# Brushing Teeth and Rinsing **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 28, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144 "2019-11-28T21:20:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/1 "2019-11-28T21:20:40Z")
I just saw my dental hygienist today, and I was thunderstruck when she informed me that I shouldn’t rinse my mouth out after brushing my teeth. I have never, ever heard this before, and I wasn’t happy about it because, frankly, I’m not fond of the taste of toothpaste in my mouth. But I could sort of see the sense of it: that the toothpaste might a bit more good if it’s actually left on the teeth. However, on the way out, I noticed that there was a bowl of mini toothpaste samplers on the counter, and I picked one up. There on the instructions on the back of the tube was, “Rinse after brushing with a small amount of water.” This is a pretty mixed message, all within the same dental practice! Any thoughts / experience? Rinse or not?! ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/2 "2019-11-28T21:39:33Z")
I’ve always rinsed with a little bit of water. Was told at a young age that rinsing with a lot of water strips off the fluoride from the toothpaste or something. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/3 "2019-11-28T22:24:54Z")
Always. For one thing, it says not to swallow this stuff right on the toothpaste box/tube. Additionally, I have all my teeth at age 72 and my dentist says they’ll outlive me. ---
**Author:** ![Majestic\_Lee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Majestic\_Lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Majestic_Lee)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/4 "2019-11-28T22:55:49Z")
I always rinsed for the same reason you say, but was advised by my hygienist not to because of the protective effect of fluoride. You do get used to it after a bit. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/5 "2019-11-28T23:10:17Z")
Sounds like the best might be to rinse a _little_ (to help get the excess out of your mouth) but not a _lot_ (so as to leave some protective action from the toothpaste)? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/6 "2019-11-28T23:16:17Z")
I rinse, but my dentist has also advised not to. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/7 "2019-11-29T00:05:55Z")
Wait. They put fluoride in the water. ---
**Author:** ![Hickory\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Hickory\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hickory_Joe)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/8 "2019-11-29T00:27:12Z")
I always rinse thoroughly after brushing. The plaque that gets brushed off needs to exit the mouth. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/9 "2019-11-29T01:36:37Z")
Lots of links stating don’t rinse after brushing: [https://www.google.com/search?q=pronamel+don%27t+rinse&rlz=1C1MSIM\_enUS785US785&oq=pronamel+don%27t+rinse&aqs=chrome…69i57.6456j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8](https://www.google.com/search?q=pronamel+don%27t+rinse&rlz=1C1MSIM_enUS785US785&oq=pronamel+don%27t+rinse&aqs=chrome..69i57.6456j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) Most talk about removing the fluoride from the toothpaste. Several years ago, my dentist prescribed Crest ProHealth, supposedly stronger than off the shelf and he said not to rinse. It was less foamy than regular toothpaste and tasted nasty. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/10 "2019-11-29T01:45:02Z")
Well, well, I live and learn. (_Sometimes_ I learn! :D) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/11 "2019-11-29T01:55:08Z")
I don’t rinse, but only because my water isn’t drinkable and either bringing a glass of water into the bathroom with me or leaving the room to get one after is too much of a bother. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/12 "2019-11-29T04:05:11Z")
I have a bottle of prescription-only germ-killing stuff to rinse with. The label is very careful to say it is a mouth _rinse_ not a _mouthwash_. 😕 Instructions also specifically say to NOT rinse with water after using for 30 minutes, but also to NOT swallow any of the stuff. I suppose this means all those nasty germies get dead little by little over 30 minutes, not instantly upon contact. Maybe the same logic applies to toothpaste (either with regard to killing germs, or with regard to the fluoride bonding to tooth enamel to become permanently effective) ? (BTW, the stuff is reputed to taste awful, but it doesn’t at all. It takes like very dilute Scope mouthwash, IMHO.) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/13 "2019-11-29T05:18:34Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Wait. They put fluoride in the water. Which is why my dentist’s hygienist told me it’s better not to use toothpaste at all, it makes you think your teeth are clean (due to the minty taste) before they really are. I make it a habit to routinely ignore anything any dental hygienist says, including about flossing. I too have all my own teeth at age 70. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/14 "2019-11-29T06:05:33Z")
Dental hygienist says not to rinse. She also told me that if I want to get the best result from the fluoride treatment, to wait 30 minutes after brushing. Fluoride treatment is a gel which I apply to my teeth, let it sit for 2 minutes and then spit. There’s no fluoride in the water here, it’s in the salt, along with the iodine. My teeth are not so wonderful, and I grew up in an area that did not have fluoride in the water at the time. And the water was soft, so I didn’t get the mineralization that some people, who have well water, get. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/15 "2019-11-29T14:52:13Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I have a bottle of prescription-only germ-killing stuff to rinse with. The label is very careful to say it is a mouth _rinse_ not a _mouthwash_. 😕 Instructions also specifically say to NOT rinse with water after using for 30 minutes, but also to NOT swallow any of the stuff. > > I suppose this means all those nasty germies get dead little by little over 30 minutes, not instantly upon contact. Maybe the same logic applies to toothpaste (either with regard to killing germs, or with regard to the fluoride bonding to tooth enamel to become permanently effective) ? > > (BTW, the stuff is reputed to taste awful, but it doesn’t at all. It takes like very dilute Scope mouthwash, IMHO.) Your body produces its own microbe killer. It’s called saliva. The reason one has “death breath” in the morning is because, like some other functions, the body stops producing saliva while you’re asleep and without it, bacteria have a party in your mouth. They produce, among others, one called ‘cadaverine’, which is as unpleasant as it sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/16 "2019-11-29T15:05:34Z")
I always Listerine, gargle and spit after brushing. So far, no problems. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/17 "2019-11-29T15:30:24Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Several years ago, my dentist prescribed Crest ProHealth, supposedly stronger than off the shelf and he said not to rinse. It was less foamy than regular toothpaste and tasted nasty. My dentist recommended the same toothpaste years ago as well. I’ve used it ever since. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/18 "2019-11-29T17:03:46Z")
> [@Hickory\_Joe](#): > > I always rinse thoroughly after brushing. The plaque that gets brushed off needs to exit the mouth. Exactly. The plaque and all the other nasty stuff as well. I’d feel almost as unclean as if I didn’t brush if i didn’t rinse. Washing machines have rinse cycles so we don’t dry and wear clothes with a mixture of soap/dirt. Same with washing dishes, either in a automatic dishwasher or by hand. It’s unsanitary not to rinse. I remember eating dinner over my aunt’s neighbor house once: she’d wash dishes in the sink by dunking them and then scrubbing them in hot soapy water, then she’d pull the plate/cup/glass out of that mess and just dry it off. Ughh! ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/19 "2019-11-29T18:07:12Z")
I rinse vigorously, swishing the water around in my mouth to help remove anything in between my teeth that my brushing didn’t get. And I hate tasting toothpaste. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144/20 "2019-11-29T18:36:50Z")
Huh. Last I recall, the conventional wisdom was that toothpaste doesn’t really matter, it’s the mechanical effect of brushing. Whatever. I’m still rinsing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-and-rinsing/844144.md?page=2)