What If You Didn’t Brush Your Teeth For A Year?

Can your oral microbiome fend for itself?

No, it can’t

You be wondering: but how did we evolve, how did we manage before brushing (or by other means taking care to clean) our teeth?

And the answer is: we were lucky to live past our 30s

In reality, the mouth contains hundreds of microbial species, which can be broadly divided into beneficial commensals, which reduce inflammation, protect against harmful microbes, and neutralize acids, and harmful pathobionts, which produce tooth-damaging acids and thrive on debris; daily brushing and other other toothcare (e.g. flossing, water-flossing, or as this writer enjoys as an adjuvant oral care method, the miswak stick) help keep everything in order.

Here’s how a year without cleaning our teeth would likely go:

• First month without oral hygiene: bad breath develops within 72 hours, plaque covers most teeth by day four, and the resulting immune response causes gingivitis, with inflamed and bleeding gums; after approximately a month, acid-producing bacteria may begin breaking down enamel and causing cavities.
• Progression of gum disease: over subsequent months, harmful bacteria gain a numerical advantage, causing gums to swell and recede, creating spaces for further plaque accumulation and progressing gingivitis into periodontitis; higher sugar consumption supports acid-producing bacteria and further inhibits beneficial species.
• Permanent damage: after roughly a year, prolonged gum inflammation can trigger alveolar bone resorption, causing the jawbone to recede, weakening tooth support, and potentially resulting in permanent tooth loss.
• Effects beyond the mouth: advanced periodontitis can allow bacteria to enter the bloodstream and potentially worsen cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, diabetes, arthritis, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and malignant tumor growth, any or all of which can of course (and often do) lead to death.

So, while forgetting once or twice won’t kill you, it’s good to get back on top of things if you do go off-track!

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read our own three-part series on dental health:

• Toothpastes & Mouthwashes: Which Help And Which Harm?
• Flossing Without Flossing?
• Less Common Oral Hygiene Options ← we recommend the miswak! Not only does it clean the teeth as well as or better than traditional brushing, but also it changes the composition of saliva to improve the oral microbiome, effectively turning your saliva into a biological mouthwash that kills unwanted microbes and is comfortable for the ones that should be there.

Take care!