Eli5 If warm water is generally better for cleaning things, including our skin, then why do we use cold water to brush our teeth?

Question

Eli5 If warm water is generally better for cleaning things, including our skin, then why do we use cold water to brush our teeth?

In: 14

Answer 1

Surely the amount of water on your toothbrush is so small that it almost immediately reaches the temperature of your mouth… Even if you used hot water, it’s not going to stay hot long enough to have any additional effect. Similarly, I don’t think people claiming that the warm water is going to encourage bacterial growth have considered how absolutely rammed your mouth is with bacteria, your mouth being a warm moist environment…