There’s a Right Time to Brush and a Wrong Time to Brush

It's true - there's  a right time to brush your teeth, and there's also a wrong time to brush. You may be surprised to learn when the wrong time is to give your teeth a scrub.

I take some pride in my dental hygiene - no cavities in over a decade. I feel only partially responsible for my success. I think you have to be a little lucky as well, and genetics certainly can play a role in the health condition of your teeth. But, despite the success, I just learned that there's a right and a wrong time to brush.

According to an article from Healthy Living on yahoo.com, brushing your teeth immediately after eating or drinking soda may actually be doing you more harm than good. The article says you should wait about 30 minutes before brushing in order to give your saliva a chance to neutralize the acids and remineralize the enamel. Otherwise, you are simply scratching that acid into a slightly softened enamel, which in turn can speed up the erosion process.

So maybe you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but the old dog would be wise to heed some good dental advice so that when he really gets old, just maybe he will still have his own teeth.