When is the first time you brush your teeth after you wake up?
In Japan, many people answer 'after breakfast. However, while you sleep, your oral bacteria multiply dramatically. So, what I would like you to try is to brush your teeth right after you wake up in the morning.
Many different diseases enter the body through the mouth. Human cells are constantly being replaced, but it is the food, water, and air that we ingest daily that create new cells.
Food and water ingested through the mouth pass through the esophagus, are digested in the stomach, and then sent to the intestines. Ingredients of the ingested food are absorbed from the intestines and taken into the blood vessels, where they are transported to cells throughout the body.
On the other hand, air taken into the body through breathing is taken up into the lungs, where it delivers fresh oxygen to the blood. So, changing the quality of these factors will affect a person's health.
The entry points for taking these in are the mouth (for food and water) and the nose (for air).
In humans, however, the problem lies in the fact that we breathe through our mouths. Non-human mammals breathe through their noses. Naturally, humans were born breathing through their noses. Babies can drink breast milk without being taught by anyone. The reason why they can continue to drink is because they breathe through their nose throughout this time.
Unlike other mammals, humans can talk. When we eat and talk, we are often mouth-breathing.
When did humans begin to breathe through their mouths?
It is believed that only humans began mouth breathing because humans were weaned earlier than other mammals. While suckling mother's milk, the baby was able to breathe through its nose naturally, but if the baby is weaned before it becomes accustomed to nasal breathing, it will develop the habit of mouth breathing. This is because babies who are not accustomed to nasal breathing ingest air when they swallow food. This is because it is easier for the baby to take in both food and air. Because mouth breathing is easier, the habit of mouth breathing while eating is ingrained, and before you know it, you are breathing through your mouth even when you are not eating.
This mouth breathing causes the orbicularis oculus muscle to relax, which can lead to dental malpositions. But that is not all. The dryness of the mouth allows bacteria to grow and viruses to be ingested into the oral cavity. In particular, it is said that leaving the mouth open while sleeping causes oral bacteria to multiply tenfold or more. Therefore, brushing teeth immediately after waking up in the morning is effective in preventing illness because it removes multiplied bacteria and ingested viruses.