What Happens When You Don’t Brush Your Teeth Before Bed?
Like almost every other part of the human body, our mouths harbor a hell of a lot of bacteria. That’s completely normal and we certainly don’t need to get rid of all of them. However, every time you eat and drink any food or beverage, you will also feed the bacteria in your mouth. The solution is certainly not to eat and drink less, but to practice better oral hygiene. When oral bacteria feed on the residue in your mouth, they also generate waste matter that is highly acidic, causing damage and deterioration of tooth enamel. This eventually results in tooth decay and cavities.
Dental Plaque
Failing to brush your teeth at night and after meals, allows bacterial populations to explode and results in a buildup of plaque, which is basically a film containing bacteria. Yes, this means that those pearly whites will appear increasingly yellow, ruining those precious selfies. Skipping out on your nighttime dental hygiene routine will result in hardening and calcification of plaque, which then makes it impossible to remove without a visit to the dentist.Gum Disease
Plaque on your teeth isn’t the end of your problems however. It’s just the beginning. As plaque keeps accumulating, your immune system starts to fight back, but it backfires. As it attacks plaque, it actually starts to damage healthy gum tissue that holds the teeth in place. As a result you will start to suffer from receding gums with gaps at the base of the teeth – it’s really not pretty!Complications From Chronic Gum Inflammation
Inflammation is a normal immune response and it means that your body’s natural defense are in good working order. Unfortunately, when your gums get inflamed fighting bacteria, and remain in this state for a prolonged period it causes long term damage. It basically means that you have chronic inflammation, as your oral tissue does not get any respite from the inflammation. Chronic inflammation of the gums has even been linked with other health conditions like erectile dysfunction, heart disease, hearing loss, and dementia.
These ill effects don’t surface overnight, so forgetting to brush your teeth before curling up in bed occasionally will not kill you! Just make sure that you take oral hygiene a lot more seriously and make it a point to brush before going to bed. Instead, if you really want to save time, chuck out the dental floss because it really doesn’t help at all!
Credit: #thehealthorange
