Dentist info

I went to the dentist yesterday and he told me two factoids that I didn't know already.

1. the bacteria in your mouth that cause tooth decay live a somewhat independent existence to the presence of food in your mouth. So when you brush your tooth you aren't really doing it to remove food from your teeth, you're brushing to remove the bacteria (plaque).

2. the bacteria only release acid that damages your teeth when you eat sugar and they release the same amount of acid even with very low amounts of sugar. So you want to avoid repeated exposures, but if you have a lot of sugar at once it is no worse, for your teeth, than a small amount of sugar.

So it is actually better for you teeth to brush them before meals, and to avoid snacking on stuff with sugar in it. I will be brushing my teeth when I get up in the morning from now on.