Why Do Your Teeth Still Feel Sore Even If You Brush Every Single Day

We uncover the unnoticed tiny daily habits that ruin your teeth despite regular brushing, and share super easy practical tips to keep your oral health in perfect shape.

If you have ever dragged yourself out of bed at 2 a.m. with a throbbing toothache that stops you from finishing the last bite of your favorite ice cream, you will definitely relate to this frustration. Millions of people brush their teeth twice a day as recommended, never skip the morning and night brushing sessions, buy the most popular fluoride toothpaste on the market, and still find new cavities when they show up for a regular dental checkup. Most of them immediately blame their bad genetics for weak tooth enamel, without realizing that 90 percent of oral problems actually come from those tiny unnoticeable habits that they have stuck to for years. For example, a huge number of people chug a glass of orange juice right after they finish brushing their teeth in the morning, without knowing that the mild active ingredients in toothpaste leave the tooth enamel surface in a temporary soft state right after brushing, and the high citric acid in the juice will directly erode the protective outer layer of your teeth far faster than you can imagine. A lot of people even develop a habit of sipping soda while working for hours continuously, the sugar and acid in the carbonated drink will stay in the gaps between your teeth the whole time you are working, and the constant erosion will leave tiny invisible pits on your enamel within just a few weeks that will turn into obvious yellow stains or small cavities very soon.

A surprisingly large portion of people have been making the same mistake when choosing their toothbrush: they pick hard bristle products under the impression that harder bristles can scrape off food residue more thoroughly and give them a cleaner feeling. This is one of the most common misunderstandings in daily dental care, as the hard bristles will scratch your gum line little by little every time you brush, and lead to gum recession that can never be reversed once it happens. When your gums pull back to expose the fragile root part of the tooth that has no enamel protection, even a sip of iced water will send a sharp tingling pain through your mouth. Many people also scrub their teeth as hard as if they are polishing a rusty metal pan, applying far more pressure than their teeth can handle. Adult tooth enamel is a non-renewable tissue that cannot grow back once it is worn down, and aggressive over-brushing will wear tiny notches on the side of your teeth near the gum line, that will gradually get bigger and eventually lead to severe sensitivity or even cracked teeth. The average actual brushing time for most people is less than 45 seconds, far below the minimum two minutes recommended by dentists, as they usually stop once the toothpaste foams up, leaving tiny food bits stuck between molars and near the gum line, which ferment and produce acid all through the night to eat away at your tooth surface.

You have probably heard that you should brush your teeth right after meals to keep them clean, but this widely spread tip is actually doing more harm than good for your teeth. After you finish a meal that includes acidic food, sour fruits, hot pot with vinegar or soft drinks, the pH level inside your mouth drops immediately, making your tooth enamel temporarily soft. If you brush your teeth right at this moment, you will directly scrub off the softened enamel layer, which causes permanent damage over time. The correct move is to rinse your mouth with plain clean water after the meal, swish the water around for 10 to 15 seconds to wash away most of the loose food residue, and wait for at least 30 minutes for your mouth to restore the normal pH level before you start brushing. Another common misconception is that using dental floss for a long time will widen the gaps between your teeth, which is completely untrue. The space you feel after you use floss for the first time is the gap that was previously stuffed with hidden tartar and food residue you failed to remove for years, not new space created by the floss. Getting used to flossing once every night before brushing can clear out 90 percent of the residue that regular toothbrushes can never reach, and prevent most inter-tooth cavities that are almost impossible to spot at the early stage. You also do not need to use those high concentration whitening strips every day to chase a ridiculously bright white tooth shade, as excessive bleaching ingredients will erode the enamel and make your teeth much more likely to get stained by coffee or tea soon after.

You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars buying fancy imported dental care products to maintain good oral health, as a few tiny adjustments to your daily routine can bring you far better results. After you finish a bottle of carbonated drink or a cup of sour lemon tea, do not swish the drink around your whole mouth for fun, and rinse your mouth with plain water as soon as possible to wash off the acidic substance from your tooth surface. After you finish brushing, do not put your toothbrush head down in the sealed toothbrush cup, the damp dark environment will breed millions of bacteria on the bristle surface within 24 hours, and those bacteria will get into your mouth the next time you brush. You should leave the toothbrush in an open place with good ventilation, and replace it with a new one at least every three months, even if the bristles look completely intact. These small trivial changes take less than 10 extra minutes every day, but they can save you from the sharp pain of dental drilling, the high cost of fillings and root canal treatment, and keep all of your 32 teeth strong and healthy well into your old age. Good dental care never requires complicated expensive procedures, it is all about those tiny consistent little habits that you stick to every single day.