Dentist Explains The Three Times You Should 'Never' Brush Your Teeth—And People Are Divided

Bristle toothbrushes vs. Electric toothbrushes. Crest vs. Colgate. Red brushes vs. Purple brushes.

Toothbrushing is one of those hygienic tasks we all have to complete, and while it may seem simple, it's always remained a steady source of debate.

Dr. Shaadi Manouchehri, a dentist on Instagram, for example, came forward with a few brushing no-nos that left fellow Instagrammers divided.

Though dentists will always advocate for their patients brushing their teeth, Dr. Manouchehri pointed out three specific times that they shouldn't.

The first time is unfortunately the exact time we would like to cleanse our mouths.

"Never brush your teeth after you've just vomited."

"This is probably all you wanna do after you've vomited, but actually the contents of the stomach are extremely acidic, and your teeth are made of minerals."

"So when the contents of the stomach have come up into the mouth, then the mouth is very acidic, and if you brush your teeth straight away, you'll be rubbing acid onto the tooth even more."

"Wait at least 30 to 60 minutes before you brush your teeth. What you can do instead is rinse out your mouth with some mouthwash to begin with and drink some water, just to help neutralize the acid quicker."

The second time is more than likely one we've all been guilty of at some point.

"Never brush your teeth after you've just had coffee."

"Coffee is quite acidic, especially if you add milk and sugar. That can make the acidity even worse."

"This is the exact same concept as before: If you go and brush your teeth straight away, you'll be rubbing acid onto the tooth and wearing the tooth away. Wait at least 30 to 60 minutes."

"You don't actually have to brush your teeth, either. Just rinse out with some mouthwash or drink water."

The third time might be something that some people could never imagine.

"Don't brush your teeth after breakfast."

"Brush them beforehand, because if you brush straight away, you're going to be damaging your enamel."

"And actually, when you first get up in the morning, you have quite a lot of bacteria in your mouth, and that needs to be brushed out before you have your breakfast anyway."

You can watch the video below:

The Instacommunity found themselves divided over this dentist's earnest advice, with many feeling either dumbfounded or cynical.

There were of course those who wondered how they had never been taught this in their entire lives.

Some criticized the advice, stating that they could never brush their teeth before eating breakfast.

Others were similarly critical of the dentist's comments about what was being put into coffee.

Some also questioned the dentist's methods because of her repeated recommendations to use mouthwash.

Brushing our teeth seems like such a simple activity, but from how long to brush, to when to brush, and when not to brush, it seems there are ways for us to mess up even this basic task!

But we shouldn't fret. Though this advice is here to help, it's important to remember that any toothbrushing is helpful.

Even if we're not the perfect brushers or could floss more or could choose a better time of day to brush, the fact that we're caring for our teeth is better than if we never did at all.