Listen to Your Dentist When They Recommend Wisdom Teeth Extraction

When you were a child and were sick with the flu, there's a good chance that your parents compelled you to brush your teeth promptly after throwing up. They likely made this suggestion based on the logic that your stomach acid was harmful to your teeth and that brushing would eliminate this harsh substance from your mouth. Your parents meant well, but their logic was a little flawed. While it's true that the acidity of stomach acid is detrimental to your tooth enamel, brushing immediately after throwing up is a bad idea. This is because you're essentially distributing the acid around your mouth and even grinding it into your teeth. Instead, rinsing is your best approach. Here are three safe methods.

Rinse With Water

At the very least, you should rinse your mouth out with water after you've vomited. Doing so is easy, because regardless of where you find yourself when a wave of nausea comes over you, access to water is likely. A slight amount of water in your mouth, swished around thoroughly and then spit into the sink or even on the ground if you're outside, is enough to remove a considerable percentage of the acid that your vomiting has brought from your stomach into your mouth. Additionally, if you still feel queasy, the non-taste of water won't further nauseate you.

Rinse With Saltwater

If you're able to mix some salt into warm water, rinsing with this combination is a good practice to adopt after you've been ill. Obviously, you'll need to be somewhere in which you have access to salt and a method of warming water, but if you're in such an environment, you'll appreciate the ability of saltwater to cleanse your mouth not only of the acid that is present, but also of the unhealthy bacteria that is present in your mouth much of the time.

Rinse With Mouthwash

The sharp flavor of mouthwash might not be appealing if you've just thrown up and still feel a little queasy, but there's no disputing this product's ability to clean your mouth. If you're sick at home, you may have mouthwash handy. Even if you're traveling, you may have a travel-sized bottle of mouthwash in your toiletries kit. Whatever the case, you'll be able to remove the traces of stomach acid from your mouth without harming your teeth by brushing prematurely. For more information about post-throwing up oral care, consult your dentist or dental hygienist.