Brushing teeth

Some people think brushing teeth is about removing food particles from your mouth. But this is wrong, because because it is not the food itself that damages teeth, but the process of the bacteria feeding off the food, and this feeding lasts only until a few minutes after you eat, so by the time you brush your teeth it will be too late to prevent this.

The real reason for brushing teeth is to remove plaque (bacteria) from the teeth, so that next time you eat there will be less bacteria to feed off the food you eat. This means brushing your teeth after breakfast is pointless. You must brush your teeth before breakfast. Also, brush the back of the tongue since there is bacteria there. And after brushing you must rinse with water and spit it out.

Also, since the means of removing bacteria is mechanical, this means toothpaste is almost useless. Perhaps it has a lubricating effect like soap does, so that bacteria can more freely separate from your teeth - I have not looked into this. But fluoride does not do anything to protect teeth, at least in adults. Xylitol has been shown to kill bacteria, however, so it may be worthwhile to chew xylitol gum.