Whenever I’ve asked a dentist or looked up online, the optimum number of times for brushing your teeth seems to be twice a day. Yet whenever I finish a meal or snack it really feels like I need to brush my teeth, especially if I’ve had chocolate. So since brushing your teeth is good, why isn’t it better to brush them after every meal, and not just twice a day? Or have I misunderstood?
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The enzymes in your mouth are the most active 20 minutes after you finish a meal so you should wait 20 minutes after eating before you brush your teeth. If you brush your teeth direcly after eating chocolate or candy you just polish your teeth with sugar. Not a big deal, but also not optimal for your dental health.
If you brush too often or too hard you can damage your teeth so 2 min once during the morning and once before bedtime is sufficient.
FWIW one time I went to see a dentist, it was around halloween and he was eating a candy bar. He finished it, said “hold on a second” and brushed his teeth.
The recommendations are things that it’s expected every person can do – it’s simple, it’s not too demanding, etc. But lots of people brush their teeth after eating also.
The goal of brushing is two-fold:
1. remove plaques than harden into tartar and calculus; and
2. deliver flouride to your teeth to remineralize enamel and prevent tooth decay.
It takes about a day for plaque to begin to form meaningful amounts of tartar. Because tartar cannot be brushed away, brushing twice per day minimizes tartar formation. Brushing more than twice per day removes no additional plaque, and therefore provides no additional benefit.
Flouride remineralizes teeth. But too much flouride can eventually damage your teeth from over mineralization.
Finally, toothpastes work because they contain abrasives. Abrasives scrape away not just plaque, but also enamel (but to a far smaller extent).
Brushing more than twice per day removes enamel faster than it can be replenished, weakening your teeth and leaving them vulnerable to decay or fracture.
Thank you! That’s very clear and helpful.
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