Many of you rinse your mouth with mouthwash after brushing your teeth. But you shouldn’t. Find out why.
Are you sure you know how to use your mouthwash correctly? You probably think so, but chances are you are making several mistakes.
A mouthwash is a dental solution, which is used pure or diluted and which is kept in the mouth for the recommended time, in order to clean or treat the teeth, the gums, or the oral mucous membranes. First mistake: it should not be rinsed off. Otherwise, everything goes down the sink. However, most people rinse their mouths after using their mouthwash, which cancels out any beneficial effects they might have gained from it.
Another precaution to take: do not use mouthwash immediately after brushing your teeth. Otherwise, it ends up being a waste, because one of the benefits of using toothpaste when brushing is the presence of fluoride, which helps fight cavities. However, by using the mouthwash after brushing, it removes the fluoride that the toothpaste left in the mouth, which was to protect the teeth.
But what is the main function of mouthwash? It is precisely to help “prevent cavities”, because it “contains fluoride”, an ingredient which “reduces demineralization of the teeth, stimulates mineralization and helps protect the enamel”. Another advantage is that the mouthwash reaches places where the brush cannot, passing between the teeth.
So how should you use mouthwash? In situations where we don’t usually brush our teeth, like after a snack. It can also be used when brushing was done a while ago. It is therefore important to maintain, at least, a minimum interval of 30 minutes between brushing and mouthwash. So you can brush your teeth right after dinner and use mouthwash just before bedtime. This will be much more effective than doing both in a row.
Finally, it is important to understand that mouthwash cannot be considered a substitute for the toothbrush. Indeed, in the absence of a mechanical action, it is less effective in eliminating bacterial plaque, a film made up of bacteria and food residues that cause cavities.
Finally, it is recommended toavoid eating or drinking, at least, for 15 minutes after using the mouthwashand to use the amount recommended on the packaging, which varies between 10 and 20 milliliters.