My Listerine mouthwash bottle directions says that for best results use twice a day after brushing. My toothpaste has 1450ppm fluoride, whereas the mouthwash is only 450ppm. Won’t using the mouthwash afterwards simply wash away the higher, more beneficial levels of toothpaste fluoride and replace it with lower mouthwash levels? What’s the reasoning for this advice?
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Brushing will loosen up material from your teeth using mouthwash after brusing helps get the loose material off your teeth and out of your mouth.
Also, mouthwash will cause your gum line and tounge to be sensitive for a while after use and can make brusing those area hurt.
I don’t know, but I was looking at the advice on the British National Health Website today, and it specifically advises:
*do not use mouthwash straight after brushing your teeth*
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gum-disease/
So the advice actually seems quite contradictory.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-teeth-and-gums/how-to-keep-your-teeth-clean/
*Should I use mouthwash?*
*Using a mouthwash that contains fluoride can help prevent tooth decay, but don’t use mouthwash (even a fluoride one) straight after brushing your teeth or it’ll wash away the concentrated fluoride in the toothpaste left on your teeth.*
*Choose a different time to use mouthwash, such as after lunch.*
*Don’t eat or drink for 30 minutes after using a fluoride mouthwash.*
While it wasn’t the same question, a friend who is a dentist explained why brushing is more important than mouthwash…
Bacteria forms a sticky film and the only way to remove it is through abrasion, i.e. brushing your teeth. Mouthwash will only kills bacteria that it comes in contact with, it won’t penetrate a film of bacteria, so it only kills the surface. For this reason, Listerine was forced to change the wording in their advertising to have a clarification that it kills 99.9% of germs and bacteria *it comes in contact with*. I think this is normally asterisked and in a small font hidden on the bottle, though.
So, fluoride really has little to do with it. First you need to remove the film of bacteria by brushing and flossing. Mouthwash is like the cleanup crew that kills off the stragglers. Fluoride in your mouthwash is just a slight added benefit.
Edit – to clarify, “mouthwash” such as Listerine (which OP specially names) is an oral antiseptic and some times has fluoride. There is also “fluoride rinse” that is primarily just a fluoride supplement.
Mouthwash was invented to sell more disinfectant. Listerine was originally concocted to sterilize surgical devices and clean floors. The thought was if germs can cause disease, germs in your mouth were bad. So if you could disinfect your mouth, maybe you’d get sick less.
They added fluoride later when people were starting to figure out it wasn’t really doing much. I think part of why they don’t put so much fluoride in it is because people being people, some will buy alcohol-containing mouthwash and drink it to try to get drunk. Fluoride is not a great thing to be ingesting in large quantities. Most people don’t intentionally swallow toothpaste, and a small enough amount is used it’s OK to occasionally do so. Since people are intentionally swallowing mouthwash, the problems they’re having are only going to get worse if it’s loaded up with a high concentration of fluoride.
Whether it works or not seems to be in contention. *Of course* the mouthwash company says to use twice a day after brushing.
But right now the wisdom seems to be that the best thing for your teeth is to let them be for about 15 minutes after brushing. No rinse, no mouthwash. The act of brushing helps get plaque off your teeth, but also that means your slightly-damaged tooth enamel gets exposed. Letting the fluoride-rich paste sit on them for a little while seems to help protect them an extra little bit, and it seems like eating immediately after brushing can be pretty bad. In a very ELI5 way, it seems to take time for fluoride to “soak in” to teeth and if it doesn’t, not much enamel repair happens.
To that end, mouthwash is going to wash away that protection. It’s not *horrible*, because you’re still swishing fluoride around. But it doesn’t seem like it’s *as good* as just letting your teeth be for a while.
My dentist told me to not use mouthwash after brushing , or rinse with water as it washes away the toothpaste.
Just brush and spit the excess and not rinse for 30 minutes to let the toothpaste do its thing.
Use mouthwash only when you cannot brush your teeth.
The biggest issue in your mouth isn’t the strength of your teeth, but the bacteria in the pockets/crevices of your gums. Brushing/flossing cleans the pockets of food and debris, and then mouthwash kills the bacteria.
Floss –> mouthwash –> brush- no rinse. Gets the hard to reach stuff out with floss/mouthwash, still get the benefits of the fluoride from brushing and not rinsing.
Brushing removes material and exposes caries sites. The fluoride in the mouthwash can then better access the caries and reinforce the teeth. The mouthwash itself cannot remove enough debris.
Former Listerine engineer
I use it before. Then brush my teeth and dont rinse. Ive always known toothpaste carries on working while its on your teeth.
Isn’t it mouthwash, floss then brush?
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