Should you brush your teeth after every meal? You may be surprised at the answer: Not necessarily.
Wilson and Hendrickson Orthodontics encourages its patients to brush and floss regularly. But we know that timing is everything when it comes to your oral health. In some cases, it’s better to wait for a while after meals before brushing your teeth. However, there are ways you can still protect your teeth right after meals, even without brushing.
Brushing After Eating
Brushing and flossing your teeth removes plaque and food particles. Dental plaque contains bacteria that can erode the minerals in your enamel, the hard outer shell of your tooth that protects the living tissue inside. If plaque isn’t removed from the teeth, it can cause tooth decay.
That’s when the bacteria eat away at the enamel until they create a hole, better known as a cavity. Left untreated, the cavity can penetrate the living tissue and cause pain, infection, and tooth loss. Plaque can also irritate the gums and lead to gum disease such as gingivitis.
The best way to remove this plaque is to brush and floss. You should brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss your teeth at least once a day. Flossing first moves plaque and food particles to the surface of your tooth, where brushing can remove them. We recommend brushing early in the morning to remove plaque and bacteria that have built up overnight and brushing right before bed to remove plaque and bacteria from the day’s meals.
Why You Shouldn’t Brush Right After Eating
If brushing is so beneficial, why shouldn’t you brush after every meal? It’s OK to brush, but brushing immediately after eating may do more harm than good! Certain foods contain acids that attack your enamel, from citrus fruits to sodas (yes, sodas!). These acids make your enamel vulnerable.
Your toothbrush and toothpaste contain abrasives that scrub off bacteria and plaque, but those abrasives can damage tooth enamel weakened by acids from your food and drink. Your teeth are at their most vulnerable right after eating and drinking. That means that instead of protecting your teeth, you could actually do some damage. That’s why we say don’t brush your teeth after eating acidic foods.
How Long After Eating Should You Brush Your Teeth?
Is it bad to brush your teeth after eating? Not necessarily. As we said before, timing is everything. You can brush your teeth after meals, but it’s best to wait a while for your enamel’s biggest defender to do its job. That would be your saliva!
Your saliva washes away the acids that damage your enamel and neutralizes some of the acids and bacteria so they can’t harm your teeth. Your saliva also triggers a chemical reaction with the fluoride in your toothpaste, allowing it to penetrate the enamel and better protect your teeth.
It takes about half an hour for saliva to reach its peak chemical activity, so waiting 30 minutes before brushing is best for your teeth. Likewise, waiting half an hour AFTER you brush gives your saliva and the fluoride time to provide maximum protection for your teeth.
How Can I Help My Teeth Before I Brush?
There is one thing you can do right after meals to help your teeth, and it’s incredibly simple. Drink water. Yes, that’s it! Like your saliva, water rinses bacteria and acids off your teeth, which keeps them from damaging your enamel. The more saliva you produce, the better it protects your teeth.
Water also helps. It washes the acids off your teeth before they have a chance to react with your enamel. Water also rinses off leftover food particles. Water can reach around your braces’ brackets to remove food particles you may not even realize are there.
All of this reduces the amount of plaque that builds up on your teeth. In addition, most tap water is fluoridated, meaning fluoride is added to protect your teeth. This gives your teeth a little added boost of protection.
So if you want to protect your teeth after eating, grab a glass of water.
How Can I Protect My Teeth?
Brushing your teeth is still incredibly important for protecting them. We recommend brushing your teeth every morning after you get up to remove bacteria that have accumulated in your mouth while you slept. This is also a good time to floss first before brushing.
It’s OK to floss your teeth just once a day with a good dental floss, but if you want a bit of extra protection, you can use a water flosser later in the day to keep the area between your teeth and around your gums cleaner.
What is the best way to brush? Find a good fluoride toothpaste (most have fluoride) and brush for at least two minutes at a time, making sure you brush every surface of every tooth and your gums.
Don’t stop there! Brush the roof of your mouth and your tongue, too. Plaque builds up on those, as well. Spit out the excess toothpaste. If you must rinse, use a small amount of water and rinse lightly. The idea is to keep as much fluoride on your teeth as possible.
After that, don’t eat or drink anything for at least half an hour. Give that fluoride and saliva time to work and protect your teeth! After that, you can use a fluoride mouthwash for extra protection.
Better still, spend the day drinking water. Not only is it healthier for your teeth than coffee or sodas, but it’s also healthier for the rest of your body.
Brush your teeth again before bed, making sure you reach every surface. You want your teeth as clean as possible. Bacteria will build up on your teeth while you sleep, but the less there is, the less you’ll have on your teeth the next morning.
FAQs About When to Brush Your Teeth
Should you brush your teeth after every meal?
How long should you wait to brush your teeth after eating?
Should you brush before or after breakfast?
Is it bad to brush your teeth right after drinking coffee or soda?
How often should you brush your teeth with braces?
Better Brushing With Braces in Topeka, KS
Brushing and flossing are the foundation of healthy teeth, with or without braces. At Wilson & Hendrickson Orthodontics, we check your oral hygiene at every visit and let you know if anything needs attention. If you have questions about the best way to care for your teeth during treatment, we’re happy to walk you through it. Schedule an appointment with us in Topeka, KS.
