Why You Should Brush Your Teeth Before Breakfast

Chasing Life

CNN

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.5 • 8K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2026

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We all know we should brush and floss our teeth. But the reason goes beyond a sparkling smile and keeping bad breath at bay. The mouth is a critical and often overlooked organ when it comes to improving overall health. Dr. Sanjay Gupta sits down with Dr. Kami Hoss, author of “If Your Mouth Could Talk,” to discuss the importance of oral health and the brushing routine he recommends for morning and night. For more on Dr. Hoss’ oral care recommendations, check out his e-book: https://supermouthcdn.blob.core.windows.net/website/The_Oral_Care_Revolution.pdf -- Editors’ Note: This episode was assembled from two interviews (one host-led and one producer-led) that took place on separate occasions. Our show was produced by Sofia Sanchez. Medical Writer: Andrea Kane; Showrunner: Amanda Sealy; Senior Producer: Dan Bloom; Technical Director: Dan Dzula; Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Chasing Life.
0:03.9	For years, you may have watched scary movies with dentists as the villains.
0:08.8	Think Marathon Man.
0:10.1	Is it safe?
0:11.1	Or Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.
0:13.1	Let's see what the damage is, shall we?
0:15.8	A little shop of horrors.
0:22.9	Maybe because of these movies or not, we have a lot of dental anxiety.
0:28.3	In fact, in the United States, nearly three quarters of the population, have some degree of fear or anxiety about going to the dentist.
0:37.1	That was according to a survey published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.
0:42.3	But at the same time, people know that dental care is crucial to our overall health.
0:47.6	Get this.
0:48.4	The number one most common health condition in the world is not cancer.
0:53.0	It's not diabetes.
0:55.6	It's not even heart disease.
1:06.9	It is tooth decay. Among both kids and adults, untreated cavities tops the list. Now, the good news is that cavities are largely preventable. The problem is, if I ask, you know, the next 100 people I'm going to meet today,
1:13.1	how do you get cavities?
1:14.1	They're all going to tell me, of course, if you don't brush your teeth and eat a lot of sugar,
1:17.6	your mouth is more complex.
1:19.2	It's an organ with multiple things that are functioning with the whole world of oral microbes.
1:24.6	That's Dr. Kami Haas.
1:26.2	He is a dentist.
	...

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