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Floss Before Brushing

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Re: Floss Before Brushing

#51

Post by dsego »

troupo wrote: post #29
AznHisoka wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe your dentist just needs more business? Im half kidding but i once had a dentist that told me I had 4 cavities that needed to be fixed, but when I to a 2nd dentist, she spotted zero cavities

IIRC there were studies saying that flossing isn't as great as people suppose it is. My completely uneducated guess is that it's marginally useful for people with good teeth (shape, spacing) because debris doesn't accumulate as easily, and brushes are effective. For my case (crooked teeth, very narrow gaps) it's a great helper to get out the debris, morsels of food etc. that the brush can't get out.

I shared this with HN on many occasions. My wife has crowded teeth, doesn't floss, barely touches her waterpik, doesn't use any proper brushing technique. She probably had a couple of fillings done since I met her 20 years ago. In the meantime I have cavities almost every year, one root canal and a dental implant on a previosly failed root canal. I flossed since university and use mouth rinses and electric toothbrushes and so on. Except for genetics, there are a few differences in our habits throughout the years. I would always brush in the evenings but I was neglecting mornings (somehow I internalized something that a teacher once said that brushing in the morning is silly because you haven't eaten anything). I also drink way too much coffee which is acidic, she doesn't drink any. And lastly, I would at times avoid dentist appointments for years, which probably didn't help.

Edit: I forgot to mention, when I was younger, I used to snore and breathe through my mouth a lot. I think this has also negatively affected my teeth.

Re: Floss Before Brushing

#52

Post by bena »

RandallBrown wrote: post #50
distances wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So a stupid question, but does teeth cleaning do something more than removing the stone (calculus)? My dentist removes that with a spike during a checkup and isn't doing any upsells so I've never in my life had a separate cleaning appointment.

My dentists have always done a floss, polish, and fluoride treatment (in addition to the tooth scraping) as part of my cleanings.

Yeah, scrape away any built up plaque, polish, floss, check for cavities, x-rays every other visit (once a year).

Re: Floss Before Brushing

#53

Post by dsego »

ravenstine wrote: post #35
srik wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using mouthwash every time is not ideal because most mouthwashes disrupt your oral microbiome which will result in undesired side-effects like teeth staining etc.

I've heard this before, yet my mouth remains... unaffected. What does an "oral microbiome" even mean? I understand what it means in the literal sense, but would a person's mouth be dysfunctional if it were hypothetically devoid of microbes? Is there an accepted healthy oral microbiome composition?

You can get oral probiotics, like lactibiane buccodental. These healthy bacteria compete with harmful bacteria that causes cavities and gum disease.

Re: Floss Before Brushing

#54

Post by troupo »

dsego wrote: post #51
troupo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC there were studies saying that flossing isn't as great as people suppose it is. My completely uneducated guess is that it's marginally useful for people with good teeth (shape, spacing) because debris doesn't accumulate as easily, and brushes are effective. For my case (crooked teeth, very narrow gaps) it's a great helper to get out the debris, morsels of food etc. that the brush can't get out.

I shared this with HN on many occasions. My wife has crowded teeth, doesn't floss, barely touches her waterpik, doesn't use any proper brushing technique. She probably had a couple of fillings done since I met her 20 years ago. In the meantime I have cavities almost every year, one root canal and a dental implant on a previosly failed root canal. I flossed since university and use mouth rinses and electric toothbrush…

Oh, genetics trump everything.

Re: Floss Before Brushing

#55

Post by tonyspiff »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #8

I'm surprised that this isn't self-evident. Flossing dislodges stuff from between your teeth. Brushing beforehand means you don't have an opportunity to remove that stuff.

There's the argument that flossing afterwards would drag some fluoride/nHAP to the space between your teeth which wouldn't be reachable by the toothbrush.

So I floss during brushing. One pass with the toothbrush, floss, second pass with toothbrush, rinse.

Re: Floss Before Brushing

#57

Post by jayd16 »

dingaling wrote: post #26
jayd16 wrote: post #9

I thought the ideal order was brush, floss, mouthwash.

No, mouthwash after brushing removes the fluoride that the toothpaste has just deposited. Similarly, avoid rinsing after brushing. There's not really a 'good' time to use mouthwash. Maybe an hour or more after a meal, if you're in a rush - but no sooner than that, as the tooth enamel will still be softened by the food.

Even with flouride mouthwash? You're saying the paste/gel is physically more capable of depositing flouride or something?

Re: Floss Before Brushing

#58

Post by dsego »

tonyspiff wrote: post #55
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #8

I'm surprised that this isn't self-evident. Flossing dislodges stuff from between your teeth. Brushing beforehand means you don't have an opportunity to remove that stuff.

There's the argument that flossing afterwards would drag some fluoride/nHAP to the space between your teeth which wouldn't be reachable by the toothbrush. So I floss during brushing. One pass with the toothbrush, floss, second pass with toothbrush, rinse.

I've also seen some tiktoks with people coating the floss with toothpaste so it reaches in between the teeth.

Re: Floss Before Brushing

#59

Post by stronglikedan »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #8

I'm surprised that this isn't self-evident. Flossing dislodges stuff from between your teeth. Brushing beforehand means you don't have an opportunity to remove that stuff.

My dentist says the opposite, since toothbrush bristles don't get between the teeth. According to her, brushing after flossing just pushes all the dislodged stuff back between the teeth.

In my opinion, it doesn't really matter which you do first, as long as you rinse well after each step. I brush first - get most of it with the brush and rinse, then get the rest of it with the floss and rinse.

Re: Floss Before Brushing

#60

Post by sauwan »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #8

I'm surprised that this isn't self-evident. Flossing dislodges stuff from between your teeth. Brushing beforehand means you don't have an opportunity to remove that stuff.

Well, the benefit here is the application of fluoride, which isn't something most people are actively thinking about maximizing.
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