You may be brushing your teeth wrong, top dentists have warned.
According to experts, rinsing your mouth with water after brushing negates some of the benefits you get from brushing in the first place.
The best way to ensure you keep your pearly whites intact is to brush your teeth with a fluoride toothpaste, spit it out, and go about your business.
If you rinse your teeth after brushing, you remove fluoride, a chemical that protects tooth enamel and prevents cavities.
Most toothpastes contain fluoride which helps protect tooth enamel against bacteria in the mouth.
“You’re basically rinsing off the active ingredients in the toothpaste you just put on your teeth,” said Dr. Margherita Fontana, professor of dentistry at the University of Michigan. Washington Post.
Fluoride is a mineral stored in rocks and released into the air, soil and water. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is found in very small amounts in black tea, raisins and potatoes.
When added to the surface of teeth, fluoride helps strengthen enamel by protecting it against acid naturally produced by bacteria living in the mouth.
Bacteria accelerate when you follow a diet rich in sugar or begin to neglect oral care.
If acid stays on teeth for too long, it can wear away the enamel and cause cavities or other complications, according to the CDC.
The bacteria that live on your teeth produce acid, which will eat away at your teeth if you don’t brush.
The protective effects of fluoride were first discovered in the early 20th century by American and Italian dentists.
Later, the United States began a large-scale test: adding fluoride to the water supplies of four different cities. from 1945.
By 1949, tooth decay rates were so low in these cities that the United States took steps to make fluoridated water a national standard. In 2020, about 62.9 percent of Americans used fluoridated water supplies, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The organization named this near-national water fluoridation as one of the 10 largest public health achievements of the 20th century.
Suffice to say, dentists are pretty convinced that fluoride is good for your teeth. They recommend brushing your teeth twice a day with a toothpaste that contains fluoride.
In high amounts, fluoride can be toxic and cause stomach pains and diarrhea, according to medscape.
But dentists have done many studies, like this one. review 2019 of nearly 12,000 patients, showing that toothpastes with 1,500 ppm fluoride are safe for long-term use and unlikely to cause toxicity.
“If your toothpaste has active ingredients like fluoride and potassium nitrate, you’ll want to spit, not rinse,” said Dr. Joyce Kahng, a California-based cosmetic and restorative dentist. shared on tiktok.
The commentators couldn’t believe the news. Several people echoed the sentiment of user don_szalaya, who commented, “It’s hard not to. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
So if you’re a chronic rinser and can’t stand the feeling of leaving toothpaste on your teeth, then you can rinse your mouth with a fluoride mouthwash instead of water, Fontana said.
Or if you can bear it, you can brush your teeth, wait 20 minutes, and then rinse.
But in reality, fluoride and other active ingredients in toothpaste work better when you let them sit on your teeth, Kahng said.