The Best time to brush your teeth: Before or after breakfast?

@5thHouse (1678)
Sheffield, England
September 8, 2016 7:31am CST
For many years I would eat my breakfast and then brush my teeth. My husband always brushed his before breakfast, which seemed crazy to me. Why brush them only to get them dirty again straightaway? However, it seems that my husband was the one doing it right. After reading a few posts on this and checking with my dentist, he told me that it was indeed more sensible to brush your teeth first thing in the morning before you eat anything. In short, any bacteria your mouth may have produced overnight just reacts to the food you eat and quickly forms plaque. If you brush before breakfast, you get rid of all the bacteria so it has nothing to react with. Since I've adopted this practice, I've noticed that I get much less plaque build up and my gums never bleed. I've also invested in a water jet flosser, which seems to be much more effective than the old string method of flossing. Do you brush before or after breakfast? How many times of day do you brush and floss?
9 people like this
10 responses
@egdcltd (12059)
8 Sep 16
Brush before, mouthwash afterwards. I've also read that, after eating, your teeth are more vulnerable to damage, due to food acids and other things, so using a brush on them is more likely to damage the enamel.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (340278)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Sep 16
I haven't heard of that but I guess it makes sense.
3 people like this
• Preston, England
11 Sep 16
after breakfst makes more sense to me too after all we brush teeth right before bed which should surely affect any overnight bacterias
@silvermist (19702)
• India
8 Sep 16
I brush my teeth early in the morning-even before morning coffee.
2 people like this
@Macarrosel (7498)
• Philippines
8 Sep 16
Really? We always brush our teeth after eating breakfast but I gargle a glass of water early in the morning when I wake up. Maybe we have to change our routine. Thanks for sharing this one.
2 people like this
@QueenAva (765)
• Nicosia, Cyprus
8 Sep 16
I do that every morning every afternoon and every night.
2 people like this
@CinnamonGrl (7084)
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
8 Sep 16
Um, I brush my teeth after I eat. The purpose of brushing is to get the crud out, right? I rinse my mouth out in the morning though to freshen my breath.
@marlina (154131)
• Canada
8 Sep 16
It is good to brush before breakfast for some people who have the "jungle mouth".
• United States
8 Sep 16
I always brush & use mouthwash before eating & I always floss after eating. I also brush my teeth about three times a day & sometime floss multiple times a day.
• Kolkata, India
8 Sep 16
Thrice a day,before breakfast & after lunch & dinner.