Do You Really Have to Brush Your Teeth Twice A Day?
Sorry, But Yes…
Yes You Do…
And This is Why…
When I was in dental school a professor of mine started a class centered around the formation of cavities by saying, “You brush your teeth in the morning to keep your friends. You brush your teeth at night to keep your teeth.” In addition to being a cute and cheesy dental phrase it speaks to the importance of regularly removing the harmful build-up from your teeth to avoid formation of cavities.
Brush Your Teeth in The Morning to Keep Your Friends
Brush Your Teeth at Night to Keep Your Teeth
Brush your teeth in the morning to keep your Friends:
Keeping your mouth clean not only reduces the amount of bacteria in your mouth it also alters the type of bacteria that predominate your mouth’s microbiome. Some bacteria or more harmful than others, some bacteria are stinkier than others. The minty flavor of toothpaste also helps by keeping your breath smelling fresh which helps avoid awkward social interactions. The stinky smell is directly related to the bacteria or microbiology in your mouth. These same microbes are constantly forming plaque. Maintaining a low level of bacterial plaque growth in your mouth is an important part of keeping your mouth healthy and smelling great while preventing cavities.
Brush your teeth at night to keep your teeth:
this thought is harder to impress upon patients, especially sleepy teenagers who just want to go to bed. Brushing your teeth at night is equally as important as brushing your teeth in the morning, wait change that. Brushing your teeth at night is even more important! The reason why is two fold…
the plaque must be disturbed every 12 hours preventing it from becoming harmful. Everyone gets plaque buildup - it is normal and natural. The key is to regularly disrupt and remove it so it doesn’t harm your teeth.
Many bodily functions shut down or decrease at night including the salivary glands. This means you actually make less spit at night, a lot less, down to about 7% of your normal saliva volume which means there is less spit to cleanse and protect your teeth.
Plaque buildup takes about 12 hours to become harmfully acidic. This is why it needs to be removed every 12 hours
It is simple folks. Brush your teeth morning and night to keep them healthy. The importance is in the regular intervals to prevent the plaque from maturing and become harmful. Of course, technique matters. Make sure the toothbrush bristles come in contact with every surface of the teeth and surrounding gums! It is as easy as that!
