While it’s optimal to brush your teeth both in the morning when you wake up and at night before you go to bed, brushing at night is actually more important. During the day, the foods you eat leave particles and debris on your teeth that feed bacteria.

Some patients like using baking soda or activated charcoal. Both are naturally abrasive, so you’ll get that nice squeaky-clean feeling. Plus, both have anti-bacterial and pH balancing properties. Another bonus is that they’re both light-weight – great for packing for a camping trip.

Your Mouth Is Full of Bacteria When we eat breakfast without brushing, the bacteria feed on the food just as we do, which leads to increased acid production. This type of acid caused by bad bacteria is very damaging to enamel and can cause enamel erosion and cavities.

If you only brush your teeth once, then you need to do it at night. However, brushing just once is going to still cause problems that will lead to cavities. When you leave these deposits on the teeth all night long, you are going to have poor oral health.

It breaks down the enamel of your teeth, leading to tooth decay, cavities, and gum disease. When you go right to bed without brushing, the plaque in your mouth begins to harden. Once plaque calcifiers, it becomes tartar and is impervious to simple brushing.

Wetting before softens toothbrush bristles and rinses off debris. Wetting after ensures the toothpaste melts into your toothbrush so it doesn’t roll off. Not wetting your toothbrush means there aren’t extra steps between applying toothpaste and brushing.

The strange, bitter taste of orange juice after brushing your teeth can be attributed to the sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) in the paste. SLS is sometimes abbreviated as SLES, for sodium lauryl ether sulfate. These ingredients are known as surfactants, which are also found in shampoos and detergents.

Don’t rinse your mouth immediately after brushing, as it’ll wash away the concentrated fluoride in the remaining toothpaste. This dilutes it and reduces its preventative effects.

Mouthwash isn’t just for fresh breath — therapeutic mouth rinses contain special ingredients that strengthen teeth and help treat certain oral health conditions. Rinsing with a therapeutic mouthwash before bed will help keep your teeth free of plaque and cavities and your gums safe from gingivitis.

Mouthwash is used for “rinsing” purposes, but if you’re not careful it can rinse that valuable fluoride right off your teeth after brushing. The ideal method is to consume no liquid or food for at least 30 minutes after brushing. This gives the fluoride the best chance to work on your teeth.

Consuming a small amount is unlikely to have any effect on you, but a larger amount could have an intoxicating effect. If you consume a large amount of mouthwash, it can cause symptoms like dizziness or drowsiness. In serious instances, you may have trouble breathing or even have convulsions.

The professional treatments from dentists have more fluoride than what is available in toothpaste or tap water, and the application only requires a few minutes. You will be requested to avoid eating or drinking anything for 30 minutes after the treatment to ensure your teeth entirely absorb the fluoride.