The “superhero toothpaste powers” thing totally works at our house too—my son’s all about it, and now he acts like he’s got a forcefield on his teeth after brushing. As for the raisins, I feel you... my daughter will eat them by the handful and then look at me like I’m crazy when I say they’re not tooth-friendly. We’ve started calling them “sneaky sugar bombs.” Still, I’ll take a sticky raisin over a late-night cookie raid any day. Not rinsing has honestly made a difference, though—less plaque drama at our last cleaning, which was a win.
I get so nervous about whether I’m brushing “right” or just making things worse. The “don’t rinse after brushing” thing kind of weirds me out—doesn’t it feel gross to leave all that toothpaste in your mouth? But I’ve heard the same, that it helps the fluoride stick around longer. I tried skipping the rinse for a week and honestly, my mouth felt a bit sticky but my teeth were less sensitive. Still, raisins are my nemesis... they just glue themselves everywhere. Wish there was a superhero power for that.
Wish there was a superhero power for that.
If there’s a superhero for raisins, I’d like to borrow their cape during oatmeal cookie season. I get the sticky mouth thing too—sometimes feels like I’m wearing toothpaste lip gloss. Ever tried those little floss picks after a raisin attack? They’re my secret weapon. But I’m still fuzzy on whether using a fluoride rinse after brushing is overkill or just what the dentist ordered... does anyone actually do both?
sometimes feels like I’m wearing toothpaste lip gloss
That’s exactly it—raisin glue all over your teeth. I’ve had braces for a while, so I basically live with floss picks in my pocket. About the fluoride rinse, my ortho actually told me to do both, but not rinse with water after brushing. Just spit, then use the rinse. It felt a bit much at first, but honestly, with all the metal in my mouth, I’ll take the extra protection. Not sure if it’s overkill for everyone though...
About the fluoride rinse, my ortho actually told me to do both, but not rinse with water after brushing. Just spit, then use the rinse.
I got a similar recommendation, and honestly, I was skeptical at first—just spit and go? I always felt like I needed to rinse with water or my mouth would feel gross, but apparently that’s the point. More fluoride hangs around if you don’t rinse it all away. My dentist said to treat the rinse almost like a “finisher” after brushing, especially since I’ve had a couple of close calls with white spots around my brackets.
It does feel like overkill some days, but after I got my first tiny cavity while wearing braces, I started taking it more seriously. Haven’t had another one since. The only thing I still struggle with is that sticky feeling after using both paste and rinse—sometimes feels like my mouth’s just coated in something. But if it keeps the cavities away, I’ll deal with it.