How well are you supposed to rinse your mouth out after brushing?

Rinse after brushing teeth?

• I got a root canal a couple of weeks ago so now I'm serious about brushing my teeth but I Have a couple of questions. I would really appreciate it if actually dentist answered it. 1:do you rinse after brushing your teeth because I hear how if you rinse it gets rid of the bacterica you just took off your mouth 2:do you use mouthwash first before brushing your teeth because I heard how it loosens up the food in your teeth. Also if I use mouth wash first does that get the bacteria off my teeth? If so when I brush my teeth do I not have to rinse? Please help I really don't want any more cavities.

• Answer:

  Hi, Gilbert! Those are some really good questions - it's always good to hear that someone is making a commitment to taking better care of their teeth. A root canal is a powerful motivation for that! 1. Yes, you rinse well after brushing AND flossing; it clears your mouth of all the plaque and food debris that you just removed from your teeth. You must floss - most problems (decay and gum disease) start between the teeth, where even the most careful brushing can't get to. You can rinse with plain water if you want to. 2. The mouthwash I recommend is ACT - it has fluoride in it, and it helps to prevent against decay. You use it at night, the last thing before bed, and you don't eat or drink or rinse with water after using it. It will help to strengthen the teeth. So what you would do at night, before bed, is floss, brush, rinse out well with water, then rinse with the ACT. Another thing you can do is get yourself some Trident gum with xylitol. Xylitol is a sugar substitute, and is derived from plants - a naturally occuring substance. You chew this gum after you eat when you can't brush, such as when you are out for lunch at work or at school. The helps to buffer the acidic environment in the mouth, and it also acts against the bacteria that cause dental decay. It's very useful for the teeth. Now....here's how to brush and floss: You need to make sure you are brushing effectively. You use a SOFT toothbrush only, and aim it at the gumline at a 45 degree angle. Make sure some of the bristles get into the crevice between the tooth and gum. Use little vibratory strokes, and then sweep the brush up toward the biting surface. Go around your whole mouth like this - don't forget the tongue side of the teeth. Don't scrub back and forth - except on the biting surface of the back teeth. Flossing: Take a length of floss and wrap it around your 2 middle fingers. Hold about a 2" piece tight between your forefingers and thumbs. Insert the floss gently against a tooth side, then curve your hands so that the floss is making a letter "C" shape against the tooth. Keeping the floss always in contact with the tooth, move it up and down, making sure you GENTLY floss under the gumline. To move to the adjacent tooth, bring the floss up and OVER the little pink triangle of gum, slide to a fresh section of floss, and bring it against the next tooth surface, and repeat. You should never snap the floss down hard, and never "saw" back and forth. Continue around your whole mouth like this. When you get to the back teeth, it's going to be very hard to curve the floss - but that's ok, just do the best you can. If you ever feel like it's going to get stuck in the contact or shred, then just pull it through, like you'd pull thread through a needle eye. You may see a little bleeding at the beginning when you start flossing, but that will go away. Just be gentle. Below are 2 links that are pretty good - one shows the brushing, the other the flossing. Stick with the program (including the ACT and the Trident), and I bet you won't get any more cavities!