Do we really need to brush our teeth in the morning?

When I was growing up, my parents insisted that I brush my teeth twice a day – first thing in the morning, and before going to bed. I never gave my toothbrushing rituals a second thought – after all, it did get rid of that nasty morning breath and I love the minty fresh feel of toothpaste – until now.

Enter my kids. They have mastered the art of squeezing every possible second of morning sleep out of their schedule. And you’ve probably guessed it, the morning toothbrushing ritual just didn’t make the cut.

Seeing as they haven’t developed any cavities in the past few years, I was pretty fine with their decision to skip toothbrushing in the mornings. I figured it would be a far better motivator if their friends mentioned bad breath to them than for Mom to try to get them to adopt another habit.

But I’ve decided perhaps I should be more scientific about this, so I did a little research on brushing teeth.

Quick history of the toothbrush

People have been brushing their teeth for many millennia. As far back as 5000 BC, ancient Egyptians probably used their fingers and primitive tooth powder to scrub their teeth. The first actual non-finger toothbrush was probably used around 3500-3000 BC in ancient Babylonia. This was just a chewing stick with some frayed ends that were rubbed against the teeth.

Nobody knows for sure when and where the first actual brush appeared, but Chinese writings from around 1200s mention a brush made with horsetail hair. The first mass-produced toothbrush was made by William Addis in 1780. This entrepreneur guy actually made his prototype while he was in prison – I guess he had lots of time on his hands there and he certainty didn’t waste his time! Apparently prisoners were only using rags and soot to clean their teeth and Mr. Addis wanted to improve their teeth cleaning experience. Good for him! He actually became quite rich from his invention and his company, Wisdom Toothbrushes, is still around today. This pretty much brings us into the modern period with the toothbrushes that we are all so familiar with today.

How do cavities form?

Enamel is the hard outermost layer of the tooth, and cavities form when acid breaks down the enamel covering our teeth. This enamel-destroying acid can come from 1) consuming acidic foods and drinks (like lemons and all kinds of sodas), or 2) the acid can be produced by bacteria in your mouth. Since the bacteria themselves grow by eating sugar and starch, you are basically feeding a mouthful of bacteria when you eat sweet and starchy foods and leave traces of that food in your mouth. If you are thinkng Gummi Bears, Sour Patches, caramels, and other sticky candies, you are dead-on. However, the list of cavity-causing foods include healthy foods like dried fruit and milk. Basically, anything that can feed those little germies in your mouth can potentially cause cavities.

Benefits of brushing teeth

When we brush our teeth, we help remove food and plaque from our teeth. Plaque is just a name for the layer of bacteria that grows on our teeth. The layer of plaque can be very thin and thus invisible to the eye. Sometimes, the layer of plaque accumulates and looks white. If you have ever gently scraped your fingernails against your teeth and scraped off a layer of sticky, white paste - that's plaque. Our goal with brushing teeth is to brush food and plaque off our teeth.

So, how often and when should we brush our teeth?

The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. They also have a nice little video showing the proper way to brush teeth.

http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/b/brushing-your-teeth

While everyone seemed to agree on brushing teeth after the last meal of the day and/or before going to bed at night, there were some different recommendations about brushing teeth in the morning. Some people recommended brushing teeth as soon as you get up to remove the bacteria that had built up overnight, while others recommended saving your toothbrushing until after breakfast so you can remove pieces of food stuck between your teeth as well as bacteria build-up from the night before. Others recommend brushing teeth after ALL meals to minimize the bacteria’s food supply.

My personal recommendation: try to reduce the amount of cavity-producing foods you eat, and try to keep your mouth as clean as possible. In addition to thoroughly brushing your teeth every night and hopefully every morning, you might consider adding a quick brush or even just a quick rinse after each meal. Flossing regularly can also help get rid of food and plaque stuck between your teeth in those toothbrush unreachable places. It might sound like a lot to do, but once it becomes a habit, keeping your mouth clean really doesn't take up that much time in your day, and the rewards are well worth it!