Dental Care When is the right time to brush your teeth?

"Before sleeping, after eating: do not forget to brush your teeth!" Many people still remember this motto when it comes to "oral hygiene". But is that true? Is it actually better to brush your teeth in the morning after breakfast? Experts clarify when is the right time for the teeth cleaning.

Decay is common
Caries is one of the most common chronic diseases. The biggest risk factor for infectious dental disease is irregular and poor oral hygiene. Proper brushing seems to be more difficult than it looks at first glance. Disagreement prevails, above all, when is the right time for cleaning the teeth. While some claim that morning before breakfast should be cleaned, others take the toothbrush basically after the meal at hand. But what is right?

Decisive for proper oral hygiene is a solid routine. (Image: Peter Atkins / fotolia.com)

Important are fixed time windows in everyday life
That can not be answered flat rate. According to the German Society of Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (DGZMK), the times for home-based oral and dental hygiene are based on individual lifestyle habits. The well-known recommendations such as "cleaning after every meal" or "brushing your teeth just before going to bed" would therefore have to be critically examined in individual cases, according to a statement by the DGZMK. It is important, therefore, above all, that fixed times are found in the personal life, "to which the dental and oral hygiene is practiced regularly, without time pressure and with concentration."

Wait for acidic foods
A solid routine was important to establish a daily two-part teeth cleaning in everyday life, with once daily additionally floss or a small brush to clean the interdental spaces (interdental space brush) should be used. The time of day itself basically does not play a big role. However, if you have consumed strong acidic foods and / or drinks, you should always wait a while to brush your teeth, so that the enamel is not attacked. The recommended waiting time here would vary between 20 minutes and one hour for the DGZMK.

Toothpaste should contain fluoride
For a thorough tooth cleaning, the right toothpaste is also needed. This should always contain fluoride, children are special children's toothpastes available. Careful, according to the German Dentists Association (DZV) with toothpaste with a "lightening" effect, as these can lead to damage to the hard tooth substance.

Does it have to be an electric toothbrush??
Electric toothbrushes brush with up to 40,000 vibrations per minute and thus remove more coating in the same time than the manual toothbrush. Basically, the teeth can be cleaned well with both variants - provided they are used correctly. (No)