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this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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I've seen articles and dentist recommendations both ways. But the consensus seems to lean towards after. You want the fluoride to sit on the teeth and get absorbed as much as possible. This should provide a larger benefit than the damage of brushing when your teeth are, and not brushing means just leaving that gunk on the teeth even longer to mess them up more. But yeah, I guess you aren't supposed to wash your mouth out after brushing or mouthwash, and avoid eating/drinking for about 30 minutes. Just try and spit it out as best you can, that's how I've done it for years, takes a little getting used to but isn't something I notice anymore.
Afaik, brushing your teeth doesn’t weaken the enamel or anything like that, or at least it shouldn’t. When brushing it’s not actually the bristles that are supposed to be doing most of the work, it’s the toothpaste which acts as polishing paste (it has tiny little micro abrasive particles or something like that). So if a dentist ever asks you what kind of toothbrush you use, soft, medium, or hard bristles, if you answer anything other than soft they’re probably going to recommend switching to soft bristles. Medium and hard bristles can damage the gums and with hard enough brushing overtime can be macro-abrasive and wear away your teeth. Better to use soft bristles and let the toothpaste do the polishing work.
Source: dentists told me so, lol
The argument I've seen, that they seemed to be referencing, is that no matter how soft the bristles, brushing when there's acid from our food and byproduct of the bacteria on your teeth sharing your meal, then even soft bristles can damage the enamel because the surface is temporarily weakened.
I guess that makes some sense. I think the counter argument to that may be that our teeth are constantly in a demineralization demineralization cycle anyways, so it’s better to brush after breakfast to ensure that until next you eat you’ve got no debris left for bacteria to eat and make acid and to boost remineralization.
Yeah, that seems to be the more common take, and the one that resonates with me. But apparently it's still largely up for debate.