Should I brush my teeth when I wake up?

Brush your teeth before or after breakfast? You've certainly run into someone who didn't have the same habit as you do about it. If you prefer to brush your teeth after coffee, for example, you may have heard that you are swallowing bacteria from your mouth. But does that really happen?

That brushing is the best way to maintain oral health, prevent and reduce plaque, caries, halitosis and oral and periodontal diseases, everyone knows. But after all, is there any concrete reason for people, when they wake up, to brush their teeth before even having breakfast? In fact, how many times a day should we brush our teeth? In fact, it seems that many people do not know for sure the right time to brush their teeth and many seem to have the habit of only performing oral hygiene after eating.

TO BRUSH YOUR TEETH BEFORE OR AFTER BREAKFAST?

Actually, it doesn't matter! The important thing here is not to forget to perform this hygienization. But it all depends on the patient's habits. When the custom is to brush your teeth before breakfast, it is important to repeat the cleaning. "If the patient who brushes before breakfast commits that, after coffee, he will also brush, then it's okay", he comments. Patients who like to do just one sanitization in the morning should choose to do it after coffee, preventing food leftovers from remaining in the region, accumulating bacteria.

HAVING BREAKFAST WITHOUT BRUSHING YOUR TEETH MAKES THE BACTERIA SWALLOW FROM YOUR MOUTH?

A main obstacle for many patients left brushing for after breakfast is the idea that they would be ingesting, next to the food, the bacteria that accumulated throughout the night in the mouth region. And they are right. In fact, we ingest the saliva in which the bacteria are present. But the professional makes it clear that there's no problem with that. "All day long, we swallow saliva, filled with bacteria. They end up in the digestive tract, where they won't be able to survive," she explains. So if that's what kept you from cleaning your teeth after breakfast, there's nothing more to worry about!

I'D RATHER BRUSH MY TEETH AFTER BREAKFAST. DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM?

None at all! But one thing you should watch out for is brushing your teeth. It happens that when we have breakfast, the oral pH can become more acidic due to the presence of food. "The acid leaves your enamel weak and brushing your tooth right after eating a very acidic meal may damage the tooth even more with the mechanical friction of the brush," he explains. Therefore, the patient should, besides keeping a less acidic diet, wait 30 minutes, after eating, to then perform the proper hygiene. Thus, it allows the saliva to neutralize a considerable part of the excess acidity, controlling the pH.

WE SHOULD BRUSH OUR TEETH AT LEAST 3 TIMES A DAY

Brushing is very important to eliminate plaque daily. This plaque causes the accumulation of bacteria in the oral region, causing the appearance of several oral problems, such as gingivitis. With the proper oral hygiene, the patient can prevent many of these complications. Therefore, the professionals' recommendation is that all patients always brush their teeth 30 minutes after any meal, or at least 3 times a day. Complementing this, we should also use dental floss to clean where the toothbrush cannot reach. In some cases, mouthwash and tongue cleaner may also be recommended. To find out which oral hygiene products are best for you, be sure to consult a reliable dentist.

Never the less is it always better to brush your teeth!