Do you brush your teeth before or after breakfast?

Whether you should brush your teeth before or after having breakfast is one of the most difficult questions that you might be able to come up with.

To sum up the answer in one line, I’d say that the time of the brushing is a pretty complex issue. Both brushing before and after your breakfast have their owns merits and demerits. And the worst part is that you can’t simply find a solution in brushing twice, because over-brushing is also harmful for your teeth.

[Wondering about the exact details of the pros and cons? Make sure that you keep reading till the very end!]

Do you brush your teeth before or after breakfast?

As I just remarked, there are quite a few pros and cons to both the timings. Let us take a closer look at these benefits and limitations that you might want to know about before you go ahead and actually decide which timing would be right for you.

Scenario 1: Brushing before the Breakfast

Brushing before the breakfast is a good idea to a certain extent. Quoting Ianbelldds,

The best way to get rid of it is to brush your teeth right away when you wake up rather than waiting until after you eat breakfast, especially if that is going to be a few hours away. But the real reason to brush your teeth right away in the morning is to rid your mouth of the bacteria that accumulated over night.

As such the main aspects of this timing might be summed up as follows:

• Getting rid of the bacteria that accumulated overnight: The main reason some people recommend brushing your teeth when you wake up or at least before your breakfast is to get rid of the bacteria that accumulated in your teeth overnight.
• Getting rid of bad breath: Brushing your teeth when you wake up may also actually help you fight against bad breath. So, if that’s something you have in mind, then this timing might be a little more preferable for you.
• Freshening experience: Brushing your teeth might also help you actually freshen up in the morning. A lot of people love to start their day by brushing with a peppermint flavored toothpaste, for instance.
• The Aftertaste can be a problem: One major problem for you if you brush before breakfast, however, might be the aftertaste. If you don’t really rinse your mouth, because it’s healthier (click here to check out our article on this), then you might have quite a bit of aftertaste for quite some time. As such, it might actually be something you should be concerned with because you would need to wait for some time before you can have your breakfast.

Scenario 2: Brushing after breakfast.

Brushing your teeth seems like a great idea to run away from the aftertaste, doesn’t it? And it really is, but there are its own fair share of problems. Let us take a look at the main issues that this scenario brings forth:

• No aftertaste issues: Well, it is true that there is no aftertaste problem that you would have to face in this case, because you don’t really have to wait for breakfast after it anymore.
• The bacteria get more food to thrive: Not brushing your teeth before eating means you basically give the bacteria that grew there overnight a little more time and food to thrive on. You also mix them with your food when you’re grinding it and end up eating quite a few of them- not something you might want to do.
• You need to wait for a while after breakfast before brushing: Since with specific kinds of tooth your enamel might need a little while to return to its normal state, you really cannot brush right after having your breakfast all the time. So, it is recommended that you wait for 30 minutes to 1 hour before you go ahead and brush.

Quoting Deervalleydentalcare,

If you have consumed something acidic, you should avoid brushing your teeth for about 30 minutes afterwards. Foods that contain citric acid, like oranges, grapefruits and lemons, can soften tooth enamel for a time, and brushing too soon after eating them may damage the enamel while it’s in its weakened state.

What should you really do?

Well, as I remarked at the very beginning, there really isn’t a conclusive answer in this case. Both of them have their own share of positives and negatives, and what suits you the most should really depend on you and your overall habits.

For example, I personally prefer to do it first thing in the morning, partly because I’m used to that, and partly because it gives me enough time to lose the aftertaste before it’s time for my breakfast.

However, quoting Thesun,

A spokesperson said: “If breakfast is your preferred time to brush, it doesn’t matter whether you do this before or after eating. “However, if it is the latter, you shouldwait an hour before brushing.” Acidic food, like fruit and juices, can wear down enamel, so if you brush straight away you might damage your teeth.

Tooth Advocates is always here for you!

Thank you for taking your time to read our article till the very end. I really hope that you found the information that you were looking for and that you would be able to put it to use in your brushing experience.

Honestly, I’d consider my work writing this article a success if only it could make your brushing experience the slightest bit better and more effective in the long run.

I understand, though, that I might have missed out on something or the other during the course of the article. If there’s anything like that that pops up in your mind, feel free to shoot it my way so I can add it up.

Thank you once again for giving us your valuable time. We really hope to see you again on our upcoming articles that would be just as awesome as this one and we hope that you stick around!

Hoping to see you again on our next article, Tooth Advocates wishes you a great day and takes your leave!