Dr. Shaadi Manouchehri, works as a cosmetic dentist at Dr Karishma Aesthetics, London. Her video has gone viral on TikTok with over 12 million views. She has highlighted three situations where brushing might actually be harmful.
According to her, the outermost layer on your teeth can be “worn away” by the stomach’s acidic contents if you brush right after vomiting.
Enamel is the calcium covering of the tooth surface; it can wear off with acid. So, after vomiting, you should ideally wait for the acidic pH to get neutral, which generally takes 30 to 45 minutes.Dr Nisha Thakkar, Cosmetic Dentist (Dr Karishma Aesthetics)
Some viewers expressed concerns about her statement, with one user commenting, “I would rather lose all of my teeth than not brush after vomiting!”
Another user came up with, “Apparently idk (I don’t know) when to brush.”
Dr. Niyati Arora said that the worst time to brush the teeth is right after the consumption of acidic things.
Dr Thakkar agrees with Dr Arora on waiting for 30-45 mins before brushing your teeth after vomiting.
Vomit consists of undigested food along with the acids that are produced by our stomach which helps to digest the food. This makes it acidic in nature. Once we vomit, the ambiance in our mouth and throat becomes acidic. This acidic environment weakens our enamel — which is the outer mineralized structure of the tooth. If we brush at this time, one thing that can happen is that the enamel can abrade away easily as it is already in a weakened state and we end up rubbing the acid of our mouth on all our teeth, exposing even more surfaces of teeth to acid and worsening the situation.Dr. Niyati Arora BDS, MDS (Prosthodontist), Krown Hub Dental Clinic (Pitampura)
Dr. Arora highlighted the importance of the saliva role. Saliva is antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. It helps in digestion and mineralization as well. The bicarbonate buffer in saliva maintain the pH of saliva between 5.7 and 6.2.
Meanwhile, she recommended that we do certain things to neutralize the ill effects of acid. “These would include swishing the mouth with normal drinking water, consuming dairy products and more green vegetables that can help keep the saliva balanced and acids under control.”
She also mentioned that there is no specific process to increase salivation in the mouth except for drinking water, moisturizing the lips, and breathing through the nose.
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/Dr. Pragati Priya/MSM)