Do you rinse after brushing your teeth?

[Giraffe_Zen]

I brush and then my rinse is scope.

 

[Skippy918]

I swish and rinse a couple times.

 

[cayennews]

I rinse. I have never heard of this before.

 

[Diznygrl]

Funny, some years ago there was a thread here about tv show pet peeves or something to that effect, and I was curious as to why I never saw anyone on tv rinse their mouth after they spit out the toothpaste. I asked if this was a real thing that people do, and if I'm the weird one for rinsing with water. I don't believe anybody else on that thread ever said anything about how they also don't rinse, rather that they probably just do it that way on tv because they don't have time for it and have to keep the dialogue moving. So to now hear that this really is a 'thing' is interesting.

I always rinse out the toothpaste (and will continue to do so), but when I use a fluoride rinse, I do not, as it says in the directions not to, and to wait 30 minutes before eating or drinking. I guess logically toothpaste is also a type of fluoride, so it would sort of make sense that it too would need to 'sit' on the teeth for a while, but I never gave it any thought. Does the tooth 'polish' they use when you get your teeth cleaned at the dentist have fluoride in it? Because they rinse that off with water right away too.

 

[Moliphino]

I rinse.

Now I need to go home and read the toothpaste tube instructions...

Mine says to spit, but not to rinse. It also doesn't say NOT to rinse.

 

[Disneefun]

This is from the ADA's website:

A viral trend on TikTok shows users suggesting people not rinse after brushing their teeth with a fluoride toothpaste for added protection against cavities.

The verdict from dental experts?

Correct.

Those who prefer to rinse should rinse lightly with a small amount of water such as a sip from the hand or delay the rinse by about 20 minutes, said Brittany Seymour, D.D.S., an ADA spokeswoman and associate professor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

Alternatives to rinsing include using fluoride mouthwash.

https://adanews.ada.org/huddles/should-you-rinse-after-brushing/

Huh. Who knew. All my dentists over the years have never once mentioned this.

I still have all my teeth, though, and few cavities so I guess I'm doing okay. I do swish the toothpaste in my mouth a bit after I brush just to really spread it around.

I suppose this will become more and more important, though, as political pressure campaigns cause more cities to drop fluoride from the water. You'll probably need whatever extra fluoride you can get, then, especially kids.

 

[slo]

This is a very interesting thread.
I do rinse my mouth out after brushing. The thought of not brushing kinda grosses me out, but I’m also someone that has to drink after eating anything/everything. When we go to Sam’s Club and they are giving out free samples, I never take them, because I have no water to drink afterwards. I can’t have anything sitting in my mouth without drinking or rinsing after.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I always rinse with mouthwash. I am not sure that's the right way to do things, but I just do it that way

 

[goofyernmost]

Question... If you don't rinse out the plaque and food particles that the toothbrush breaks loose, what happens to that stuff? Toothpaste usually contains formaldehyde and bleach and other things that I don't want floating around in my mouth rent free. To me it is counter intuitive to not rinse after brushing. You'se guys can do whatever tictoc tells you, me, I'm rinsing. Not a huge amount of water, just enough. By they way, after 77 years I still have my original adult teeth and only had two cavities. I go to the dentist every 6 months for check up and cleaning.

 

[Living42Day]

I just found out about this last week when I was researching enamel, had no idea. I can't not rinse, so I thought I was fine with my mouth wash because surely it has fluoride in it. Wrong! I thought all mouthwash and toothpaste had fluoride but I guess not.

 

[C&Jx2]

No, because I use Sensodyne and the dentist says it works best to let it sit.

 

[Meriweather]

I rinse after brushing. It gets particles put of my mouth. I do not want to swallow it. Just a little from the sink. Morning and night.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I rinse.

 

[Marrila]

I'm not interested in leaving loosened plaque in my mouth. I rinse.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm a rinser.

 

[HannaBelle]

Mine says to spit, but not to rinse. It also doesn't say NOT to rinse.

Mine too!

 

[MsChristy12]

I rinse. It's weird to leave toothpaste or whatever I brushed out in my mouth, and possibly swallowing them?? Eeeek! No thank you.

 

[bluezy]

I rinse. It's weird to leave toothpaste or whatever I brushed out in my mouth, and possibly swallowing them?? Eeeek! No thank you.

News to me that you shouldn't rinse after brushing. I thought that toothpaste shouldn't be swallowed? Always have rinsed after bushing.

(Just quoting 2 random posts for context. My response is specifically directed at these posters.)

I can't speak for others, but I don't swallow toothpaste, plaque, food, etc. just because I don't rinse my mouth. I *do* spit out whatever is in my mouth after brushing for 2 minutes and I think that gets rid of nearly everything in my mouth. It's not like I brush and then just let the built up saliva and toothpaste sit in my mouth or swallow it. The only thing I sometimes notice that doesn't always clear out of my mouth is popcorn. Even then, it's ok to rinse with or drink water in 20-30 minutes, so if I still feel food particles in my mouth, I rinse it out later.