# Do you brush your teeth to start the day? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033 "2018-12-13T03:19:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/41 "2018-12-15T01:55:00Z")
Yes. Pretty much. Pee Shave (occasionally) Shower Brush teeth Deodorant Dressed I don’t eat breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/42 "2018-12-15T06:33:33Z")
Aw hell no. I pay good money for decent coffee, and minty fresh breath would ruin it. Maybe if there was a toothpaste flavor that doesn’t clash with coffee, but I don’t know of any. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/43 "2018-12-15T09:19:07Z")
I like my food to taste good. Maybe this is why a lot of people say they don’t like eating breakfast? In addition to the food they are tasting all that mouth gunk, gross. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/44 "2018-12-15T10:14:43Z")
I brush very carefully before bed. I don’t usually bother in the morning. If my mouth tastes bad, or if I’m going to the dentist, I brush in the morning, but both are rare. Toothpaste makes food taste bad, so I don’t like to brush within an hour or so of when i plan to eat. I do clean my teeth with my tongue from time to time, including the morning. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/45 "2018-12-15T13:45:35Z")
Well, the SD is again fighting ignorance : I had no idea people brushed their teeth _before_ breakfast, let alone so many. I find it puzzling : do you brush them again after breakfast or do you just go to work with pieces of food between your teeth ? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/46 "2018-12-15T14:00:19Z")
**Bedtime** : 1. Eye drops 2. Vitamins 3. Floss 4. Micturation **Overnight** : 1. Micturation 2. Micturation **Morning** : 1. Eye drops 2. Micturation 3. Coffee 4. Shower 5. Brush teeth 6. Get dressed (avoids getting toothpaste on clothes) 7. Drink more coffee at work, thereby spoiling earlier brushing (very rarely eat breakfast) mmm ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/47 "2018-12-15T14:44:25Z")
What a surprise! People brush and then have coffee or breakfast? I brush after coffee and, sometimes, breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/48 "2018-12-15T14:57:53Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > Well, the SD is again fighting ignorance : I had no idea people brushed their teeth _before_ breakfast, let alone so many. I find it puzzling : do you brush them again after breakfast or do you just go to work with pieces of food between your teeth ? Do you brush every time you eat? Do you usually end a meal with bits of food between your teeth? I find my tongue, toothpicks, and fingernails and sometimes a knotted bit of floss work better for removing large bits of food from between my teeth than does a toothbrush. The toothbrush is mainly to keep down the level of plaque. It’s very good at scraping away the film that can form, and just at lowering the overall level of bacterial gunk stuck to my teeth. But if I have a lot of big bits I like to remove them with my tongue prior to brushing, otherwise the brush gets gross too fast. Having just had breakfast, I am cleaning my teeth with my tongue as I type this. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/49 "2018-12-15T15:01:24Z")
I don’t eat or drink anything until after I get to work so brushing my teeth in the morning is one of the first things I do. That’s on a work day. I don’t really have a set routine when I’m off. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/50 "2018-12-15T15:09:14Z")
My mouth isn’t all that gross in the morning, so I have breakfast and then brush right before I leave the house. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/51 "2018-12-15T16:22:04Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > Well, the SD is again fighting ignorance : I had no idea people brushed their teeth _before_ breakfast, let alone so many. I find it puzzling : do you brush them again after breakfast or do you just go to work with pieces of food between your teeth ? Do you brush your teeth after lunch? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/52 "2018-12-15T18:32:11Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > Well, the SD is again fighting ignorance : I had no idea people brushed their teeth _before_ breakfast, let alone so many. I find it puzzling : do you brush them again after breakfast or do you just go to work with pieces of food between your teeth ? Just rinse or mouthwash. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/53 "2018-12-15T19:02:54Z")
I had no idea that half the people don’t brush their teeth in the morning. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/54 "2018-12-15T20:26:14Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Do you brush every time you eat? No. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Do you usually end a meal with bits of food between your teeth? Yes, quite often actually. Not huge chunks, of course but small, somewhat noticeable bits. I didn’t mean to sound snarky, by the way. I was just genuinely surprised with the idea of brushing one’s teeth right before getting them dirty again. To each their own ;). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/55 "2018-12-15T20:40:15Z")
It’s a shame people don’t have a relationship with another species similar to that shared by crocodiles and the Egyptian plover. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033/56 "2018-12-16T00:25:59Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I had no idea that half the people don’t brush their teeth in the morning. Yuck. I think everyone does, it’s mainly a question if the brushing take place the very first thing or if it takes place after coffee and/or breakfast. I started the poll because I saw so many of the, ‘Day in the life of’ type YouTube videos where they’d brush their teeth immediately upon wake up which I found odd. In college, it made sense because we had to leave the dorm to go to the dining area. But, it seemed odd to me to brush your teeth and then make coffee and/or food. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-brush-your-teeth-to-start-the-day/826033.md?page=2)