An expert on all things teeth has warned that when you brush them in the morning, it could make a big difference to your oral health.
Whether it's how often to change your bed sheets or why women need more sleep than men, there is a lot of conflicting advice out there.
Who knows what to believe?
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At some point, we just have to turn around and say b*llcks to it all and do what we think is best for ourselves.
One thing I don't think we should throw caution to the wind to, however, is when in the morning to brush our teeth, especially when one dentist is offering up some pretty solid advice.
Dr. Stephanie Dumanian featured on HuffPost's Am I Doing It Wrong podcast, and she divulged that not only brushing your teeth at a certain time in the morning keeps your marriage together, but that not brushing them at the right time can cause some oral health issues we could all probably do without.
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Dr. Dumanian, who is the owner of Park Lex 60 Dental, warned: “Generally speaking, I like to brush before breakfast.
“I think the main thing to keep in mind is that generally when you’re eating... you’re probably introducing some acidic foods into the mix.
“So you don’t want to brush directly after having something acidic... like coffee.”
'But why?' I can hear you ask.
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Well, apparently, brushing acid into your teeth - which occurs if you consume something acidic before brushing - turns your mouth into a total danger zone.
Dr. Dumanian continued: “If you now have a lot of acid in your mouth... you’re basically brushing your teeth with acid, which is bad for the enamel."
Ok, s,o the takeaway is no coffee before brushing your teeth, right? Wrong.
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I hate to break it to you, but coffee isn't the only offender when it comes to morning beverages that play havoc with your oral hygiene.
“I’m not going to lie — I see a lot of effects on patients’ enamel [from drinking lemon water].
“I’ll be like, ‘What happened? Do you have acid reflux? What’s changed?’ And they can’t figure it out. And then I ask, ‘Do you drink lemon water in the morning?’ And they’re like, ‘Every morning!’ And I’m like, ‘Ahhhhhhhh!’ and I ask, ‘Do you brush your teeth right after, too?’ And they’re like ‘Yeah!’ and I’m like, ‘This is terrible!’”
Don't worry, this doesn't mean you can't enjoy a nice coffee or refreshing lemon water in the morning, just enjoy it after you've brushed your teeth.
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And if you're worried about staining, Dr. Dumanian has a solution for you to keep those pearly whites in tip top condition.
“Just have a little bit of a rinse with water and then brush like after half an hour — 20 minutes — something like that,” she said. Either that, or use a straw.
“That’s gonna deliver [the coffee or tea] more directly right down your throat — it’s not getting exposed to your teeth as much.”
Topics: Advice, Health, Podcasts, Food and Drink
Saskia Calliste