Brushing your teeth is never a bad thing, right?
Many of us follow the American Dental Association guidelines of brushing and flossing at a minimum of twice daily. Some of us brush more often than others. Nevertheless, while brushing more generally provides more protection for your teeth, doing it at the wrong time can actually do more harm than good. Research conducted at the University of Göttingen in Germany showed that brushing your teeth shortly after eating or drinking a substance, especially something very sugary or acidic, can damage and weaken your teeth.
In the study, the researchers divided the research participants into groups based on brushing behavior and had them brush their teeth at certain times after drinking diet soda, which has no sugar but is very acidic. They tracked the participants and recorded data over the course of three weeks. The researchers found that participants who brushed their teeth shortly after drinking diet soda (about 20 minutes after) had greater dentin loss than normal. However, those who brushed their teeth a while after drinking diet soda (30 minutes or later) showed considerably less dental wear.
When you eat something acidic, the acid chips away at the teeth, which erodes enamel and dentin (the layer below enamel). Additionally, sugar happens to be bacteria’s favorite food, so as bacteria feast on the residual sugar in your teeth, they’ll also eat away at the enamel to form cavities. Brushing your teeth pushes these food molecules further into your teeth, accelerating the eroding process. However, giving some time for saliva to neutralize the sugar and acid molecules will ensure that you can brush without doing more harm than good to your teeth.
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The researchers concluded that “at least 30 minutes should elapse before tooth brushing after an erosive attack.” This provides a decent baseline for when to properly brush your teeth after a large meal. They also suggested that rinsing your mouth with water could help get rid of some of the sugars and acid in your mouth.
Being proactive with brushing your teeth is definitely a great thing. However, it’s also important to have the right timing so that your efforts don’t backfire and put a dent in your dental health. So long as you adhere to these findings and brush up on other aspects of brushing etiquette, the power to keeping a great smile is in your hands.
