Dr. Seb Lomas: Why Your Morning and Evening Oral Routines Should Differ

Most of us approach oral care with a simple formula: brush your teeth twice a day, morning and night.

But according to Biological Dentist and BON CHARGE’S Scientific Advisory Board member, Dr. Seb Lomas, the mouth isn't the same environment at 7am as it is at 10pm.

“Your morning and evening oral care routines should be different because the environment in your mouth is different,” Dr. Seb explains.

What happens to your mouth while you sleep?

During sleep, saliva flow naturally decreases. Saliva plays an important role in keeping the mouth lubricated, helping to clear food particles and contributing minerals that support the teeth.

If you also breathe through your mouth during the night, the mouth can become drier.

And for people who clench or grind their teeth, the overnight period can place additional mechanical stress on the teeth and surrounding tissues.

That makes the evening routine about more than simply fresh breath.

The aim is to go to bed with the mouth as clean as possible, removing plaque and debris that would otherwise remain against the teeth for hours.

PM: Clean before your sleep

By the end of the day, your mouth has had hours of exposure to food, drinks and bacteria. The evening routine is your opportunity to clear away that build-up before several hours of reduced saliva flow overnight.

“The aim of brushing is disrupting the microbiome, the biofilm, and all those things,” Dr. Seb adds.

1. Start between the teeth

“At night time, brushing in between the teeth is really important,” Dr. Seb recommends. Use floss, interdental brushes or another interdental cleaner suited to your mouth.

The best option depends on the spaces between your teeth and your individual dental health, so your dentist or hygienist can help you choose the right tool.

2. Brush your teeth

Brush gently for around two minutes with toothpaste. Dr. Seb favours a natural toothpaste, particularly formulas containing hydroxyapatite, which provides calcium and phosphate - the minerals that make up tooth enamel.

3. Rinse, then reapply

Dr. Seb takes a different approach to conventional advice. After brushing, he rinses his mouth before applying a small amount of fresh toothpaste to the teeth.

He explains why: “So then it's clean toothpaste [in your mouth], not dirty toothpaste that you’ve been brushing around your teeth.”

His reasoning is that rinsing clears away what has just been removed during brushing, before leaving fresh toothpaste on the teeth to support remineralisation.

Standard guidance recommends spitting out excess toothpaste without rinsing, allowing fluoride to remain on the teeth for longer.

Read More: Dr. Seb Lomas: Could Your Mouth Be Affecting Your Sleep?

AM: Reset and rebalance

1. Hydrate

For Dr. Seb, the morning routine starts with hydration.

“Drink 500ml of water straight away,” he says. “You're hydrating the body, hydrating the mouth.” Saliva plays an important role in oral health, helping to lubricate the mouth, clear debris and provide minerals that support remineralisation. We produce around 500ml of saliva throughout the day, but saliva flow naturally decreases during sleep.

2. Tongue scraping

From there, he recommends cleaning the tongue to remove the build-up that accumulates overnight. “You're basically rebalancing the microbiome,” Dr. Seb adds.

He recommends tongue scraping until the tongue is clean: “Just until you've cleaned the tongue, until it looks like it's pink, not white or green, or whatever it is.”

3. Brush your teeth

As for brushing your teeth in the morning, Dr. Seb says it depends on the individual.

He doesn't brush in the morning himself, because he believes he has established a balanced oral microbiome. “When you've got good bugs in your mouth, you actually want them to survive because they keep the immune system in check,” he says.

For anyone who doesn't know the state of their oral microbiome, however, his advice is different: “I'd say everyone should brush their teeth in the morning [after tongue scraping].”

4. Coconut oil pulling

He also incorporates coconut oil pulling into his own morning routine, describing coconut oil as “mildly antimicrobial”. Take a teaspoon of high-quality, natural, coconut oil and swish it around the mouth, before spitting it out.

Dr. Seb says the oil coats the teeth, helping to prevent bacteria from sticking to their surfaces. He then rinses with salt water, which he says “rebalances the pH [and] brings you back to neutral”.

What about red light therapy?

Once the fundamentals are in place, red light therapy offers another way to build oral care into an existing routine.

(Photo of the BON CHARGE Red Light Therapy Toothbrush)

Red and near-infrared light are being investigated for a range of biological effects, including their potential influence on cellular energy production and tissue responses. Research into oral applications is still developing, however, so it's an area where enthusiasm needs to be balanced with evidence.

For Dr. Seb, the appeal of incorporating red light into a toothbrush is simple: habit stacking. “If you're brushing twice a day, you're getting four minutes of red light into your tissues without having to change anything,” he says.

The BON CHARGE Red Light Therapy Toothbrush is designed around this same principle, combining everyday brushing with red and near-infrared light therapy, so the two habits happen at the same time.

Rather than adding another separate wellness ritual to your day, the technology becomes part of something you're already doing.

And perhaps that's the most useful way to think about modern oral care: not as a collection of increasingly complicated hacks, but as a few well-chosen habits that fit naturally into the rhythms of your day.

Read More: Red Light and the Gut: A Modern Guide

Dr. Seb answers the most searched for questions

Q: How much toothpaste should you use?

A: For adults, a pea-sized amount of toothpaste is generally enough. If you're using a fluoride toothpaste, avoid using more than you need - the aim is to coat the teeth effectively rather than fill the brush.

Q: Should you brush your teeth before or after breakfast?

A: Dr. Seb recommends brushing before breakfast. Eating and drinking can temporarily lower the pH of the mouth, particularly with acidic foods and drinks, so brushing immediately afterwards can increase the risk of enamel wear.

Q: How long should you wait to eat after brushing your teeth?

A: If you've brushed with fluoride toothpaste, waiting around 30 minutes before eating allows more time for the fluoride to remain on the teeth.

Q: Should you rinse your mouth after brushing?

A: Dr. Seb rinses after brushing and then applies fresh toothpaste, but standard guidance recommends spitting out excess toothpaste without rinsing. This allows fluoride to remain on the teeth for longer.

Q: Do you need mouthwash?

A: Not necessarily. Dr. Seb doesn't recommend mouthwash as part of everyone's daily routine, suggesting it should generally be used for a specific reason and on the advice of a dental professional.

Q: How often should you replace your toothbrush or toothbrush head?

A: Every three months is a good general rule, or sooner if the bristles become worn or splayed.

Q: How often should you floss or clean between your teeth?

A: Dr. Seb recommends interdental cleaning once a day, in the evening. The most appropriate method - floss, interdental brushes or another tool - depends on your teeth and gums.

Q: Should you floss before or after brushing?

A: Dr. Seb recommends cleaning between the teeth before brushing, so that anything loosened during interdental cleaning can then be brushed away.

Q: Is tongue scraping actually worth it?

A: Tongue scraping can help remove the build-up of food debris and microorganisms from the tongue's textured surface. Dr. Seb recommends scraping until the tongue looks clean, rather than following a specific length of time.

Q: Is brushing your teeth once a day enough?

A: For most people, brushing twice a day remains the standard recommendation. Dr. Seb’s own morning routine is different because he believes he has established a balanced oral microbiome, but he recommends morning brushing for anyone who doesn't know the state of theirs.

Q: Why does orange juice taste strange after brushing your teeth?

A: The ingredients in conventional toothpaste can temporarily alter how flavours are perceived, making acidic drinks such as orange juice taste particularly unpleasant immediately after brushing. Waiting before drinking orange juice can help.

Q: Should you drink coffee before or after brushing your teeth?

A: Dr. Seb recommends waiting until you've been awake for around two hours before having coffee, and ideally drinking it before midday. Coffee is also acidic, so avoiding brushing immediately afterwards can help reduce the risk of enamel wear.

Sign up to get early access to exclusive discounts and wellness tips. 

BON CHARGE: This content is for general education and is not medical advice. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always follow product instructions and consult a qualified healthcare professional for guidance tailored to you. Individual results may vary.