Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why don't you have the opportunity? Flossing removes the stuff.
Not completely. It might end up on the floss but it might also end up on your teeth or gums.
And just rinsing removes it.
Floss Before Brushing
61–70 of 92 posts
Re: Floss Before Brushing
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm curious what these reasons are (My second thought after typing that was "I suppose I could just ask an LLM though")
There are 'best to brush' timelines around eating/drinking. Usually you want to either: - Brush no less than 15m before eating - Do not brush until 45m+ after eating I don't fully understand the science, as I'm not a dentist, but it's something related to the way that things stick to/are absorbed by enamel and dentin. I believe water is the exception here, you can drink water and then immediately brush. You should no…
Supposedly, after eating the pH in the mouth drops and becomes more acidic, which softens the enamel, so brushing will do more harm than good. That's my understanding.
Re: Floss Before Brushing
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
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).
Cavities & x-rays is a check-up though, covered by my health insurance. Cleaning would be a separate session out of pocket
Re: Floss Before Brushing
#64For anyone who's curious, Reach TotalCare Floss is the best: * Very shred-resistant * Grippy, even when wet, so you don't have to turn your fingertips purple * Thin enough to fit most teeth, but supposed to have some sort of textured surface to work better
I find that regular old Reach waxed works just as well, and has two benefits over Totalcare: it's more comfortable and it's cheaper — dirt cheap for floss, really.
Re: Floss Before Brushing
#65On the subject of dental health: Bill Burr, the comedian, worked as a dental assistant when he was younger. He gave a piece of advice on his podcast that I wish I had heard when I was young: if a dentist tells you that you have a cavity, get a second opinion.
Once that outer layer of enamel is breached, it will never be as resilient again.
Re: Floss Before Brushing
#66Re: Floss Before Brushing
#67I'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 logic was that brushing deposits fluoride onto the teeth, and that I want that there.
Flossing feels not that different from following up toothbrushing by rinsing (bad): it's removing a bunch of the amazing good stuff the toothpaste is designed to deposit.
Re: Floss Before Brushing
#68I'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.
Surfactants in toothpaste should prevent anything sticking while brushing.
Re: Floss Before Brushing
#69I thought the ideal order was brush, floss, mouthwash.
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.
You're saying we can make good toothpaste but we can't make good mouthwash?
Re: Floss Before Brushing
#70[deleted]