# Should you floss before or after brushing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 24, 2016, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215 "2016-06-24T09:20:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/1 "2016-06-24T09:20:29Z")
From [http://www.seductionbase.com/seduction/cat/Start\_PU/Opopen/46.html](http://www.seductionbase.com/seduction/cat/Start_PU/Opopen/46.html) > [@](#): > > Hey guys, I need to get your opinion on something. It’s very important, and we need a woman’s perspective. It’s a matter of life and death… My friend and I were having a debate and your answer could completely change my entire life… > > Do you brush before floss or floss before brush? No one knows… This “opinion opener” was also taught by “Mystery” to contestants on VH1’s “The Pickup Artist”. But seriously… > **[Should you floss before or after brushing?](https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/oral-care/products/floss-before-or-after-brushing.htm)** > > You probably know by now that you should floss once a day, but when should you do it? And should it be before or after you brush? > [@](#): > > …The official American Dental Association’s (ADA) stance is that it doesn’t really matter if you floss before or after you brush. However, flossing before you brush can clean out the spaces between your teeth and allow for more coverage and penetration by the fluoride in your toothpaste… Today at the dentist the dental hygienist said it was better to floss after brushing. If you brush without rinsing it allows the floss to apply fluoride from the toothpaste into the hard to get areas in between the teeth. It is fairly close in this poll: > **[Teeth cleaning order (toothpaste, mouthwash, floss)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=604818)** > > I prefer to floss last but I have recently been told this isn’t the way to clean teeth, although I’m not certain I understand the arguments (yahoo answers). How do you do it? Poll coming if you can’t see it. But this is about what you “should” do. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/2 "2016-06-24T14:58:53Z")
After. Also, reported for forum change (unless someone wants to debate the consequences of your rear molars voting to leave the EU.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/3 "2016-06-24T15:34:05Z")
My hygienist said to floss first, then brush, as the flossing loosens the schmutz, and the brushing clears it away. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/4 "2016-06-24T16:04:43Z")
Funny, because my wife flosses first, I after. And both follow with fluoride rinse. My thinking was that flossing removed/loosened particles, after which the brush cleared them away. I’m eagerly awaiting the results of this thread - which I will either throw in my wife’s face as proof that my wisdom is never to be questioned (or which I will conveniently forget to ever mention.) ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/5 "2016-06-24T16:07:48Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > My hygienist said to floss first, then brush, as the flossing loosens the schmutz, and the brushing clears it away. But it loosens the schmutz in spaces your toothbrush isn’t going to get in to clear away. Maybe a bristle here in there will work it’s way into spaces, but I doubt it’s to any significant degree, hence, the need for flossing. But that small possibility is a pro to flossing first. The only negative I can see is that flossing first may force plaque down into the gum line that brushing may have brushed away (assuming there is more brushing going on between teeth than I believe there is). Currently I’m flossing first pretty much out of habit, but I’ve been considering switching and thoroughly rinsing after flossing. Or even brushing, flossing, re-brushing. Yes, I have obsessed a bit about this. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/6 "2016-06-24T16:14:55Z")
Possibly a debate. Great? Not really. Off to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/7 "2016-06-24T16:28:39Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > My hygienist said to floss first, then brush, as the flossing loosens the schmutz, and the brushing clears it away. This is the logic a always follow. Also, it’s a matter of practicality. After a meaty meal, the first thing I usually do is grab a floss pick to get all those annoying pieces of meat stuck between my teeth. And while I’m at it, I just go ahead and floss the rest of my teeth. (Might as well.) It won’t be till later in the evening, right before bedtime, that I brush my teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/8 "2016-06-24T16:38:44Z")
Do them both at the same time. Harder to talk or type that way. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/9 "2016-06-24T18:13:32Z")
Wait, so does OP have any cites to actual, y’know, scientific studies to give us statistics on how often the brush-then-floss people get laid, versus the floss-then-brush folks? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/10 "2016-06-24T23:27:15Z")
Brush. Breakfast. Floss. Listerine, original recipe. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/11 "2016-06-24T23:51:38Z")
> [@seal\_cleaner](#): > > Brush. > Breakfast. Mmm, tasty. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/12 "2016-06-25T01:33:18Z")
Here is what I do: 1 Rinse mouth with water 2 Floss 3 Rinse mouth with water again 4 Gargle with Listerine 5 Brush my teeth 6 Rinse with Fluoride Mouthwash I do this preferably after every meal, I’m OCD about it, I’m always running late getting out of the house though. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/13 "2016-06-25T01:36:04Z")
Both, according to my dentist. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/14 "2016-06-26T04:11:06Z")
Every time I’ve asked a dentist or oral hygienist the answer has boiled down to “I don’t care just so long as you do floss!” Apparently, getting people to floss regularly at all, regardless of whether before or after brushing, is much more of an issue than the before-or-after-brushing question. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/15 "2016-06-26T12:59:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Every time I’ve asked a dentist or oral hygienist the answer has boiled down to “I don’t care just so long as you do floss!” Apparently, getting people to floss regularly at all, regardless of whether before or after brushing, is much more of an issue than the before-or-after-brushing question. dentist here, yep. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-floss-before-or-after-brushing/758215/16 "2016-06-26T16:35:44Z")
I never really thought about this until now. I always brush, then floss, as I figured the floss would get the gunk the brush can’t reach. But I can see the advantage to doing it the other way too. The brush would get rid of the gunk you floss out. My dentist (who I am overdue for visiting) is just glad I do floss.