I’ve always used cold water to brush my teeth. I’d never thought of doing it any differently until my new girlfriend started telling me that I should use hot water. Huh? She says it’s better for my teeth. I said, well, I don’t understand why because the water itself can’t be any colder than a nice cold Heineken. She said, well, maybe you shouldn’t drink so many Heineken’s either. :eek: So, to fend her off, I agreed to brush my teeth using hot water.
But, I find cold water more refreshing and I know from Cecil’s column that it doesn’t make any difference for handsoap if the water is hot or cold, so I’m inferring that it is exactly the same concept for toothpaste.
Anyway, she agreed to at least “listen” to what the SDMB has to say. So, please, (start humming that song from “Top Gun”) I’ve lost that refreshing feeling…
Where does your hot water come from - do you have a water tank in your attic/loft/roof? in houses, this is where the water that goes into the hot water system is held - the water tank is usually in the attic and is uncoveres so all sorts of dust and insects and rodents etc can end up in there, not to mention the glass fibre insulation that is in most attics.
the cold water supply is usually from the water main although in more modern houses, all water upstainr is fed from the water tank.
Anyway you don’t really want that sort of water in your mouth. so wash your teeth with cold water from the mains supply. - or live on the edge a little and use the hot water.
I’ve always been told to avoid hot water for cooking and drinking because it will tend to have more minerals and heavy metals dissolved in it. I guess you don’t swallow much of it when brushing your teeth, though.
Pergau: You must have an ancient, ancient hot water heating system. Man, if I start telling her that there are insects and rodents in the hot water, I’d better buy an extra blanket 'cause she wouldn’t be staying at my place anymore…
Seriously, the water is heated by gas - straight from the cold water pipe, no water heater storage tank to speak of. The water is clean too, we live in Paris and the city water is some of the freshest in the world.
I use lukewarm water to rinse with because my teeth are sensative to cold. What I use to wet the brush is what’s running while I wait for the warm water to arrive.
If your hot water heater is old (probably from 70s or earlier, don’t know for sure), there’s a good chance that it contains lead. Lead is far more likely to leach into hot water than cold, so unless you’re sure that there’s no lead in your plumbing system, you’re probably best off avoiding hot water for (as someone mentioned previously) drinking and cooking.
Indeed, your dentist will tell you that softer bristles are better for your teeth. Medium or hard bristles, they maintain, should never be used except for removing mildew from grout and similar operations. The enamel on your teeth is hard, but after years of using hard bristles, it will start to wear off.
As to hot vs. cold, though, I think it generally depends on your sensitivities. I’m sensitive to cold water, so I use warm water to brush.
I’m guessing that Pergau is from England, where attic cisterns are fairly common (required by law, even?). In the U. S., though, water heaters are typically a closed tank, and usually kept in the basement.
Actually I’m from Ireland, and can prove this by refering Dopers to my nose which is is clearly visible in one of the photos from the DubDopefest.
Every house, as apart from Flats or Apartments has an attic tank which is open to the elements, or worse. This feeds the hot water supply and toilet cisterns etc. We had a problem with rats from a building site next to us once and the instructions on the rat poison I bought warned that it was vital to cover your water tank as the poison (warfrain) made the rats thirsty and that they often went to water tanks to drink and could fall in.
I stopped washing my teeth with hot water after I read that!
Re softening toothbrushes, the bristles are commonly made from Nylon66, which absorbs water slowly and then softens and bends out of shape. If you dry your toothbrush after use, this is less likely to happer - although you should replace it regularly anyway.
A bit of trivia is that when Dupont had the patent for Nylon, they had patented every possible process for mixing chemicals together, that would react to make Nylon - even some methods that were insanely expensive. This was supposed to be one of the most watertight patents ever. Until someone wioth a forgettable name invented a chemical which could be catalysed into changing into a plastic very like Nylon (Nylon66). Once there were competing methods for production, the patent was effectively broken and costs fell but it turned out that Nylon66 was very water resistant and so was used for making Toothbrushes.
She says it’s better for my teeth. I said, well, I don’t understand why because the water itself can’t be any colder than a nice cold Heineken. She said, well, maybe you shouldn’t drink so many Heineken’s either. :eek: So, to fend her off, I agreed to brush my teeth using hot water.
So, please, (start humming that song from “Top Gun”) I’ve lost that refreshing feeling…