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Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

nhs.uk

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Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#41

Post by mekoka »

ianai wrote: post #6
xenospn wrote: post #3

So I'm supposed to leave the toothpaste in my mouth? For how long? EDIT: I'd also like to point out that I have been rinsing my mouth after brushing for the last 40 years, never used mouthwash, and never had a cavity.

“Don't rinse your mouth immediately after brushing, as it'll wash away the concentrated fluoride in the remaining toothpaste” Sorry but that’s unacceptable to me. Come up with a better way for me to clean my teeth or I’ll keep rinsing immediately. I do actually do this with fluoride and alcohol free mouthwash though. That’s easier to not rinse for 30 minutes.

Well, the free advice and the rationale behind it has been given. Now you can do what you want with it. They're your teeth, after all.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#42

Post by luckydata »

avocado4 wrote: post #30

My routine: 1. Floss 2. Waterpik (water + mouthwash) 3. Electric brush, no rinsing

waterpik should do the job of flossing already, you can probably skip step 1, at least according to this study:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24282867

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#43

Post by SquareWheel »

noname120 wrote: post #35
asdff wrote: post #13

In the US, drinking water supplemented with fluoride for this very reason, so feel free to rinse out your dislodged food scraps after brushing and ignore this advice from the NHS.

Do you have more information on this? I thought that fluoride was toxic and thus shouldn't be swallowed. Are the quantities too small to harm you yet sufficient to prevent the formation of caries?

It is a small amount. It helps, but is not enough to completely prevent cavities. You still need to brush your teeth like normal.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#44

Post by f0ok »

From "Potential fluoride toxicity from oral medicaments" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5651468/):

"The beneficial role of fluoride for the maintenance of good oral health has been known for many decades and strongly evidenced by scientific research. However, it must be emphasized that tooth decay (dental caries) is not caused by fluoride deficiency and fluoride supplementation will never reverse the active or gross carious lesions. Since the level of safety of fluoride is low, products that contain a high level of fluoride should be stored and used according to the recommendation and should be monitored by a qualified dental professional especially in children and pregnant women. In children, the swallowing reflex is not very well developed and the fluoride containing dental products are flavored hence increasing the possibility of a child to consume an excessive dose of fluoride."

Maybe swallowing fluoride is not such a good idea?f

(Also, can someone compare toxicity levels of lead versus fluoride?)

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#45

Post by heavyset_go »

noname120 wrote: post #35
asdff wrote: post #13

In the US, drinking water supplemented with fluoride for this very reason, so feel free to rinse out your dislodged food scraps after brushing and ignore this advice from the NHS.

Do you have more information on this? I thought that fluoride was toxic and thus shouldn't be swallowed. Are the quantities too small to harm you yet sufficient to prevent the formation of caries?

It's significant enough to prevent some tooth decay, but insignificant when it comes to toxicity.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#46

Post by tzs »

zzleeper wrote: post #8
stygiansonic wrote: post #2

Also from the article: " It's best to floss before brushing your teeth. "

Why? I would have thought it makes more sense to brush, then floss, then wash at the end so the fluoride stays longer

The idea is that stuff dislodged by the flossing gets brushed away and spit out when you brush. If you floss after brushing, it is more likely the floss debris will remain on your teeth. You’ve just moved it from between to a side.

That was the argument I found when I recently looked into this. It makes sense if all you’re doing is brushing and flossing. If there are further steps in your routine that would take care of the flossing leftovers, I expect the order does not matter.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#47

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

monadic2 wrote: post #37
asdff wrote: post #13

In the US, drinking water supplemented with fluoride for this very reason, so feel free to rinse out your dislodged food scraps after brushing and ignore this advice from the NHS.

Unless of course you drink filtered water.

Carbon filters are fine.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#48

Post by [deleted] »

s_T_e_v_o wrote: post #39

https://neurogal.com/neuro-blog/is-fluoride-toxic-to-the-bra... . HOW DO I AVOID FLUORIDE TOXICITY? 1. AVOID FLUORIDATED WATER 2. AVOID NON-STICK COOKWARE 3. CHOOSE YOUR TEA WISELY 4. USE FLUORIDE-FREE TOOTHPASTE I hate to be a contrarian, but the latest intelligence says fluoride is a neurotoxin.

[deleted]

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#49

Post by caillancm »

oneepic wrote: post #18

Really? This is on Hacker News?

The main point, about not washing, isn't standard dental advice and widely known, unless I'm mistaken. Personally, toothpaste tastes so bad I find it hard not to rinse without gagging.

Otherwise, the advice is direct and the writing style is of interest in itself. So many websites that provide health advice are condescending. This one is at least instead straightforward. For example, the points about fluoride concentration are not obvious and deserve a hearing. I say at least, because they should have references and make it transparent how these conclusions were arrived at.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#50

Post by Brakenshire »

jdfellow wrote: post #20

Dental advice from the Brits? I'll pass.

British people have healthier teeth than Americans, you’re mistaking the results of invasive and often damaging cosmetic dental procedures with the actual function and health of the teeth.
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