activities I inherently misunderstand.
So you are supposed to leave your home with a mouth that smells like bacon, eggs, and stale coffee?
Good question, HowManyCheeseburgers. Answer: Use mouthwash to clean your mouth of funny flavors, or you can wait 30 minutes after eating something acidic to brush in order to lower the risk of abrasion/loss of enamel (a la the Mayo clinic).
Thanks, wasn’t sure what effects mouthwash would have. Will give it a go.
But wait? Have your thoughts on the relative importance of breakfast to the other meals of the day evolved?
Good question SMcQuaid.
Yes, I think my perspectives have evolved a bit. One of my favorite medical podcasters (Peter Attia, of The Drive) is a large proponent of Intermittent fasting and encourages controlling time of food consumption even for those not interested in losing weight.
That said, while the intention is there, I haven’t yet refined my own control of this. I still eat a mighty mighty breakfast.