The question is, in fact, should we brush our teeth before or after breakfast? For a while counselors reported that brushing immediately after breakfast boosts the abrasion of tooth.
Acid torments the teeth
And there is in fact truth in it, if acid can develop its effect and it does after about 10 minutes. So it depends on what breakfast type you are.
Cereals-breakfaster
As far there’s not a whole fruit salad in your cereals, you can confidently brush your teeth after breakfast. In the cereals is (mostly) sugar and can cause tooth decay.
Smart breakfaster
Some quickly smear a toast or bread with nutella or jam and drink their coffee or tea. Even then, nothing speaks against brushing your teeth right after breakfast.
Gourmet breakfaster
Smoothies, fruit salads, also orange juice are real acid boosters. After about 10 minutes the fruit acid pounces on the top tooth layer and attacks them. Enjoying such a luxury breakfast you should wait ½ an hour – then the saliva has neutralized the acidity – or swing almost directly after the last sip of orange-juice to your toothbrush to beat the acid in time. In case you don’t have the time, you can help yourself with a denture chewing gum – read more about chewing gum in the last chapter of the post.
If you generally brush your teeth before breakfast, the chewing gum is at least the „minimum“ care after breakfast, so that the caries monsters can not set up ‘construction sites’. Nevertheless, and no matter what happens: 2 times per day a proper and extensive dental care is a must to me! Finally I want to be able to bite powerful even with 80 (with mine, of course)!
Find the „right“ tooth cream
Anyway toothpaste should taste good and spread well-being in the mouth. However, there are two components that dentists consider important: fluoride and RDA.
The little known RDA value (“Relative Dentin Abrasion”) indicates the value of the abrasion on the teeth and indicates the size of the cleaning particles in the cream. Especially in the toothpastes, which promise a great tooth whitening are dangerous. The higher the value, the more erosive and damaging the toothpaste may be to your teeth. Of course, toothpaste should cleanse the teeth but not wear them down. As the nature of the natural tooth coating varies for each person, you should check with your dentist what RDA value is okay for your teeth. Following the guideline, a good RDA value is between 35-50. With a value >70 you’re rubbing down your teeth. Since the effect of toothpastes on cleaning with electric toothbrushes is increased, you shouldn‘t use pastes with an RDA value >50. A list of several toothpastes and their RDA value can be found here in the pdf! If you do not find your toothpaste in the directory, it is worth looking into the world wide web, as the value is not usually found on the tubes.
For fluoride is important that it is in the toothpaste at all – so it says – at least according to current estimates, the dental profession. The mineral, so the expert opinion, hardens the tooth enamel, like a protective film on the tooth surface and inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria. For that reason, many dentists offer after a professional teeth cleaning at the end of a fluoridation.
Which chewing gum really cares
Considering the giant selection of so-called „care“ chewing gums the question is by no means trivial. Many of these promise to be sugar-free and indeed they are because sugar is replaced by other sweeteners. But: not all are healthy. They should not contain aspartame, sorbitol, fructose or TiO2 . Recommended are those sweetened with 100% Xylitol. They help to reduce tooth demineralization, which is a risk factor in the development of dental caries – and yes, they even protect against it. In addition, they reduce the plaque deposits on the tooth. By the way Xylitol is a sugar substitute from the birch bark. Harmful side effects are not known yet.
You find such a chewing gum for example here.
Don‘t forget: A smile is the nicest thing you can wear! And that makes at least twice as much joy with beautiful, well-groomed teeth! In this sense, enjoy using the tips of today! If you have questions, then don’t hesitate to give me a note.
This post is written with the kind support of my friend and dentist, Dr. med. Heidi Scarlat!
