Practicing oral hygiene like a dentist also means knowing when not to brush your teeth. A dentist who practices in London has sparked an online debate after advising against three situations that many regard as good times to brush your teeth. The video, posted by Dr. Shaadi Manouchehri, clinical director at Smart Dental and Aesthetics Clinic in the U.K., has garnered more than 12 million views on TikTok, leaving many incredulous that they were brushing wrong all this time.
.com spoke with a few experts to find out. Acid and brushing your teeth The argument against not brushing your teeth in certain scenarios is 'all about the acid,” Dr. Tien Jiang, assistant professor of oral health policy and epidemiology at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, tells TODYA.com via email. Many people think cavities come from sugar, but it’s not the direct cause, she says.
.com. Should you brush directly after vomiting? Many of the experts .com interviewed recommend waiting to brush your teeth after vomiting. “Vomit contains stomach acids, which can soften and dissolve the outer layer of your teeth,” says Dr. Diana Nguyen, chief of clinical general dentistry at UCSF School of Dentistry. “If you brush after vomiting, you’d actually be spreading the acid around to more of your enamel and risk stripping layers of enamel off your teeth with your toothbrush, which can cause the teeth to appear more yellow over time.
.com. “If we brush straight away, we are rubbing this acid onto the teeth, which ... can be damaged,” she says. Our saliva naturally buffers this acidic state over approximately 30 to 60 minutes, so she recommends waiting at least that long to brush. Jiang also agrees: “Waiting 30 after eating anything to brush is a normal instruction.” “In these conditions, tooth enamel is softened, so you could actually damage your teeth by brushing them right after eating,” she explains.