I eat breakfast without brushing my teeth in the morning, but the doctor says it is healthy, why? Hear what the doctor has to say
"Didn't I go to the United States as an exchange student last year? I went there for more than two months, and I found out that Americans eat breakfast before brushing their teeth!"
"It sounds disgusting... Didn't they swallow all the bacteria in the mouth ?"
It is understood that in the United States, most people brush their teeth after eating breakfast, but in China, they generally brush their teeth before eating breakfast. Otherwise, how can you eat breakfast with a dirty mouth?
Is it better to eat breakfast first or brush your teeth first?
1. Is it harmful to eat breakfast before brushing your teeth?
Americans like to eat breakfast before brushing their teeth, but in China, most people eat breakfast after cleaning their mouths. Which one is better? Before clarifying this order, let's talk about why you need to brush your teeth.
Our oral cavity is in direct contact with the outside world. In addition to external bacteria, the internal environment is also full of various microorganisms .
One of them is called plaque bacteria, which has a very "overbearing" personality. Wherever it goes, it always "destroys", causing damage to teeth and gums, and eventually causing teeth to loosen or even fall out. And we brush our teeth to clean the plaque .
So, what's the difference between brushing your teeth before a meal and brushing your teeth after a meal?
Brush your teeth first : Clean your mouth first in the morning, you can brush off plaque and breath, prevent them from entering the stomach with food, and bacteria will use food to metabolize to produce acid and corrode teeth. The fluoride layer in toothpaste can protect teeth and help teeth resist Acid attack ;
Eat first : teeth will form new plaque about 20 minutes after eating, and food residues after meals are easy to decay and produce acid in the oral environment. Brushing after eating can remove all kinds of food residues and plaques . If you eat leek cake, after brushing your teeth, you can also remove the smell and keep your mouth fresh.
It can be said that brushing your teeth first or eating breakfast first has its own advantages, depending on personal habits.
However, Zhu Wangyong, a clinical doctor of oral medicine at Sun Yat-sen University, still recommends eating first and then brushing your teeth after getting up in the morning, which is more scientific and effective. Brushing your teeth after meals can not only remove the soft dirt caused by food residues, but also brush away the plaque, so as to maximize the benefits of brushing .
Maybe seeing this, some friends will worry that eating breakfast first will eat bacteria into their stomachs.
In this regard, Ke Jinjing, director of the Department of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, said that most of the bacteria will actually be eliminated by gastric acid in the stomach, and a small part will flow into the intestine, but it doesn't matter too much. There are also various bacteria in the intestine itself . , have a balance adjustment function , healthy people do not need to worry too much.
2. If you don't brush your teeth well, it may really shorten your life.
Whether you brush first or brush later, as long as you brush your teeth, you can protect your mouth. On the contrary, if you do not brush your teeth carefully, it is likely to cause various diseases.
A survey study involving 9,280 participants in Guizhou Province found that brushing teeth ≥2 times a day could reduce the risk of hypertension by 45% and the risk of type 2 diabetes by 35%.
Published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a study that included more than 160,000 screening data from the Korean health insurance system found that participants who brushed their teeth ≥3 times a day had a 10% lower risk of atrial fibrillation and a 12% lower risk of heart failure.
If you don't brush your teeth properly, what are the consequences? In addition to causing periodontitis, there may be several risks:
1. Increased risk of cardiovascular disease
Published in the European Journal of Clinical Research from the School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, an analysis of 512,715 participants in China followed for 10 years found that compared with those who brushed their teeth frequently, participants who rarely or never brushed their teeth were less likely to brush their teeth. The risk of major cardiovascular events was increased by 12% .
At the same time, the risk of stroke, cerebral hemorrhage and cor pulmonale increased by 8%, 18% and 22%, respectively.
2. May activate oncogenes
A research team from the University of São Paulo published an analysis of the potential link between oral bacteria and head and neck cancer in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.
The study found that fungi and bacteria in the oral cavity not only lead to diseases such as periodontitis and dental caries, but also activate the expression of genes related to head and neck cancer .
3. Increased risk of stomach cancer
Published in Gut, the world's top authoritative journal in the field of digestive diseases, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University found that:
People with a history of gum disease had a 43% and 52% increased risk of esophagus or stomach cancer, and those who lost two or more teeth had a 42% and 33% increased risk of esophagus and stomach cancer.
4. All-cause risk increase
In June last year, a Chinese prospective chronic disease study involving nearly 500,000 people, published in the European Journal of Clinical Research, confirmed that people who don't brush their teeth regularly have a 25% increased risk of all-cause death .
3. Grasp the golden time of brushing your teeth, don't let your teeth be "destroyed"
Brushing teeth has become a habit of many people, even so, oral problems are still emerging. This is likely to be related to the timing of brushing.
There are actually "golden 10 minutes" of brushing your teeth, that is, the 10 minutes after eating food is a critical period for dental care . After eating, the acidity of the mouth will decrease to PH4.5. If you do not brush your teeth immediately, the acid will erode the enamel on the surface of the teeth, resulting in decalcification and tooth decay.
In addition, these 3 brushing methods are very damaging to your teeth and can also damage your teeth:
- saw tooth brushing
Some people think that the harder you brush your teeth, the cleaner you can brush sideways. But in fact, brushing your teeth horizontally and forcefully for a long time is the predisposing factor for the "wedge-shaped defect" of the teeth , and as the defect deepens, there will be tooth soreness, and even damage to the pulp, causing neuralgia. In addition, too much force can easily hurt the gums, causing bleeding and damage to the gums.
- only brush the tips
Some people think that their gums are "fragile," so they avoid the gums when brushing, and only brush the tips of their teeth. However, the parts of the teeth that need cleaning the most are not the cusps, but the places where the teeth are close to the gums , where food debris and plaque are more likely to collect.
In addition to the cusps, the tongue coating and the side of the tongue are also places that many people tend to ignore. The surface of the tongue is uneven, and the side of the tongue is responsible for the secretion of saliva. These places are easy to breed plaque. When brushing your teeth, these parts should also be brought.
- brushing too short
Many people brush their teeth like going through the motions every day. From squeezing toothpaste to gargling, the whole process takes less than 1 minute. Generally speaking, it takes at least 3 minutes to effectively brush your teeth before your teeth can be thoroughly cleaned.
Finally, Xiaojiu recommends the healthiest way to brush your teeth - "Bass brushing method".
Remember one rule: 45 degree angle. When brushing the inner and outer surfaces of the teeth, keep the bristles at a 45-degree angle to the surface of the teeth, place them toward the gums, and gently press the junction between the teeth and the gums to slightly vibrate the toothbrush back and forth. It can ensure that the dead corners such as teeth and gums are cleaned in place.
In addition to maintaining oral health, daily brushing also has a great impact on physical health. Therefore, Xiaojiu recommends that you brush your teeth at least twice a day, especially before going to bed.
References
[1] "Eat or brush your teeth first when you wake up in the morning? Finally got the answer". Tencent Medical Code She Knows. 2021-09-14
[2] "Brushing this number of times a day reduces the risk of high blood pressure by 45%! 》. Medical Neurology Channel. 2022-03-31
[3] "When is the best time to brush your teeth? It turned out to be wrong before! 》.Health Times.2020-09-30
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