YIKES — I Forgot to Brush My Teeth!

Don’t let bad habits get in the way of good dental hygiene.

Girl brushing tooth with towel wrapped around her head

Summer is the ideal time for relaxation and vacation, but what happens when we get lazy with our daily health habits? Today, we’re diving into dental hygiene to explore what happens when we skip brushing our teeth.

“What Happens if I Don’t Brush My Teeth?”

To answer this question, we’ve made a timeline to show just how laziness impacts your oral health.

One Day:

Within 24-48 hours of not brushing your teeth, the protective material underneath your enamel (known as ‘dentin’) can start to decalcify.

By missing one day of brushing, your window of time to eliminate plaque becomes small and the chance of damaging your teeth significantly increases.

One Week:

Between three-seven days of skipping brushing habits, plaque accumulates to become much thicker and can even start to smell.

After a week, the beginning signs of gingivitis can be seen. Gums may become swollen and irritated—especially with touch or while eating—and may even bleed.

One Month:

30 days without brushing your teeth increases your risk of tooth decay almost tenfold. The harmful bacteria in your mouth will begin the process of breaking down your teeth.

Not only will there be significant gum redness and hard plaque, but white spots can start forming on the teeth. This can indicate enamel decalcification which is the first sign that teeth are deteriorating.

One Year:

What plaque looks like compared to those without

After 365 days without brushing ones teeth, saliva becomes damaging and leads to additional tooth decay. Plaque will have built up significantly and potentially cause holes in the teeth. Gums will be tender and very inflamed at the lack of attention they’ve received.

Depending on one’s age, the damage would be difficult if not impossible to reverse. Younger individuals can oftentimes fight off these negative affects after treatment while someone in their 50s may already have loosened or altogether lost teeth. No matter your age, don’t take your chances when it comes to your mouth.

Five Years:

Should you go about five years without brushing your teeth, once again, age plays a large part in what happens to your teeth. Tooth decay is inevitable no matter how young you are, but older people should be warned that even just one year can lead to severe gum disease and significant tooth loss.

At this point, seeing a dentist is of the utmost importance. Again, those who are younger may walk away with a few cavities and angry gums. However, older adults face gum disease and tooth loss among other serious problems that can arise.

At the end of the day, one basic theme remains—if you don’t take care of your teeth, they won’t take care of you!

It’s Important to Invest in Your Dental Health

There are many reasons people may forget or stop brushing their teeth—mental illness, inability to do so, poor facilities, etc.—but whatever this reason may be, you don’t have to be embarrassed! Our job is to help you keep smiling and that’s exactly what we will do. Contact us today and schedule an appointment. You’ll be glad you did.