I was watching an article on breakfast telly about increasing levels of tooth decay in under 10’s this morning, and they had results of a survey they’d done which suggested 73% of parents didn’t know it was better to brush your teeth before breakfast rather than after.

Really? 😯 Count me in that 73%

So i looked on the web and advice is ‘conflicting’ to say the least.

Any dentists on here care to enlighten the pro’s and con’s of each? The only thing i was specifically aware of was that brushing immediately after eating was not great because (acidic) foods and saliva can soften the enamel which then you can brush away more easily.

brushing before is less than pleasant if you plan to have orange juice 😐

Always before breakfast.

Not only about scrubbing off softened enamel but you’re also mashing nasty overnight bacteria into the gaps between teeth and gums.
If you’re particularly anxious about it brush before breakfast and rinse with a mouth wash after.

Before and after breakfast for me. Can’t stand bed breath before breakfast, and clean up after breakfast as I like Golden Syrup on me porridge!

Confused.com…!!

I always brush after brekkie – don’t want patients and colleagues moaning about my porridge and JD breath…..

DrP

brushing before is less than pleasant if you plan to have orange juice

Brushing after is less pleasant, eating breakfast with a furry morning mouth. Eugh.

If you’ve brushed your teeth last thing before going to bed then they’re not going to have got any dirtier overnight are they? OK maybe a bit furry but a) that’s only your dried out saliva and b) it soon goes once you’ve had a couple of mouthfuls of breakfast.

Versus the prospect of going about your day with bits of muesli still stuck in your teeth it’s a no-brainer.

Brush before = removal of bacteria that react with sugar and cause decay

Floss & rinse with Listerine afterwards = removal of oats & minty fresh

Always before breakfast. It just tastes wrong eating cornflakes with a claggy mouth.

as I thought, conflicting advice. And are any of you actually dentists?

It is important to brush before going to sleep at night. Brushing prevent cavity and increase dental life.

don’t want patients and colleagues moaning about my porridge and JD breath…..

I thought the real reason those little alcohol gel hand wash things were installed in hospitals and doctors surgeries was to mask the smell of gin emanating from the doctors

don’t want patients and colleagues moaning about my porridge and JD breath…..

Excellent …

Always before but I didn’t know it was supposed to be “better” – purely as I have a 90 minute commute between leaving home and breakfast.

Always been after breakfast for me. I don’t really like the taste of mint with my breakfast. It’s worked fine for me as I’ve been doing it this way all my life and never needed any fillings or other significant dental work.

What MrGreedy says.

If you ever wake up with a mouth thats so grim you can’t stomach your breakfast I reckon there’s something else wrong.

I think its inconsequential whether you brush before or after breakfast as most people will go the rest of the day without brushing their teeth again before bed then I’m unconvinced it makes any difference in the grand scheme of things.

Brush before breakfast. Mouthwash after.

If you’ve brushed your teeth last thing before going to bed then they’re not going to have got any dirtier overnight are they?

Brushing doesn’t completely sterilise your mouth, obviously, and the bacteria that remain grow and multiply overnight.

If you’re particularly anxious about it brush before breakfast and rinse with a mouth wash after.

+1 and I have dentist phobia.

Always brush before and clean the tongue, rinse out after eating. My Indian family wont even talk until the mouth is washed in the morning. In fact bathing and having a dump before eating is normal.

Brushing doesn’t completely sterilise your mouth, obviously, and the bacteria that remain grow and multiply overnight.

Fair enough, but that happens regardless of whether you brush pre-breakfast or post-breakfast doesn’t it? If you’re letting the bacteria multiply for 7 or 8 hours then another 15 minutes is neither here nor there.

Edit: slightly off-topic, but tang just reminded me of this classic:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwhlqRJ8LVA[/video]

Fair enough, but that happens regardless of whether you brush pre-breakfast or post-breakfast doesn’t it? If you’re letting the bacteria multiply for 7 or 8 hours then another 15 minutes is neither here nor there.

That’s what I thought. Waiting until after breakfast means a max 30 minute delay, with the bonus of removing any food remnants in my teeth. How is that worse than brushing before breakfast?

In fact bathing and having a dump before eating is normal.

If you’re pressed for time in the morning, you can combine all three…

DrP

If you do that, you probably want to change the water each time.

DrP – Member

In fact bathing and having a dump before eating is normal.

If you’re pressed for time in the morning, you can combine all three…

taking re-cycling to a new level…

what if you don’t eat breakfast? apart from diesel fumes and the odd fly? or if you class a coffee as your breakfast?

Several dentists in my family including both my parents. Never heard of brushing before breakfast. Mouthwash definitely a good thing whenever.

Free tip if you ever run out of fluoride toothpaste brush your teeth with salt. Very good for your gums. My wife never believed me, but after a bout of gum sores were sorted in a day by doing it she saw the light.

(please don’t follow any advice of random person on interweb – especially mine)

A guy at work reckons he got his dump speed down to 7 seconds – perfected holding toilet paper in hand and wiping his backside as he pulled his trousers up.

Mouthwash definitely a good thing whenever.

haven’t they shown that regular users get more throat cancer?

My father in law was a regular user and he did get throat cancer, not long after that news came out.

Mouthwash definitely a good thing whenever.
haven’t they shown that regular users get more throat cancer?

I thought they hadn’t shown anything either way about it? i.e. despite years of advertising telling us how wonderful it is, there’s no real evidence to show it’s actually any use?

I thought they hadn’t shown anything either way about it?

It was in the Metro, so it must be true. 3200 people studied…

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/474348-mouthwash-can-raise-cancer-risk

and the daily mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1113422/Mouthwash-causes-oral-cancer-pulled-supermarkets-say-experts.html

I saw a toothpaste advert the other day and they said…

After brushing you shouldn’t rinse…just spit and then go, so you don’t rinse out the layer of toothpaste. My wife thinks this is normal but I’ve always rinsed…surely its essential to get all the bits of toast out of your mouth?!

Sometime I will, but most of the time I have a glass of water first thing. GF’s friend is a dental assistant and reckons before breakfast is best though.

Think the whole point is that you shouldn’t be brushing after eating, well 40minutes at least as the acid breaking down the food can harm the enamel when brushing.

Either way I went to the dentist the other week, having not been in years. Got told to avoid fruit juice unless with a meal (had some acid erosion) 🙁