Do you doubt the importance of brushing your teeth twice a day in the modern world of mouth wash, mints, breath sprays, and breath strips? Believe it or not there are more reasons than minty fresh breath to keep up with your tooth brushing skills. Brushing twice a day is very important for dental health and good oral hygiene.
1) Fluoride
Most toothpaste brands include fluoride as one of the main ingredients in toothpaste. Fluoride is instrumental in preventing cavities from forming. When you brush before going to bed it’s a first line of defense against the formation of cavities while you sleep.
Why? It works because the fluoride creates a layer of protection around your teeth. When you wake in the morning, one of the first things you need to do is brush your teeth in order to “touch up” that layer of protection and help protect your teeth throughout the day.
Make sure the brand of toothpaste you use provides adequate fluoride protection to safeguard your pearly whites against cavities and other signs of decay.
2) Bacteria
It’s important to brush your teeth two times a day in order to remove harmful bacteria from building up in your mouth. The bacteria, if left unchecked for a full 24-hour period will have plenty of time to do more damage to the enamel of your teeth.
A 12-hour window may not seem like a huge reduction in the amount of time for damage to be done but it literally cuts the amount of time in half. When you combine that with other efforts to eliminate the buildup of bacteria inside the mouth like flossing and using an antiseptic mouthwash or rinse the results are even more profound.
In addition to brushing your teeth twice a day, consider an antibacterial mouthwash. This will not only help protect your teeth and gums from harmful bacteria but will also remove the bacteria that leads to bad breath as well.
3) Saliva Production
While you are sleeping at night you produce less saliva than you do during the day. Saliva actually works inside your mouth as an added layer of defense against bacteria and plaque that leads to cavities. Brushing immediately before going to bed will remove many of the little particles of food and a lot of the bacteria inside your mouth that is just looking for a way to degrade your dental health.
Overnight the bacteria that remains behind creates acid (as it breaks down) inside your mouth. That acid can damage teeth and lead to cavities. Brushing first thing in the morning will reduce that risk as well.
If you are taking medications that dry your mouth it is in your best interest to start a habit of chewing sugar-free gum (the chewing action actually works to increase salivation) and drink plenty of water to keep your mouth hydrated.
4) Prevent Tartar Buildup
Tartar can build up above or below the gums. Unfortunately, it’s something that you can’t get rid of on your own. The only way to remove tartar once it gets its foot in the door is to pay a visit to your local dentist who will actually perform a thorough cleaning and literally scrape the tartar away. Failing to remove tartar buildup can lead to gum disease or even periodontal disease.
This is one thing where prevention is definitely the best cure. Tartar buildup can be prevented with regular professional cleanings by your dentist, twice daily brushing with tartar control toothpaste, and regular use of mouthwashes or rinses that are designed to assist in the fight against tartar and plaque.
People who have diabetes, smoke, or who frequently suffer from dry mouth are at greater risk for heavy tartar buildup and should take extra precautions.
5) Protect Gums
Brushing your teeth does more than just remove bacteria from the teeth, keep your breath minty fresh, and create sparkling white teeth. Good dental health is about so much more than just your teeth. Your gums are an important part of the oral hygiene and dental health tradition. If you aren’t taking good care of them, your teeth will soon fall into their own states of emergency.
Poor gum health can lead to periodontal disease, tooth sensitivity, tooth shifting, abscessed teeth, and even tooth loss. Brushing your teeth twice daily combined with flossing, antiseptic mouth rinses, and regular dental checkups and cleaning will go a long way towards overall good gum health.
Treatments for gum disease once it sets in include plaque removal in the dentist office, prescription mouth rinses to kill bacteria, and potential surgery for more severe cases.
6) Fresh Breath
No one wants to be the person in a crowded elevator with a not so small case of halitosis. Companies everywhere are making a fortune off products that are designed to make breath smell minty fresh. Fresh breath is associated with good dental health and will keep people from shying away from you in a crowd.
Mints, sprays, and gum have their uses but nothing is as effective at controlling bad breath as regular brushing of the teeth. Other things you can do that will help include using a tongue scraper as part of your daily oral care routine. This will remove odor causing bacteria from the tongue. Some dentists recommend brushing the tongue with your toothbrush as well as the teeth for cases of severe halitosis.
7) Improved Overall Health
There is more than a healthy smile on the line when people fail to pay proper attention to good dental health. The health of your smile reveals a good deal about your overall health and should not be overlooked.
Gum disease isn’t limited to your mouth. The bacteria from gum disease can get into your bloodstream leaving the entire body vulnerable. Some of the illnesses and diseases that can be linked to poor oral health include: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and premature or low birth weight babies.
Brushing your teeth twice a day can greatly decrease the odds of developing gum disease. As a result the risks of these other diseases due to the gum disease will decrease as well. Can you imagine the difference it will make when brushing is combined with routine dental checkups and cleanings, flossing, and using an antiseptic mouth rinse?
Sources
You may also like to read:
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
I heard that flushing your mouth with water and getting rid of breadcrumbs and other leftovers from food before you start brushing your teeth will help to better your brushing results. Also it is said that when you do not flush your mouth before, the leftovers can damage the teeth surface while brushing.
Is this really true?
Hey.
Well, you have heard it right! What happens is that when you have stuff like sticky bread crumbs or similar left overs in the oral cavity, it provides food for bacteria to grow on and release bacterial end products which cause damage to your oral health. When you rinse your mouth after each meal, this left over food (which is potential food for harmful bacteria) is rinsed off.. Hence, this leads to better oral health..
Hi Mujtaba,
thanks for the reply.
Could you please also reply to this part:
“… when you do not flush your mouth before [brushing], the leftovers can damage the teeth surface while brushing”
Is this true?
Thanks in advance
Hey Yamato,
Well, That’s a myth. Leftovers are not abrasive enough to damage your teeth if they are not rinsed off..
ADA(American Dental Association) does not mention about rinsing before brushing teeth although it does stress on rinsing after brushing to get rid of the toothpaste residue in the mouth.
Although, it is quite natural to most people to rinse their mouth before brushing.
OK, so nothing to fear when I forget to wash my mouth before brushing.
thanks and keep this good blog going. Lots of interesting content for me.
is there and medication or supplement that can be took to help bad breath
Yes there are. But these only mask your bad breath. They do not cure the bad breath. Best way to eliminate bad breath is to see what is causing it and then eliminate that. It is much better than going for drugs/medications which do not eliminate the bad breath but simply mask it.
Scarping the tongue and drinking a lot of water helps.
NR 1: FLUORIDE is Nocive !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSZQ3ixu7a4
Learn what you put into your mouth and body !!!
Sorry adrian, only the ignorant homeopathic people actually believe this. I will get my info from people with Ph.D.s and MDs. Not someone without any real education.
NO,you are a turd,everyone knows fluoride is nocive.I mean how ignorant can you be?You and all your…Ph.D.s and MDs.Bleah,i bet you also think soy is healthy.
isn’t most bad breath derived from stomach acids or stress which causes the sour stomach?
Yes and no. It is true that some of the causes of bad breath are due to systemic conditions such as the one you mentioned. But, mostly, bad breath originates from intra-oral causes.
I’ll be doing an article on causes of bad breath soon.. So, be sure to subscribe to the blog.
Cheerz.
Dr. Mujtaba Ali
Funny how this article doesn’t include flossing which is one of the main ways to get rid of bacteria, food and plaque between your teeth. Considering your toothbrush can’t reach there, it’s pretty much the only defense you have for cavities that form between your teeth. They also didn’t mention Fluoride mouth rinses which help your teeth in the same way as the fluoride toothpaste, but gets to the interproximal surfaces (again where your brush can’t reach) It’s highly recommended if you have well water or city water without fluoride to prevent cavities.
Hey Lorlei,
What you say is right. But, this article focuses on the reasons to brush twice daily and not different ways how to take care of your dental health.
You’re listing Fluoride as a reason to brush daily? Fluoride is a poison.
Fluoride is poison when ingested(Infact, small quantities of ingested fluoride with water is beneficial). When used in toothpastes, it helps fight against cavities. This is a widely accepted dental fact.
The outer layer of tooth consists of hydroxypatite which is not very strong. What fluroide does is react with this and form fluropatite which is much stronger and prevents tooth decay.
Hence, the reason for dentists vouching for fluoride containing toothpastes.
Don’t follow myths, follow science.
Please do more research into the studies that have been done before recommending fluoride. I had to do such research for a college chemistry class and what I found were studies that showed fluoride makes no appreciable difference in tooth decay. So all I ask is that you make use of Google before just taking the establishment (ADA) at their word.
Why don’t you write for us and tell us about your research?
“The stomatological experts confirmed in a final conference declaration that fluoride toothpaste remains the most widespread and significant form of prevention of and protection against tooth decay used worldwide”
“The conference was jointly organised by the World Health Organization (WHO), the FDI World Dental Federation, the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and the Chinese Stomalogical Association (CSA).”
Source:http://www.fdiworldental.org/content/fluoride-toothpaste-helps-prevent-tooth-decay-confirm-leading-experts-stomatology
There have been umpteen number of researches before which have strongly recommended the use of fluoride toothpaste to prevent tooth decay. I already posted the mechanism in one of my earlier comments. Please check that out.
Poison when ingested, yet it’s still going in your mouth. I’ve been using fluoride free toothpaste almost my whole life and I have no cavities or yellow teeth.
Leeuh, US paper money is toxic also! Quick, send me every dollar you have so I can destroy it before it is too late!
Regarding the fluoride debate, I came across this article today. What do you all think of it?
http://www.tldp.com/issue/157-8/157fluor.htm
Given that we were all taught as kids about the importance of brushing three times a day, these don’t seem to be reasons to brush just twice a day. It’s time we got back to brushing after lunch.
People brush for clean teeth and fresh breath. The prevention of disease is not even on the radar.
Gargling is an important part of our oral care routine. It helps clean our teeth and effectively improve how our breath smells. During a dental surgery, dentists usually let their patients to gargle because water helps to clean the mouth.
The key to good dental health is prevention with good dental hygiene at home.
Another reason why brushing twice daily is beneficial is because it helps to promote better overall awareness of the condition of one’s teeth, including diet. The foods that we eat are just as important to monitor as daily brushing and teeth are most healthy when we take care that our brushing and eating habits are beneficial to each other.
There are those who are accustomed to brushing their teeth only once a day while there are those who do it more than twice to ensure they do not have bad breath. The kind of toothbrush and toothpaste that you use also play a factor on the condition of your teeth and gums and if you do not know which kind is best for you, ask for professional help and do not just purchase anything you see in the grocery store. It would be best to be certain to avoid frequent visits to your dentist.
{ 6 trackbacks }