When you brush your teeth, how long do you do it for, and what is your ritual? Do you brush your teeth quickly and then do you immediately take a cup of water to rinse out your mouth after? If you do that, you are not alone because so many other people rinse after brushing their teeth. Why wouldn’t you do that? That is because if you don’t, you will end up swallowing the toothpaste which is something you want to avoid since the ingestion of fluoride can make you sick.
However, if you have been rinsing your mouth after brushing your teeth, you are doing it wrong! That is because you cannot rinse according to dentists and other dental specialists.
Why Is It A Bad Idea To Rinse Your Mouth After Brushing Your Teeth?
When you brush your teeth, you have the protective fluoride across them and cover up your enamel to protect them as you clean. You want the effects of fluoride on your teeth. That goes for even when you finish brushing them. That means when you rinse your mouth, you are removing the fluoride and its protective properties from your teeth. That means your teeth no longer have protection against cavities and other dental ailments if there isn’t any fluoride left. Therefore, you cleaned your teeth but did not leave any protection from the fluoride covering the enamel after rinsing. That is why rinsing is a big no-no.
Does that mean you have to swallow the foamed-up toothpaste after brushing your teeth? On the International Space Station, that is what the astronauts do because spitting would not work out too well in a microgravity environment. However, their toothpaste is designed that way as it does not have too much fluoride. Most types of toothpaste are not designed otherwise for you to swallow it. Therefore, no, unless you are an astronaut on the International Space Station using toothpaste meant for them, then you do not swallow the toothpaste either.
How Do You Remove Toothpaste From Your Mouth After Brushing Your Teeth If You Cannot Rinse?
The answer is pretty simple because all you need to do is to spit. Spit the toothpaste out after you brush your teeth and spit it out as much as you can so you do not risk swallowing much of it. You also don’t want to eat or drink anything within a half-hour of brushing your teeth or else that will remove the protective properties of the fluoride too. The point in brushing your teeth is that you not only clean your teeth after eating for the day to remove bacteria and germs from your teeth that can cause dental disease. The same goes for after you wake up in the morning. Therefore, if you remove the protective properties by rinsing, then you are not allowing it to help. That is why you must spit it out as much as you can after brushing your teeth.
You also want to ensure that you are brushing your teeth for a full two minutes by rubbing your teeth with your toothbrush clockwise and counterclockwise on each tooth. You want to ensure that you cover your molars well and you spend at least two minutes brushing each of your molars. You also want to ensure that you replace your toothbrush every three months or six months maximum because bacteria on your toothbrush will cause it to go bad. You don’t want to brush your teeth by using an old toothbrush as you will not be properly cleaning them. Take good care of your teeth, your older self will thank you for that.
