Wouldn't Brushing After Every Meal Wear out the Teeth Enamel?

No not at all if done properly and with the correct brush with soft bristles good luck

 

Kevin Coughlin DMD, MBA, MAGD    CEO Baystate Dental PC

Hi Rina

Brushing and flossing your teeth after every meal should be a must!  Enamel is one of the hardest structures in your body.  Brushing your teeth will not wear out enamel. It is possible to damages the delicate gum tissue around the gumline where the tooth and gum meet. Make sure you use a soft bristle brush and always try to floss after every meal. You will have good oral health and less decay!  Brush away!

The bristles of a normal brush or the normal toothpaste are not abrasive enough.  However, if you soaked your teeth in something acidic, waiting 20 minutes may be a good idea, but even then we are talking "maybe" a couple microns.  What is commonly called toothbrush abrasion is incorrect, it is usually a bite issue.  Even trained dentists get this wrong.

 If you are waiting an hour, that is still better than most.  You don't need to wait, but it doesn't hurt.What you MAY be referring to is the situation after an acidic event.  Like when sick, if one vomits, the stomach acid softens the enamel.  The taste is terrible and one is inclined to brush in order to remove the taste.  However, this CAN remove some microns of enamel.  Once or twice is not a big deal, but a bulimic, a person that purges several times per day, will have significant damage to their teeth, both in the erosion from the stomach acid and the brushing away.