Saturday, July 23, 2011

Dental Plan!

{Lisa needs braces}

This post will be about something you do twice a day (and if you don't, please do it for the sake of the people around you). This is about brushing your teeth. Essentially you are scrubbing your teeth with an abrasive.

Now, why do we need to do this? Well, we humans have a great appreciation for sweetness and the taste of sugar. The industrial revolution made production very cheap so it started to be added into everything. In fact sugar is presumed to be in everything we eat that some items without sugar have to be deliberately marked as 'sugar-free'. Sugar is a carbohydrate - you eat it and it gives you a lot of energy. When you eat or drink it it sticks to your teeth. Bacteria in your mouth feeds off this sugar and sticks to your teeth forming plaque. The byproduct of this bacteria feeding is acid and over time this breaks down your teeth causing cavities...

We brush our teeth to remove this plaque from our teeth - stopping it from doing any damage. Turns out that this act of brushing can actually do damage to the teeth. Toothpaste+toothbrush is an abrasive that scrubs plaque off teeth. If done directly after eating or drinking (especially acidic foods) it can actually cause loss of enamel which is the stuff teeth are made of. Consuming high acidic foods causes the enamel to soften and in cases like these it is better to leave the teeth as it is instead of brushing it.

Flossing is the best way to go as it removes bacteria without being harsh on the teeth. It is still recommended to brush your teeth twice a day, just do it away from meal times and use a soft brush.

By the way, funny thing happens when you drink orange juice right after you brush your teeth.

20 comments:

  1. whoa! good advice! i didn't knew it! +followed

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  2. I brush my teeth at least three times a day. My parents both have bad teeth, so I'm trying to prevent that.

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  3. People should really know this, flossing is so important. It's what actually gets rid of the shit between your teeth.

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  4. I remember recently learning that you shouldn't eat or drink for about 15 minutes after you brush your teeth to allow enough time for the fluoride to bond. Without doing so, you wash away most of the protective agents in toothpaste, essentially making your teeth worse than they were before.

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  5. flouride in toothpaste is also really bad for you, yet it's in almost every toothpaste on the market and to some degree in our supply of drinking water.

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  6. better take care of my mouth, you dot know when youll regret it.

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  7. I only brush once a day. I can never remember to brush at the end of the day, and by the time I do, I'm too tired.

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  8. damn this reminds me i need braces, but ill def get those that go behind the teeth

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  9. I will never brush again! After meals!

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  10. Very good to know I'm not doing it wrong by waiting a while after I eat to brush

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  11. ...what happens if you drink orange juice right after you brush? Why does it taste so bad??

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  12. Actually this is a pretty useful post. More flossing and less brushing!

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  13. This was stuff I knew before, but very important info!
    Good post :)

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  14. That's very interesting, i never brushed my teeth after eating, so I'm safe.

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  15. For wicked Cleon and his wife, when fame Following!

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  16. nice post man! interesting read

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  17. Great post about dental health! I think your post are very relevant ;)

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  18. ughh i hate dentist.
    anyway interesting read about brushing after eating acid stuff.

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