Did you know that there is a bad time to brush your teeth? According to experts, people need to act fast or wait. The warning comes as consumer experts from Which? who say that we could all be doing it wrong.

Eating or drinking any foods, but especially acidic foods like fruit, coffee or jam on toast, can temporarily soften the enamel on your teeth. This means that when your teeth are in this state and you brush, it can wear the enamel away rather than do its job and protect your pearly whites. Without realising, you may gradually be making the surface of your teeth worse, instead of looking after them.

Over time, this can cause sensitivity and increase the chance of hearing the dreaded words "you’ll need a filling." According to the consumer group, you should either brush straight away before eating or wait around 30 minutes afterwards.

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The experts explain: "As soon as you wake up or after breakfast? When is the best time to brush your teeth? When you sleep, bacteria forms in your mouth. This then forms plaque which could damage the teeth and leave you with smelly breath. So brushing your teeth before breakfast is the best option. However, if you forget, it might be worth waiting half an hour after you’ve eaten rather than brushing them right away. Acidic food and drink can soften enamel, so if you brush immediately, the mechanical stress of brushing can facilitate enamel erosion - and make sure to brush your tongue with a tongue scraper and floss too."

We all know brushing twice a day is important. But do you know what could happen if you don't? Harvard-led research, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that seriously ill hospitalised patients were less likely to develop hospital-acquired pneumonia when their teeth were brushed twice daily.

As Surrey Live previously reported, patients require ventilators for a shorter duration and are discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU) sooner if they keep up the good habit. According to Harvard Health, Doctor Tien Jiang, an instructor in oral health policy and epidemiology at Harvard School of Dental Medicine said: "It makes sense that tooth brushing removes the bacteria that can lead to so many bad outcomes."

If you think the study findings only relate to people in the hospital, it's far from true. Authors of the study stressed: "Rather, this drives home how vital it is for everyone to take care of their teeth and gums."