Brushing your teeth BEFORE breakfast.

[Wacky Racer]

My daughter in law has the barmy idea that it is better to brush your teeth before breakfast, (Apparently it puts a protective coating on your teeth) and she says most dentists agree.

Seems a load of old bks to me.

Thoughts?

[LordGrover]

I've heard arguments for both sides, both/either sound plausible.

[OverHonda]

She may well be right... I'm old, and it appears things have moved on since my day. Current dentist advises to _not_ rinse out mouth after brushing, as you want the fluoride to stay around and coat the teeth to do its magic. I had to unlearn many decades of habit to do this.

For the before/after bit: I can see that getting rid of all the gunk that has settled in and around your teeth overnight is probably a good thing. It's stuff + time that does the damage...

[Chris Peacock]

I don't imagine it makes much difference.

I always brush before breakfast, but that's because I don't eat first thing. I usually have some breakfast after I've walked the dog, got the kids ready, etc

Edited by Chris Peacock on Friday 6th June 10:02

[Richard-390a0]

I'm an after breakfast brusher usually, the exception being if I've woken up with furry feeling teeth / honking breath from a night out prior & my mouth still tastes of kebab then it becomes a double brushing session before & after breakfast lol!

[Monkeylegend]

Chris Peacock said:

I don't imagine it makes much difference.

I always brush after breakfast, but that's because I don't eat first thing. I usually have some breakfast after I've walked the dog, got the kids ready, etc

The thought's of not cleaning your teeth as soon as you get up in the morning are inducing.

[Monkeylegend]

Wacky Racer said:

My daughter in law has the barmy idea that it is better to brush your teeth before breakfast, (Apparently it puts a protective coating on your teeth) and she says most dentists agree.

Seems a load of old bks to me.

Thoughts?

My dentist's have always advised me to clean before meals for that very reason.

[TikTak]

Yeah that's because she's right, you are supposed to.

It's prevention (better than cure) rather than trying to undo something. Plus you eat cereal/fruit, brushing the particles and sugar around afterwards is worse for your teeth.

Brush and wait 30 mins before eating. Always has been.

Edited by TikTak on Friday 6th June 10:03

[Chris Peacock]

Monkeylegend said:

Chris Peacock said:

I don't imagine it makes much difference.

I always brush after breakfast, but that's because I don't eat first thing. I usually have some breakfast after I've walked the dog, got the kids ready, etc

The thought's of not cleaning your teeth as soon as you get up in the morning are inducing.

Ah, typo! I meant I always brush before breakfast. I'm the same, I always brush as soon as I get up.

[Monkeylegend]

Chris Peacock said:

Monkeylegend said:

Chris Peacock said:

I don't imagine it makes much difference.

I always brush after breakfast, but that's because I don't eat first thing. I usually have some breakfast after I've walked the dog, got the kids ready, etc

The thought's of not cleaning your teeth as soon as you get up in the morning are inducing.

Ah, typo! I meant I always brush before breakfast.

Thank god for that

[MitchT]

Brush after. Otherwise you end up with your coffee ruined by the residual toothpase flavour and the remnants of your breakfast among your teeth all day.

[durbster]

I switched to before breakfast about 10 years ago, just because it's more efficient - one trip to the bathroom in the morning instead of two.

IT CHANGED MY LIFE...

Not really, I see the dentist every six months and it didn't make any difference at all.

[Mabbs9]

Overnight gunge on your teeth gets supplied with sugar from breaky and starts to damage your teeth. If you clean the overnight gunge first then you avoid this.

But your breaky will taste weird.

[Wills2]

Not sure it matters it's all got to depend on your routine and when you eat breakfast, what does matter is that you floss and use interdental brushes as well as brushing your teeth.

[steveo3002]

im no dentist but told the toothpaste (dont rinse) has to hang around 30 mins to coat the teeth

id prefer to not have the breakfast on my teeth all day so would do afterwards

how about a mouthwash rinse when you get up then brush after eating ?

[Granadier]

My parents' taught me: you have your bath and breakfast, then clean your teeth, brush your tongue thoroughly and use mouthwash, so that your mouth is as fresh as possible when you go out of the house to meet people at school/work. This does make sense to me. If you clean your teeth first thing then eat, particles from breakfast are in your mouth all day, and milk from cereal is coating your tongue. In the same way that if I'm having a quick dinner at home then going out for a date, I'd clean my teeth after dinner (immediately before leaving home) to have the freshest breath, not clean my teeth, then eat dinner.

But I think it also depends on some other factors too... some people don't eat breakfast as such, or have it later in the morning, when they're already among people... and some people don't clean their teeth at night, so their mouths probably feel dirtier when they wake up! First thing in the morning, my mouth and tongue might feel a bit unfresh but actually I haven't eaten or drunk anything since I last cleaned them eight hours earlier.

ETA: I worked with an Italian guy who brought a toothbrush and paste to the office so he could clean his teeth after lunch. Seemed a bit OTT, but I can see where he was coming from if the goal is to keep your breath as fresh and minty as much as possible, and remove bits of food before they can start tooth decay.

Edited by Granadier on Friday 6th June 10:45

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

Monkeylegend said:

The thought's of not cleaning your teeth as soon as you get up in the morning are inducing.

This

OverHonda said:

She may well be right... I'm old, and it appears things have moved on since my day. Current dentist advises to _not_ rinse out mouth after brushing, as you want the fluoride to stay around and coat the teeth to do its magic. I had to unlearn many decades of habit to do this.

This is what I have recently been told as well.

[durbster]

Granadier said:

ETA: I worked with an Italian guy who brought a toothbrush and paste to the office so he could clean his teeth after lunch. Seemed a bit OTT, but I can see where he was coming from if the goal is to keep your breath as fresh and minty as much as possible, and remove bits of food before they can start tooth decay.

On the flipside of this, years ago when I was backpacking, a bloke I was working with let us stay at his house for a few weeks. I noticed he never seemed to brush his teeth and mentioned it one day. He just shrugged and said casually, "nah, I don't bother. I'm just gonna let them fall out then put some falsies in".

Amazingly, he didn't have bad breath, so I can only assume all the rum he drank sorted out the bacteria

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Wacky Racer said:

My daughter in law has the barmy idea that it is better to brush your teeth before breakfast, (Apparently it puts a protective coating on your teeth) and she says most dentists agree.

Seems a load of old bks to me.

Thoughts?

My thoughts, your son has married someone cleverer than his dad.

[DaveGrohl]

Wacky Racer said:

My daughter in law has the barmy idea that it is better to brush your teeth before breakfast, (Apparently it puts a protective coating on your teeth) and she says most dentists agree.

Seems a load of old bks to me.

Thoughts?

Presumably this is in addition to brushing them at night before bed/after supper?