Have you been brushing your teeth wrong all these years?

We all brush our teeth every day, hopefully twice. But are we doing it wrong?

A Fair Go poll of more than 800 people said that just over a quarter of Kiwis brush before eating but the majority - by quite a margin - brush after.

But according to the New Zealand Dental Association if you're not leaving it long enough, brushing afterwards could do more harm than good.

Here's why:

When you eat, acidic foods and drinks soften the tooth surface, so scrubbing straight after you've eaten can damage the enamel.

Saliva though helps it to harden again, so after you've eaten you want to wait about an hour before brushing.

On the flip side, brushing before eating gives the tooth surface extra protection against those acids.

And rest assured there's no myth-busting when it comes to washing hands - it's still a good 20 seconds, and beds need to be made once a day too.

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