The Morning Toothbrush!
How many of us hate our gooey mouths and brush our teeth first thing in the morning? Many, I am sure. Last night, during a chat, Deepak told me that he had just woken up, brushed his teeth and had his chai. My immediate response was to ask him why he hadn’t had his chai first and then brushed his teeth? To this he asked me, quite surprised, if I had my chai before brushing my teeth. My answer: yes!
Most of us, as a part of growing up, are taught to brush our teeth as soon as we wake up. Why? Have you ever asked yourselves? It is pretty obvious, y0u might say. The mouth smells bad due to all the bacterial action from the night before and the teeth need to be cleaned for a fresh mouth first thing in the morning. True I say, but does it make sense to clean our mouths first thing in the morning and then immediately proceed to have breakfast, thus reinviting all the bacteria that we had just brushed away?
If the point of brushing was to have a fresh breath and removal of foul smell, then any mouthwash would do. However, the point of brushing, as I see it, is to clean the mouth completely - to free our teeth from food particles, plaque, and bacteria to maintain a healthy oral environment. So if that is the point of brushing, what is the point of eating breakfast right after that morning brush?
All my life I grew up with this routine - wake up, brush, chai/bournvita, a little breakfast and off to school. Kids nowadays also brush their teeth at night. Great! However, after studying and pursuing dental hygiene, and after several debates on when to brush in the morning, I have started advising patients, friends, and family to brush after breakfast. I would like to present my argument here!
Our mouth has a dynamic environment and harbours more bacteria, good and bad, than you can ever think of. Eating different kinds of food constantly change the acidity in our mouths and as food gets trapped in between our teeth, it invites bacteria to settle there and multiply. Sugars produce an acidic coating over our teeth which make the enamel of our teeth susceptible to decay. After food is trapped for a few hours, it turns into the white sticky goo that you see in the morning called plaque. Foul smell also sometimes arises from the plaque staying put in the same place for longer periods of time. The tongue constantly cleanses our mouth but we also produce saliva which can be both good and bad. Good because when we talk and chew, saliva acts as a self cleanser. Bad because when we are asleep, this still saliva acts as a sort of glue for the plaque to stick even harder on our teeth - to put it simply. To keep our teeth and gums healthy and free of such decay and disease causing bacteria, it thus becomes imperative to keep our teeth free from such food debris, especially those that get stuck in the tiny spaces in between our teeth. How do we do it? Brush and floss.
We eat different meals throughout the day. Imagine the amount of acid and sugar production going on in our mouths the whole day - undisturbed till we brush at night. For some of us, till we brush the next morning. We wake up the next morning and brush to disrupt the little colonies that they have formed. Then we have breakfast. And then we proceed through the whole day eating - not worrying about the mini-party these bacteria are having in our mouths.
If you feel the strong urge to brush right after you wake up because you cannot stand the gooey feeling, then do a quick rinse with water. However, brush only after you have had your breakfast. Imagine cleaning your teeth and then sticking those bread crumbs, or paratha, or bagels, or omlette, or even the sugars in your chai in between your teeth. What a nice layer of fodder for bacteria! Brushing after this morning tea or breakfast will ensure that your teeth remain clean and free of food, thus less fodder for bacteria to multiply. As simple as that!
I remember telling little kids that if they did not brush at night, the germs will attack the food from the whole day and have a party in their mouth throughout the night. Sleeping with a clean mouth ensures that bacteria that now have a still environment without all the tongue and saliva movement do not get much fodder to multiply. So brushing at night is also important. But if you MUST brush only once a day then after breakfast is the way to go.
Moreover, brushing after breakfast ensures that the fluoride and therapeutic substances in your toothpaste have a clean sugar free enviroment to act on - atleast till lunch time 
If you do not see light in this little argument do attack me with questions. While I am not a licensed dental professional yet, and this might not be expert advise - I do believe in educating the public! If ya know whats going on in your mouth, you will be in a better position to make an informed decision about when to brush your teeth! If this was confusing as heck or if you have a better argument against brushing teeth after breakfast do let me know - I will check my facts up.
Here is to healthy teeth. My crowning glory - B and my little brother cannot go to bed without brushing their teeth at night anymore. B who laughed at me when I first asked him to brush after breakfast, now cannot leave the house without brushing after breakfast Needless to say, I too brush after the morning tea and bread-butter