This is another question that I’ve had in mind for a long time. It might sound very basic and stupid for those who know it.. but I thought it made intuitive sense to brush after food in the morning to clean everything once and for all. And some Yahoo! Answers threads seemed to agree. That doesn’t mean I did it – luckily, I thought I’d check..
So, why do we brush our teeth before food in the morning?
As my dentist explained, saliva is the mouth’s natural cleaning system. As we salivate during the day, bacteria and other impurities are constantly washed away. However, when we sleep, salivation is cut down to a bare minimum and in such conditions, bacteria thrive.
As a result, it’s vital we brush those bacteria away and restore normalcy before taking in any food.
Does brushing more than twice a day take off the enamel in our teeth?
I’d heard that brushing more than twice is bad and from what my dentist said, it is very okay as long as it’s not overdone. If we do choose to brush during the day after a meal, it’s just enough if we give every tooth two strokes – which is incidentally all every tooth needs.
As enamel ensures a polished surface, all we need to make sure is that every tooth gets 2 strokes. This was useful as I used to freak out watching some friends brush for 5-10 minutes every morning! Quality, and not quantity, as always is everything.. :D
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Nice to have these myths and questions patiently answered.
Thank you to my doctors! :)
A Learning a Day 