Here's what I do: brush with fluoride toothpaste for a couple minutes (I try not to rush but sometimes I totally do), then spit but don't rinse with water. After that, I use a fluoride mouth rinse, swish for about a minute, and again spit, no water rinse after. I heard somewhere leaving the fluoride on your teeth longer helps?
I feel like my dentist hinted this is good, but honestly, sometimes it feels like overkill. Anyone have a more efficient method, or is there some trick I'm missing?
I’ve actually asked my hygienist about this exact thing because I wanted to cut down on steps. She said the “spit, don’t rinse” approach after brushing is spot on—leaving that layer of fluoride helps it soak in longer. But she also mentioned if you’re using a fluoride rinse right after, it’s a bit redundant since both do the same job. I ditched the rinse for a while and honestly didn’t notice any difference in sensitivity or checkups. Maybe just stick to one if it feels like overkill?
Yeah, my ortho said the same thing about the paste—spit, don’t rinse, and let the fluoride hang out on your teeth. I used to double up with both paste and rinse, but honestly, I never saw a difference either. If anything, it just felt like more work. I guess unless your dentist specifically recommends the rinse, the paste alone does the trick.
I get what you mean about the paste being enough, but I’m not totally convinced the rinse is pointless. I kinda geeked out on this a while back because I was getting cavities even with regular brushing. My dentist said the paste is more concentrated, but the rinse can actually get into the spots your brush misses—like between teeth or around brackets if you’ve got braces. I started using both, but not at the same time. I’ll brush, spit, don’t rinse with water (like you said), then after a while I use the fluoride rinse before bed. It’s a bit extra, but since I started doing that, I swear my sensitivity’s gone down and my last checkup was all clear.
I guess it depends on your teeth, though. Some people probably don’t need the rinse if their brushing is on point and they don’t have a lot of trouble spots. But for me, the rinse feels like an extra layer of insurance, especially since I’m kinda lazy with flossing. I did read somewhere that if you rinse right after brushing, you can wash away the fluoride from the toothpaste, so I try to leave a gap between the two.
Not saying everyone needs to double up, but if you’re getting cavities even with good brushing, maybe the rinse helps? Or maybe I just got lucky. I dunno. Teeth stuff is weird—what works for one person doesn’t always work for everyone else.
I kinda geeked out on this a while back because I was getting cavities even with regular brushing.
I’ve got braces right now and my ortho actually told me to do something similar—brush with fluoride paste, spit, don’t rinse, then use a fluoride rinse at night. They said the rinse helps get in between the brackets and wires where the brush can’t always reach. I used to skip the rinse because it felt like too much, but after getting a couple white spots last year, I’m sticking with it. It doesn’t take long and my teeth feel cleaner. Not sure it’s necessary for everyone, but with braces, it seems worth the extra step.
