Brushing Before Going to Sleep is a Great Way to Care for Your Mouth
Posted on 1/11/2021 by Robert Leale |
 Most people are guilty of falling asleep without brushing their teeth at least a few times in their lives. While you may think brushing in the morning is more important since you want to have fresh breath when you interact with people during the day, brushing again at night is just as crucial, if not more so. Here are some reasons why you should never skip brushing your teeth before bed.
Prevent Plaque Buildup
Every time you brush, you remove plaque and bacteria that has built up on your teeth since your last brushing. If you neglect your pre-bed brushing ritual, plaque has all night to linger and grow on your teeth, on top of what has already built up throughout the day since you brushed in the morning. Plaque creates a sticky film on your teeth, which is why your teeth might feel “fuzzy” if you have not brushed in a while. The longer you go without brushing, the more time this film has to build up on your teeth and harden into tartar, which is more difficult to clean off than plaque. Tartar buildup contributes to cavities, tooth decay, and gum disease.
Wash Away the Day
In addition to removing plaque and bacteria, brushing at night is also essential for cleaning food particles, sugar, and acid from your teeth. Bacteria feeds off of sugar in your mouth and produces acid as a result, which erodes your tooth enamel. Even if you did not consume anything sugary or acidic for dinner, letting food particles linger between your teeth all night puts you at risk for tooth decay. With the help of saliva, starchy food debris is converted into sugar in your mouth, which attracts bacteria. This bacteria contributes to cavities, tooth decay, and gum disease, so it is important to fight against bacteria as much as possible by brushing before you go to sleep.
To make matters worse, your mouth produces less saliva while you sleep. During the day, your saliva helps to wash away plaque, bacteria, acid, and food particles, keeping your mouth clean between brushings. But with decreased saliva production overnight, bacteria and plaque build up and wreak havoc on your mouth. To learn more about why brushing twice a day is so important, contact our office today.
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