It is universally well known that brushing before going to sleep is absolutely necessary. But most of us tend to skip this step after dinner or having our bedtime snack. After we eat something, the bacteria inside our mouth feasts on the food we eat. Just like all organisms, these bacteria too excrete after their meal. This waste is highly acidic in nature and destroys the tooth enamel. This results in tooth decay and cavities inside the mouth.
Most of us hit the bed without brushing at night. This is exactly the time when plaque starts to build on our teeth. Over a period of time, it starts to harden and calcify. This situation just gets worse because after the plaque has hardened, it is impossible to remove it without any professional help. With time, this plaque build-up causes bad breath, bleeding, swollen gums and infection.
The importance of brushing is all the more emphasized because brushing at night helps to prevent the growth of plaque. Brushing daily at night also supplies fluoride to strengthen the teeth via tooth paste. The truth is even after brushing bacteria still inhibits your mouth. Though, after brushing the bacterial re-growth decreases to a large extent.
Like every other organ of the human body, at night time, the teeth too rejuvenates itself. It is during night that the teeth re-mineralizes and recovers itself from the daily wear and decay. Not keeping your teeth clean dismantles the natural healing process of the teeth.
Brushing your teeth at night also reduces bad breath in the morning. Your mouth feels way fresher in the morning that it does when you skip brushing at night.
Technically, brushing between your snack time and bedtime is more useful than brushing right before hitting the bed. This is because, the fluoride present in the tooth paste gets more time to strengthen your teeth. The fluoride in the tooth paste acts as a barrier against while you sleep at night.
According to Greatist Expert Yanfang Ren, D.D.S. PhD, brushing your teeth right after having dinner is also not right. This is because acid exposure to the teeth is at its highest right during having a meal. This leaves our enamels soft. Brushing immediately after dinner will disrupt the soft enamel and erode the teeth. You should ideally wait for 30 minutes after having your meal and then head to brush your teeth.
The most important thing is to remember that bacteria should not get time to grow inside your mouth. The bottom line is to not let bacteria feed on your teeth the entire night. Make sure to wake up in the morning and brush your teeth while simultaneously flossing it to kick out the bacteria from the mouth. Try to cut down on the unnecessary hunger pangs and extra dose of caffeine to avoid the mouth monsters to feed within your teeth.
Always remember, good dental health is good overall health. Digestion starts from the mouth and hence the need to keep our mouth germ-free is paramount.