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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

#61

Post by crooked-v »

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?

Water fluoridation rates are well under dangerous levels - about 0.7 mg/L for artificially fluoridated water, vs 2+ mg/L long-term to actually cause any problems. Even that small amount helps with reducing tooth decay, as was shown in the US in studies starting in the 50s comparing areas with naturally fluoridated water with areas without it.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#63

Post by crooked-v »

f0ok wrote: post #44

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…

Most toothpaste has about 1000 ppm of fluoride (0.1%), which isn't a "high level" - in fact, it means that one blob of it on a toothbrush has about the same fluoride content as a large glass of fluoridated water.

"High level" in this case comes in with fluoride rinses or specialty toothpaste, which can have 5000+ or 10000+ ppm of flouride.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#64

Post by VerDeTerre »

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.

Fluoridation is by no means universal in the US—around 69.2% of public water in 2006, according to Wikipedia[1]. In some areas, resistance is strong and cuts across diverse political orientations. Portland's 2012 attempt to fluoridate, for example, drew opposition on the basis of libertarianism, environmentalism and science skepticism.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation_in_the_Unit...

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#65

Post by OJFord »

caillancm wrote: post #49
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 concent…

I thought it was widely known, and in a more general form - don't eat or drink for half an hour afterwards. (i.e. after breakfast, if taken.)

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#66

Post by FriendlyNormie »

climb_stealth wrote: post #28
rococode wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if this is correct but when I was in college I noticed a couple guys who just spit and didn't rinse at all. Like, ever. They just brush, spit out some toothpaste, and then move on to the next step of their routine. At the time it seemed kinda freaky to me since I always rinse the toothpaste out when I finish brushing, but maybe they were doing it right... I can't get over the feeling over toothpaste stuc…

Hah. This is perfectly normal for me. I have never done the rinsing after toothbrushing thing. There's definitely something about childhood patterns though. The slight taste of toothpaste in my mouth makes me feel clean and refreshed. I brush my teeth several times a day, usually just before I go somewhere.

So you just walk away from the sink and let a poisonous substance sit in your mouth while you slowly but surely swallow it all?

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#68

Post by jshevek »

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.

You may have higher levels of calcium in your saliva than normal. I know someone who has poor dental hygiene practices and never had a cavity, partly due to excess calcium. Instead of cavities, he has problems with calcium deposits accumulating in his plaque.

My point is, you may simply be an outlier rather a meaningful counter example.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#69

Post by jshevek »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #15

It's weird that we don't know what teeth were like before fluoride was invented. The knowledge isn't directly accessible to everyday people. Sure, we know some examples, but what about the averages? Was everyone's teeth just completely screwed, all the time? How could evolution work that way? We need our teeth to eat. It's further complicated by the invention of processed sugar, which ruins teeth. Before that, presum…

If a dentist recommends a treatment, I always get a blind second opinion. I've had many alleged cavities, which allegedly needed filling, go undetected and untreated by the next dentist. 5-10 years later, I'm convinced the dentists who claimed I needed fillings were so eager to make money they jumped the gun.

Re: Don't rinse with water straight after toothbrushing

#70

Post by signal11 »

dijit wrote: post #53
jdfellow wrote: post #20

Dental advice from the Brits? I'll pass.

British people actually have quite healthy teeth. They are, however, famously unattractive.

Modern British dentists perform orthodontic and teeth whitening treatments just as American dentists to, responding to customer demand. It’s worth noting that elective cosmetic dentistry is paid for in the UK, it’s not free — and the demand comes for straight white teeth comes from people watching films and TV. Although the NHS does provide orthodontic treatment if there is real medical need (as opposed to cosmetic).

Some background: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32883893

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