Sugar filters into your teeth‘s biofilm and feeds S. mutans acid production. Sucrose, in particular, is a key ingredient in glucans, which reduces the flow of everything, including remineralizing saliva, through the biofilm.
Acid from food filters through your teeth’s biofilm to the enamel surface, where it starts dissolving the enamel. Acid from bacteria made locally at the enamel surface also does this.
Brushing shrinks the biofilm by about 50% on surfaces brushing can reach, which makes it more permeable and reduces acid production capacity.
Toothpaste introduces fluoride, which either gets reincorporated into enamel surface during remineralization by saliva, or forms globule deposits that get released during future acid attacks.
Fluoride needs time to incorporate into remineralization and deposit into globules. If you eat or drink in the half hour after, the increased saliva flow can wash some of it away.
Sleeping drastically reduces saliva flow. Without that remineralizing and diluting counterflow, acid builds up more and dissolves your enamel more.
The number of exposures to sugar/acid matters more than the amount of the exposure, since each acid attack only lasts 20-60 minutes while waking.
Also:
Caries form mostly in pits, fissures, and the space right above and below where teeth touch; brush bristles can’t reach in those places. Flossing targets the space between the teeth, though it can’t get certain small concave areas. Pits and fissures can only be addressed by sealants, which are administered at dentist’s offices, usually for children, but available on request.
Also, do not brush hard; do it lightly, else you can wear at the enamel and gum. Getting a soft bristled brush helps with this. Lightly brushing your gums at a 45 degree angle into the gumline can dislodge gingival bacteria also.
In conclusion:
Brush at least twice daily, once before bed, to reduce acid production capacity and increase net fluoride deposition. Floss at least once daily before bed. Try to not eat or drink for half an hour after brushing; do not rinse toothpaste out, only spit. Since you have probably not been treating your teeth well, see the dentist at least every six months, and inquire after sealants
No, it is not good enough.
The way it works is:
Sugar filters into your teeth‘s biofilm and feeds S. mutans acid production. Sucrose, in particular, is a key ingredient in glucans, which reduces the flow of everything, including remineralizing saliva, through the biofilm.
Acid from food filters through your teeth’s biofilm to the enamel surface, where it starts dissolving the enamel. Acid from bacteria made locally at the enamel surface also does this.
Brushing shrinks the biofilm by about 50% on surfaces brushing can reach, which makes it more permeable and reduces acid production capacity.
Toothpaste introduces fluoride, which either gets reincorporated into enamel surface during remineralization by saliva, or forms globule deposits that get released during future acid attacks.
Fluoride needs time to incorporate into remineralization and deposit into globules. If you eat or drink in the half hour after, the increased saliva flow can wash some of it away.
Sleeping drastically reduces saliva flow. Without that remineralizing and diluting counterflow, acid builds up more and dissolves your enamel more.
The number of exposures to sugar/acid matters more than the amount of the exposure, since each acid attack only lasts 20-60 minutes while waking.
Also:
Caries form mostly in pits, fissures, and the space right above and below where teeth touch; brush bristles can’t reach in those places. Flossing targets the space between the teeth, though it can’t get certain small concave areas. Pits and fissures can only be addressed by sealants, which are administered at dentist’s offices, usually for children, but available on request.
Also, do not brush hard; do it lightly, else you can wear at the enamel and gum. Getting a soft bristled brush helps with this. Lightly brushing your gums at a 45 degree angle into the gumline can dislodge gingival bacteria also.
In conclusion:
Brush at least twice daily, once before bed, to reduce acid production capacity and increase net fluoride deposition. Floss at least once daily before bed. Try to not eat or drink for half an hour after brushing; do not rinse toothpaste out, only spit. Since you have probably not been treating your teeth well, see the dentist at least every six months, and inquire after sealants