'I'm a dentist - never brush your teeth after these three things'

A dental surgeon has issued a warning, with people told "never" to brush their teeth in these three circumstances. Dr Shaadi Manouchehri is a dentist and facial aesthetics practitioner, who also has a significant social media following.

She regularly dishes out advice on all things oral hygiene on Instagram, and in a new post Dr Shaadi explained when people should avoid picking up their toothbrush. She said: "Here are three times when you should never, ever, ever brush your teeth... I'm a dentist and this is the only time you'll catch me telling you not to brush your teeth."

Firstly, Dr Shaadi explained people should not brush their teeth after breakfast. This is because "when you eat, an acidic environment is created in the mouth, and if you go in and brush your teeth straight away you are basically rubbing that acid onto your teeth, which are made up of minerals, and this can damage them, make them more yellow, and make them more susceptible to getting cavities."

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Dr Shaadi is also warning people not to brush their teeth after vomiting. While this may be what some want to do, in order to get rid of the unpleasant taste, it can be very damaging to your teeth to do so.

This is due, Dr Shaadi says, to the extremely acidic stomach acid that is present in vomit. The dental expert continued: "This is going to make your teeth really weakened, and susceptible to damage. If you go and brush your teeth straight away, again, you're rubbing the acid onto the surface of your teeth."

Thirdly and finally, people are being urged not to brush after eating sweet foods. Dr Shaadi explained: "This is a misconception because when you eat sugary things, the bacteria that are on your teeth are also going to eat that sugary thing and create an acid that is sitting on top of your teeth.

"Your saliva is naturally going to buffer that acidic environment, but it takes it some time to do that - about half an hour to 60 minutes. If you brush your teeth straight away, you're rubbing the acid onto the teeth, making them weaker and more susceptible to decay".