I know, not the most important topic, but this has been bothering me for quite a while.
Most people brush their teeth right away after they wake up. What's the point? If you brushed your teeth before going to bed they should still be clean, shouldn't they?
Back when I went to school I used to have breakfast, then brush my teeth, which in my opinion makes sense. But brushing teeth before breakfast?
Am I missing something?
They say, it's because the meal produces acids in the mouth, that dissolves some of the minerals of the teeth, which do get reintegrated later. Brushing the teeth during before the remineralization is detrimental to the teeth. But brushing them before the meal does not have that harmful effect.
My breakfast would taste really really bad if I didn't brush my teeth before eating it. Also, I often sleep with my mouth open often, and it really dries it out, you don't want to have crusted phlegm as part of your meal.
If you brushed your teeth before going to bed they should still be clean, shouldn't they?
Unfortunately that kind of logic doesn't apply to natural orifices, because various discharges and bacteria are accumulating there all the time. If you wash your eyes before sleep they will fill with crust by the time you wake up. If you blow your nose now it doesn't mean it will be clean several hours from now. If you wash up your anus in the morning and don't go number two the entire day it won't exactly remain fresh anyway. And there's always smegma, too.
Have a nice breakfast!
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Joined: 8/6/2006
Posts: 784
Location: Connecticut, USA
The only problem I have brushing before breakfast are the times I have an orange or orange juice. Terrible, terrible combination. Also, remember to floss! Equally, if not more important.
Yeah, brushing teeth before breakfast sounds illogical (doesn't mean it is, though), because when you eat breakfast, your teeth get unclean, so you have to brush them again...
Bisqwit wrote:
They say, it's because the meal produces acids in the mouth, that dissolves some of the minerals of the teeth, which do get reintegrated later. Brushing the teeth during before the remineralization is detrimental to the teeth. But brushing them before the meal does not have that harmful effect.
But what if I don't eat breakfast? I only drink a half glass of juice, should I brush my teeth?
I'm also among the people who brush their teeth before having breakfast, mostly because I'm having said breakfast during recess in school as that's the time I'm getting hungry.
You know what is illogical? Pijamas. And making your bed.
Extremely true!
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
Hah, I actually very much agree. I sleep naked and never make my bed (granted it's two meters above ground). Sleeping in underwear isn't healthy, so that should be avoided whenever possible, but why wear anything instead is a question I haven't found a solid answer to.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Joined: 11/18/2006
Posts: 2426
Location: Back where I belong
Derakon wrote:
moozooh wrote:
Sleeping in underwear isn't healthy
What. Source?
Dark, warm, moist places harbor bacteria, and your groin tends to be all three of those. However, it also depends on whether you're prone to urinary tract infections and the like, as well as what type of underwear you're wearing (boxers vs. briefs vs. man-thong). In general though, if you shower regularly and are in overall good health, sleeping in underwear is no more unhealthy than not. (Also note that women can be more prone to infections with confining clothing, for obvious reasons).
The purpose of making your bed is to get your daily routine started and for it to be prettier to look at. It really serves hardly any porpuse other than that, so if you're stressed out or frustrated, making your bed will be one of the first thing that you'll skip. A made bed thus serves as a pretty good indicator that you're still in control of your life and not overwhelmed by your daily challenges (except if you have OCD or similar disorders. in that case you'll still make your bed even though you aren't in control).
Even if you brush your teeth, rinse your mouth and gargle, there's still some areas that you won't be able to reach, and even if you could, you can never get them 100% clean. Over night bacteria have the potential to multiply exponentially, so what you're brushing your teeth for in the morning is to get rid of those invisible suckers. After breakfast, it should suffice to rinse your mouth thoroughly with water, then maybe brush your teeth again before your next meal if you feel the need to. Brushing your teeth directly after having had a meal has the potential to seriously damage your enamel.
You wear pijamas so you only have to change them once they are soaked up with your sweat. If you didn't, you'd have to change your mattress and duvet covers more often instead, which usually takes more effort.
That being said, I brush my teeth on a totally unregular basis, never make my bed and often sleep in underwear. No wonder I'm doing so bad at life. I think I should maybe go see a doctor about it.
Dark, warm, moist places harbor bacteria, and your groin tends to be all three of those. However, it also depends on whether you're prone to urinary tract infections and the like, as well as what type of underwear you're wearing (boxers vs. briefs vs. man-thong). In general though, if you shower regularly and are in overall good health, sleeping in underwear is no more unhealthy than not. (Also note that women can be more prone to infections with confining clothing, for obvious reasons).
That, plus the fact that elastic bands and stitches irritate skin, and uncontrollable movement in one's sleep will more often than not make the underwear press too tightly against male genitalia, preventing proper blood flow. Why take that risk is beyond me; as soon as I realized it I did away with the practice entirely. Poor ecology has already moved the early impotence barrier further down, I don't need anything else contributing to it.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
I've read that if you didn't eat modern foods (high fructose corn syrup, etc) you wouldn't even have to brush you teeth, with the example given being native people from all around the world who while on their native diet of whatever natives eat (aborigines, eskimos, etc) 1) don't brush their teeth 2) don't have tooth decay. Change their diet to something more like yours and shazam! their teeth rot out of their head. I don't know if there have been any well done studies on this, but it seems to make sense. /me goes to eat a candy bar
I saw a documentary about a hospital in Georgia (the country) where instead of giving patients toothpaste etc they would frequently take mouth swabs from random people (or the specific patient?) and grow the bacteria that are rotting their teeth. With bacteria comes the bacteriophage which they would harvest and give to their patients as a mouthwash. It was a constant process of getting new mouthwash, but their patients had little/no tooth decay iirc.
I spit my toothpaste.
I've read that if you didn't eat modern foods (high fructose corn syrup, etc) you wouldn't even have to brush you teeth, with the example given being native people from all around the world who while on their native diet of whatever natives eat (aborigines, eskimos, etc) 1) don't brush their teeth 2) don't have tooth decay.
I sense bollocks.
Yes, it's very true that a diet high in sugars will significantly increase the risk and severity of caries (for obvious reasons, as bacteria thrive on sugars), but the notion that indigenous people who eat "natural" foods don't get caries is almost certainly just a myth. (I'm using the word "almost" because I can't back that claim up with credible sources right now, so just covering my bases.) The myth can probably be enforced with cherry picking and confirmation bias.
The history of caries goes way, way back into prehistory, and has been prevalent during the entire history of humanity. Caries is the most common disease in the world, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's true for most of history.
But yes, if you eat a diet low in carbohydrates, you will lower the risk of caries. I wouldn't stop brushing my teeth, though.
So this thread has spawned some interesting topics, but to be perfectly honest, I still don't know what's better. If I got Bisqwit right, brushing after breakfast is more healthy. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
You got it backwards. :) Bisqwit said that brushing before the remineralization occurs may interfere with it, so brushing immediately after a meal is unadvised. Although upon a brief search I can't find sources corroborating the claim, since modern toothpastes often contain remineralizers by themselves.
In any case, brushing teeth before a meal is a good thing because plaque and various kinds of bacteria that accumulate during the night are washed away instead of being consumed with the meal. In fact most of them gather on the base of the tongue (you've surely noticed a thin layer of greyish substance with an unpleasant odor and taste).
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Should I brush my teeth after every meal?
It is important that you brush twice a day with a toothpaste containing fluoride. The best times are before breakfast and last thing at night before you go to bed.
Eating and drinking naturally weakens the enamel on your teeth, and brushing straight afterwards can cause tiny particles of enamel to be brushed away. It is best not to brush your teeth until at least one hour after eating.
It is especially important to brush before bed. This is because the flow of saliva, which is the mouth's own cleaning system, slows down during the night and this leaves the mouth more at risk from decay.
It could, but not necessarily. Scrape your tongue right after waking up with something (not very sharp!) and see what you get there. After all most people wake up with a sour, metallic, or otherwise unwanted taste in their mouth.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
