You may consider skipping your child’s nightly brushing routine and instead heading straight to bed after a long day. Crucial to maintaining good oral health and protecting teeth against cavities, decay, and other oral health problems is ensuring your kids are brushing their teeth every morning and every night. No matter how exhausting the day is, make sure your kids take two minutes to clean their pearly whites. Smile Reef outlines some of the reasons nightly tooth brushing is so important.
Why is it Good to Brush Teeth Before Bed?
Removing Acid from Teeth – Throughout the day and night, our mouths naturally produce acid constantly. We have a built-in defense against acid, which is saliva, fortunately. Before they have a chance to wear down the protective layer of tooth enamel, saliva neutralizes these acids and rinses them away. It is working overtime to destroy acid; saliva production is more active during the day. Saliva production slows down at night and can’t protect teeth against acid as well. You can create a layer of protection against these acids by brushing your children’s teeth at night with fluoride toothpaste.
Preventing Plaque. The yellowish sticky stuff that adheres to the teeth is plaque. You can remove plaque and limit its ability to build up over time with routine brushing and flossing. Tooth cavities, decay, and even gum disease can develop when plaque isn’t removed. Often the main cause of dental problems is plaque buildup in fact. Keeping under control can help you from seeing the dentist too often.
Brushing Away Food Debris. Generally, kids eat at least three meals a day, and sometimes a snack in between meals. This indicates there is plenty of opportunity for food debris to get left behind at the end of the day. Bacteria will feed on the food, which increases the chance of decay if they are left to fester. In order to remove food particles, stave off bacteria, and protect your teeth as you sleep by making sure the kids are brushing your teeth at night.
Which is More Important, Morning or Night Toothbrushing?
Dentists will always recommend that you brush your teeth twice a day; once in the morning and once at night. Brushing at night is actually slightly more beneficial if you absolutely need to choose between the two. Protect the teeth from cavities by sticking to a regular brushing habit at bedtime removes food, acid, and bacteria that have built up throughout the day. Make sure you take some time to brush your teeth properly before you lay your head down on your pillow to sleep. In tiny circular motions with an angle of 45-degrees, and gently scrub each section of your mouth with a soft-bristled toothbrush. To remove any plaque, bacteria, or food debris that may be hiding, it is also important that you floss in between each and every tooth.
Pediatric Dentist Care
Be certain you maintain regular appointments with your dentist in addition to brushing your teeth every night and ideally every morning. Any plaque that may have hardened into tartar and on your teeth can be removed with teeth cleanings. Call Smile Reef today to schedule your kid’s checkup in the Las Vegas Valley.