When Is Morning Teeth Brushing Ideal, Before or After Breakfast?

brush teethIt’s common knowledge that you should brush your teeth twice daily: in the morning and in the evening. This raises the question: should you brush your teeth before or after breakfast? Is one more beneficial, or is it inconsequential as long as you brush?

The Importance of Morning Brushing

First, let’s discuss brushing your teeth in the morning and why it’s important. Some people eschew morning brushing. Their reason is that they did not eating anything after brushing the night before. Therefore, their teeth are still clean. Actually, this is not true. Even if you consume nothing, your mouth still produces plaque during your eight hours of sleep.

Morning brushing is a vital part of oral hygiene and can prevent major oral surgeries with routine practice.

Brush Your Teeth Before or After Breakfast?

With the importance of morning brushing established, should you do so before or after the first meal of the day? Both are actually acceptable, though we lean towards brushing prior to eating.

Why Brush Before?

If you brush your teeth before you eat, this removes the bacteria, preventing them from feeding on the sugars left behind from your ensuing breakfast. If you brush after, the time between the meal and brushing may be enough for the bacteria to feed on of the sugars. The bacteria produce acid that attacks your teeth’s enamel until you brush. At the same time, though, you don’t want to brush too soon after eating. Brushing within minutes of a meal will push the acid deeper into your teeth.

If you still insist on brushing after, then wait at least 30-minutes. If this is not feasible, then brush before.

Follow a Morning Tooth Brushing Routine

Our family dentists and endodontists recommend brushing before eating, but what’s important is that you brush. This idea is shared across the board by our team at Mukilteo Dental Arts. Brushing before or after breakfast is secondary as long as you brush and maintain the habit.

Family Dental Care

General family dentistry for Mukilteo, Everett, Lynnwood, Edmonds & Mill Creek