eli5: Why do your teeth feel so gross when you first wake up even though the last thing you did before sleeping was brush your teeth?

Question

I assume it has something to do with the bacteria in your mouth thriving and replicating from the warm, moist, undisturbed environment…. But you’re not eating at night to help form plaque so I don’t get it.

In: 1710

Answer 1

Im one of the people that never seems to have a dry mouth while I sleep, no bad breath or film or any of that in the morning. My teeth feel exactly the same as they did the night before.

I think there is a correlation to the fact that I drool in my sleep, can’t brush or floss without cascades of saliva running down my arms, and the dentist has to have a constant saliva loss triage nurse for me when they do any work. 😂

I’m not sure if this was always the case but I do know that my constant hydration plays a part in this as well.