# Does Brushing your Teeth wear them down alot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2017, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521 "2017-06-21T09:34:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521/21 "2017-06-21T21:43:39Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Yes, thank you. > > I now accept it as true, and only wonder how big a problem it is. Since many of us have not heard of this, and still have teeth, I assume it’s a relatively minor issue. How often do you really brush your teeth right after eating something acidic? ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521/22 "2017-06-21T21:51:02Z")
Huh. Learn something new every day. ---
**Author:** ![Loyuod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@Loyuod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loyuod)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521/23 "2017-06-22T09:07:38Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Many folks brush their teeth at least twice a day, and some even do it after every meal, and most of these folks don’t end up with worn teeth when they get old. So obviously brushing alone won’t wear down your teeth. > > As was already mentioned, some folks use hard bristles and scrub way too hard, which can lead to significant wear and tear on your teeth. > > The OP may be doing more harm than good by avoiding brushing, though. Depending on what you eat, leaving food on your teeth may cause more damage to the enamel than brushing would ever cause. Bacteria in your mouth basically “eat” (as much as bacteria really eat) the sugar in your food and produce acids that erode the enamel. > > If you use a fluoride toothpaste, the fluoride will help rebuild any damaged enamel. Scientists aren’t really sure exactly how it works, but fluoride helps to remineralize your teeth and will fill in tiny cracks and holes before they turn into major problems. There are limits to what fluoride can do though, and if you have a cavity, fluoride isn’t going to enable to you fill that big of a hole in. I only avoid brushing in morning when I wake up. maybe there is bacteria starting to build up from the night & thats why a morning brush is needed? I always thought it was so your breath didn’t smell. After every meal I rinse my mouth out with water a few times depending on what I ate. Not sure if this is bad given the water gargles around fast & could wear down your teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521/24 "2017-06-22T10:27:43Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > USE A SOFT BRISTLE TOOTHBRUSH > > Pepper Mill is, among her many talents, a Certified Dental Assistant, and this is one thing she is adamant about. There’s no excuse for using a medium or hard bristled brush, unless you’re cleaning out some non-dental filigree or applying shoe polish. Using a harder bristle can abrade enamel (as you fear) or your gums (as already pointed out) > > [http://www.advanceddentalcareofaustin.com/dentists-recommend-soft-toothbrushes/](http://www.advanceddentalcareofaustin.com/dentists-recommend-soft-toothbrushes/) This indicates manufacturers should not be _allowed_ \* to sell harder brushes generally; and that they only be available from dentists after consultation. - Yeah, a million libertarian freeper goldnut prepper websites would arise claiming a Rockefeller Globalist conspiracy to take away our right to hard toothbrushes. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521/25 "2017-06-22T11:07:40Z")
know a guy who had gum problems from brushing too much. He had to get work done on his gums ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521/26 "2017-06-22T13:11:10Z")
> [@Loyuod](#): > > After every meal I rinse my mouth out with water a few times depending on what I ate. > > Not sure if this is bad given the water gargles around fast & could wear down your teeth. WTF is in your water? Acid? I’m inclined to NOT take this seriously, but on the off chance it is - water is NOT going to “wear down your teeth”. Your mouth is not the Grand Canyon, for starters, it’s not nearly that old. Water isn’t going to wear down your teeth, you might as well give up eating because the food you consume is far more abrasive than water. As noted, it’s not so much abrasion that screws up teeth it’s the acids excreted from bacteria munching on food leftovers in your mouth. And that’s the purpose of brushing and flossing, to remove those bits so the bacteria don’t shit acid into your mouth. The water rinses you do will also help with that, so that’s a positive. Have you ever talked to a real dentist about these concerns? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521/27 "2017-06-22T13:33:25Z")
Do people really even need to be told not to brush right after drinking orange juice? Quite aside from the risk of damage, doing so makes the toothpaste taste terrible. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521/28 "2017-06-22T13:52:42Z")
> [@femmejean](#): > > Don’t forget the factor of genetics which would sentence you to a life of yellow and weaker, cavity ridden but not rotting or decaying teeth like some do (me included). > > I heard that a lot of kids and teens get cavities not just because of poor brushing habits but enamel formation that’s inherited from parents. On the other side, there are kids and teens who I know that consume Coca-Cola (soft drink and drug :D) along with other sugar loaded energy drinks combined with sweets and have white teeth with only one or two cavities on their molars since their birth. > > I think fluoride makes a difference so even if you live in a country which doesn’t fluoridate tap water, you can get toothpastes from your dentist. Just remember not to brush immediately after eating as that can make teeth exposed. I can see this in my own family. My father and I are cavity prone, and so was my maternal grandmother. On the ER hand, my maternal grandfather had 3 cavities total in his 83 years, my mom has had slightly more, and my brother as had 2-3 at nearly 38. And he’s always been less diligent about brushing and flossing than me. :mad: Genetic tooth composition and mouth environment have a lot to do with it, although you can offset it significantly by being super diligent with the brushing and flossing. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brushing-your-teeth-wear-them-down-alot/789521.md?page=1)