# Oral Hygiene

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-hygiene/24635>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 5, 2000, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-hygiene/24635 "2000-07-05T13:20:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hedgemeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Hedgemeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedgemeister)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2000, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-hygiene/24635/1 "2000-07-05T13:20:46Z")

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Ever since I read the book Slapstick, I have been brushing my teeth in warm water on the theory that warm water cleans faster than cold water. Anyone know for sure if this is true?

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**Author:** ![Nurlman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Nurlman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurlman)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2000, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oral-hygiene/24635/2 "2000-07-05T21:36:10Z")

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In accordance with my belief that a legitimate question shouldn’t be allowed to fall off the first page without at least one answer, WAG or not, I’ll take a shot…

The best I can find on the internet on the subject is a page from a dentist in San Diego:

> [@](#):
>
> _from [www.tpcorp.com/dg/maintenance.html](http://www.tpcorp.com/dg/maintenance.html)_  
> Also, try brushing using warm water, instead of cold. Warm water helps to soften toothbrush bristles enough to make brushing gentler on your gums.

The cleaning effect of toothbrushing is almost entirely mechanical, resulting mostly from the scrubbing action of the bristles and, to a lesser extent, the abrasiveness of the toothpaste. Water may help keep the removed plaque in suspension rather than allowing it to be redeposited on the teeth, but the water temperature probably has little to do with it-- other than the effect that it might have on the toothbrush itself as described above.