Do You Skip Brushing Before Bed? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t

We, together, thought about this. After a long day, even brushing your teeth at the sink feels like too much. This isn’t a big deal if you occasionally forget to brush at night because that habit grows over the years and becomes highly determined in the long term. Here’s why you should continue with this brushing habit before going to bed and the eventual effects of leaving it out on your teeth and overall health.

What Happens When You Skip Brushing Before Bed?

Countless millions of bacteria populate your mouth. Some may be harmless, while others can be the opposite. These bacteria break down the food and beverages into a sticky coating-agglomeration layer that deposits onto the surface of the teeth. If you do not brush before sleeping, plaque can build up for many hours, harden, and ultimately turn into tartar, which can only be removed by a dentist. Here is what will happen if you do not brush:

1. Plaque Buildup: While sleeping, plaque settles within your mouth, latching on to scavenged remnants of meals and secretes acids that weaken tooth enamel, eventually causing cavities.

2. Bad Breath: A mouth full of food particles and bacteria can lead to disgusting smells in the morning without brushing.

3. Gum Disease: When plaque deposits endlessly accumulate on the gum line, they can cause inflammation, bleeding, and ultimately, gum disease.

4. Increased Risk of Tooth Decay: Skipping out on brushing permits free rein for bacteria erosion of the enamel, setting things up for cavities and sensitivity.

Why Nighttime Brushing is Essential

Though the two-day brushing is considered the ideal standard for oral hygiene, brushing your teeth at this time is essential. This is the reason why:

1. Saliva Production Slows Down at Night

Saliva performs a dual function during the daytime: washing away the food particles and neutralizing the acids within the oral cavity. However, it decreases at night. The atmosphere turns dry and is the most conducive for harmful bacteria. Brushing before bed clears food junk and plaque, both of which will reduce the ability of bacteria to inflict damage while sleeping.

But bacteria indeed thrive during the daytime, washing away food substances and neutralizing acids within the oral cavity. At night, however, such decreases. Besides, the immediate environment turns dry and provides bacteria its best environment. Brushing before sleeping will help eliminate food junk and plaque, thus decreasing the possible damage while sleeping due to bacteria infestation.

2. Prevents Morning Breath

Everyone hates bad breath in the morning, and skipping brushing one’s teeth before going to bed only worsens the situation. Brushing your teeth and tongue before bedtime removes the causing bacteria so that you can wake up with fresher breath.

3. Protects Your Overall Health

Oral hygiene isn’t just for the mouth; sadly, it can make you sick in other ways too. Diseases like heart disease have been shown in studies to be associated with gum disease, along with a few other diseases such as diabetes. A really simple yet effective way of keeping healthy all-round is simply brushing before sleeping.

Tips for Making Nighttime Brushing a Habit

It sometimes feels like a real drag how brushing your teeth before bed is sometimes approached-but hopefully, these tips will help you make it part of your routine:

1. Set a Reminder

Set an alarm or a reminder on your phone for brushing your teeth before bedtime as the last thing you do in the evening. Soon it will grow on you as if it were your second nature.

When you have tried brushing twice for an extended time, it becomes your habit after a while. I’ve set up an alarm or ringtone on my phone for that specific purpose an hour before bed- to get me to realize it’s time to brush my teeth.

2. Keep Your Toothbrush Accessible

Positioning toothbrushes and toothpaste in a visible, convenient location can serve you right. You would have a visual cue in a designated spot on your bathroom counter.

3. Make It Part of Your Wind-Down Routine

Besides brushing, adding other bedtime rituals such as washing one’s face or changing into pajamas helps in creating a routine for the activity. This is because routine makes the habit stronger and stronger.

4. Use Technology to Stay Motivated

Timers or brushing apps on electric toothbrushes can make the fun process more enjoyable and provide you brush for the recommended two minutes.

5. Choose Products You Enjoy

Buy tasty toothpaste and mouthwash: if you like the flavor, you’re much more likely to use it regularly.

What If You’ve Already Skipped a Few Nights?

If you’ve happened to miss brushing a couple of nights before bed, then don’t get worked up about it. It’s best not to skip it altogether, but here are some ways to make up for lost track:

1. Brush Thoroughly in the Morning: Do remember to brush your teeth properly, now and the following morning. Do all surfaces of all your teeth, including your tongue.

2. Floss to Remove Hidden Debris: Typically flossing removes your food particles and plaque in parts a toothbrush cannot reach.

3. Rinse with Mouthwash: You can use an antibacterial mouthwash to reduce harmful bacteria and freshen your breath.

4. Schedule a Dental Check-Up:  Have not been to the dentist in quite a while? Cleaning by a professional removes all of this tartar and checks your oral hygiene again.

The Bigger Picture: Oral Hygiene and Your Health

It is a part of comprehensive oral hygiene to brush before bedtime. To try to achieve optimum oral and dental health, one must:

• Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.

• Floss daily to remove plaque and food particles between teeth.

• Use mouthwash to kill bacteria and freshen your breath.

• Visit your dentist regularly for cleanings and check-ups.

Taking care of one’s mouth is not just about preventing cavities and gum diseases but it makes a person’s overall health and self-confidence better. To smile, eat, and speak without discomfort, a mouth that is clean and healthy needs to be maintained.

Final Thoughts

It may seem shallow at the moment to run a brush over the teeth before sleeping, and yet it would accumulate and turn into a fairly serious problem in the future. Maintaining brushing at night is just a very small but very significant step towards better health. So the next time that little voice in your head tries to convince you to forget it, remind yourself-your future self will appreciate the two minutes at the sink.