One would think that there’s no such thing as a bad time to brush your teeth.
This dentist however has identified three times when it’s in fact not a good idea to brush your teeth.
British dentist Dr Shaadi Manouchehri took to TikTok to share when and why it’s a bad idea to brush your teeth sometimes.
1. She starts by saying that you should never brush your teeth after you’ve vomited.
Now this is probably the one time that one would immediately reach for a toothbrush but she advises against it.
“The contents of the stomach are extremely acidic and your teeth are made up of minerals. So when the contents of the stomach have come into the mouth, then the mouth is very acidic. And if you brush straight away you’re rubbing the acid into the teeth even more,” advises the dentist.
She adds that you have to wait at least 30 to 60 minutes before you brush your teeth.
She does, however, suggest that you can rinse out your mouth with mouthwash and drink some water to neutralise the acid.
2. Next up is to not brush your teeth after drinking coffee. This is odd as well because many people don’t like to have coffee breath. “Coffee is quite acidic and especially if you add milk and sugar,” she continues.
For the same reason as for when you’ve just vomited, she says that you can just rinse with mouthwash or rinse your mouth with water instead of brushing your teeth immediately after having coffee.
3. The third worst time to brush your teeth is after having your breakfast.
“Don’t brush your teeth after breakfast. Brush them beforehand because if you brush straight away you’re going to be damaging your enamel. And actually, when you first wake up in the morning, you have quite a lot of bacteria in the mouth and that needs to be brushed before you have your breakfast,” she concludes.
