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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Dental hygienist here, this is the answer!
Also mouthwash really isn’t needed, like you said. It’s nice for fresh breath and helps after meals, but the important part of dental hygiene is flossing and brushing. Listerine will give advice on their bottles and advertise what they want, but it’s not correct. If you do choose to use mouthwash make sure it’s alcohol-free: you don’t want to kill the good bacteria and you don’t want to irritate your gums
My (non-Listerine) mouthwash bottle specifically says to use it *before* brushing, which made no sense until I compared the fluoride levels.
So heres my question.
If using mouthwash before I brush is not effective because the bacterial film hasn’t been abraded from ym teeth by brushing
And mouthwash after I brush isnt effective because I will wash away the fluoride
When the frak am I supposed to use mouthwash?!
Isn’t your drinking water and most the food you eat contaminated err… I mean blessed with plenty of fluoride already?
you don’t need mouthwash, simply stop rinsing your mouth after you brush your teeth w/fluoridated toothpaste 2x/day, and floss 1x/day.
Think about the difference between the volume of mouthwash you swish around, and the amount of toothpaste you use.
Brush your teeth, spit out but don’t swill with water, and throw the mouthwash away. I’m sure that was the advice from a dentist on a BBC Sounds podcast.
Every day someone comes up with some other time consuming tooth cleaning regimen. If we followed all of this we’d be cleaning our teeth for hours every day.
The primary purpose of mouthwash is to kill or slow the growth certain bacteria that live on and inflame your gums. These are bacteria that come from the food we eat and infect your gums when that food gets stuck in between your teeth. In order for it to work, it needs to come in contact with the effected areas of your gums (namely around your teeth) so your teeth need to be cleaned first to maximize the gum surface that the mouthwash touches
Mouthwash is for killing the bacteria in your mouth, not providing fluoride (although that is a secondary purpose in mouthwash that has fluoride). The reason they recommend using it *after* you brush is because the brushing from your tooth brush breaks up the plaque.
Plaque is a biofilm that some bacteria form to increase their odds of survival. It’s the equivalent of humans building houses to shelter themselves from the environment. When you break up the plaque you destroy the bacteria’s “house” and allow the alcohol in the mouthwash to make more direct contact with a higher percentage of bacteria.
This is also why it’s good to floss. If you never floss it’s the equivalent of never brushing one side of your teeth thus the biofilm between your teeth never gets broken up.
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