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  • From twigs to electrical toothbrushes humans have been cleaning our teeth since the ancient Egyptians in 5000 BCE.

  • But, what if you just straight-up stopped brushing your teeth at all for the rest of your life?

  • Within minutes of stopping, the food debris and moist environment from your saliva creates an ideal environment for bacteria to survive.

  • Streptococci is one of the most common bacteria found in our mouth and it's normally not harmful,

  • until it metabolizes sugar or protein from food debris.

  • But after a full day, these bacteria would have already produced significant amounts of plaque from sugars.

  • Plaque is the slimy layer of biofilm that you can feel on your teeth when you

  • "accidentally" forget to brush sometimes.

  • And this plaque actually helps the bacteria adhere to your teeth,

  • which allows them to produce even more plaque creating a cycle of bacteria and plaque build up.

  • After a week, all this build-up will cause some pretty serious bad breath.

  • Not to mention that the plaque begins to harden and form tartar that lead to your teeth appearing yellow.

  • At this point, you're also causing significant damage to tooth enamel

  • as the bacteria break down sugar to produce lactic acid.

  • Enamel is the hard mineralized outer layer of the tooth.

  • And once it breaks down,

  • you can't make any more.

  • After a month, your decaying teeth will form cavities.

  • These holes in your teeth get deeper and deeper if left untreated, leading to gingivitis, an early form of gum disease.

  • This is because the immune system

  • attacks your gums and teeth in response to the bacteria build up.

  • Your cavities will fill up with pus, which is a protein-rich fluid filled

  • with dead white blood cells and your gums will be

  • extremely sensitive at this point, turning red when you touch it and bleeding with any significant pressure.

  • After an entire year of neglect, you now have Periodontitis.

  • The inner layer of the gum and bone are broken down by enzymes and pull away from the teeth to form pockets,

  • which only further allow collected food debris and bacteria to gather.

  • This causes the immune system to go into overdrive and destroys your gums and ligaments,

  • resulting in advanced Periodontitis where your teeth become loose and begin to fall out.

  • Any longer, and the issues can spread beyond your mouth and into your blood,

  • causing inflammation throughout your organs and increasing the likelihood of erectile disfunction,

  • head and neck cancer, chronic heart disease, and even dementia development.

  • Combine your lack of brushing with a poor diet high in processed foods, and especially sugar,

  • which is much more common now than early Homo sapiens would have experienced,

  • and you have a much more accelerated breeding ground for bacteria,

  • putting your whole body's health at risk.

  • Brush your teeth kids!

  • [Mitch] Thank you guys for watching if you have any burning questions.

  • If you have any burning questions

  • [Greg] -Flaming questions

  • [Mitch] -that you want us to answer leave it in the comments below and we'll try to tackle it this year.

  • [Greg] -Seriously. Let us know what you want to see; we'll make it.

  • Okay, make sure you're following us on Instagram and Twitter and make sure you subscribe to this channel for new science videos every Thursday.

  • Ok, we'll see you next week. Peace! [Mitch] -See you!

From twigs to electrical toothbrushes humans have been cleaning our teeth since the ancient Egyptians in 5000 BCE.

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