Dentist shares the bad brushing habit which is wrecking your teeth

With the potential for Weetabix or toast crumbs to hang about in your mouth after breakfast, it can be tempting to head for the bathroom and brush away the remnants from your pearly whites, but one dentist has warned that doing so is a good way of wearing down your teeth.

Dr Shaadi Manouchehri, a dentist at Smart Dental and Aesthetics in Marylebone, London who has more than 100,000 on Instagram, shared three occasions where you shouldn’t brush your teeth to her account in a recent video.

In the clip, she said: “You should never brush after you’ve just vomited. This is because the contents of the stomach are extremely acidic, and the mouth is in a very acidic state, so if you brush straight after, you’re basically wearing away your enamel.

“You should never brush straight after breakfast, this is because when you have just eaten, the mouth is in a very acidic state, so if you brush your teeth, you’re rubbing that acid on the tooth, which is a mineral, and you can wear it down.

“Don’t brush your teeth after you’ve just had sweets. Wait at least 60 minutes. This is because when you’ve just eaten sweets, the mouth has digested it into an acid, and that acid is going to get rubbed on your teeth and destroy your enamel.”

In another video, Dr Manouchehri explained that people should be brushing their teeth “first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat”, and that another bad habit is using mouthwash after brushing.

“You need to leave that fluoride layer over the teeth to protect your teeth, leaving them physically stronger for the morning and fighting off the bacteria that cause cavities,” she said.

Obviously when it comes to sweets, we’re allowed to treat ourselves every once in a while, but another dentist – Dr Nyree Whitley of mydentist - has shared the signs which suggest you’re having far too much sugar.

These include increased tooth sensitivity, spots on the teeth and toothaches.

And let’s be honest, we could all do with ‘brushing’ up on our dental hygiene in some way (sorry).

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