You Shouldn’t Rinse Your Teeth With Water After Brushing
Rinsing your teeth with water after brushing is a step you can start skipping for good
I used to rinse thoroughly after brushing my teeth to remove any remnants of toothpaste left in my mouth. That is until I found out from a dentist’s TikTok video that it isn’t the most effective method. Instead, I now spit out as much toothpaste as I can without swishing with water so I can allow the toothpaste to do its job just a little longer. However, I wasn’t sure why I was doing this — or what the benefits were — until I spoke with an expert.
Why it’s important to skip rinsing with water after brushing your teeth
Fluoride is an important ingredient in toothpaste that helps make the enamel harder and more resistant to acids that cause cavities. It’s the most well-established effective ingredient in toothpaste, so make sure yours has fluoride in it.
When you brush your teeth, you’re cleaning any film and bacteria from food and sugary drinks. When you go a step further and skip rinsing, you’re leaving the fluoride from the toothpaste in your mouth for a longer time, giving you a better effect from the fluoride.
Wait at least 15 minutes after brushing to drink water. After brushing your teeth, your saliva will clear the toothpaste out so you won’t taste it all day.
What if you’ve been rinsing all your life?
If you’re just finding out about this tip, you may be thinking you’ve been undoing all your hard work of brushing every day. But that’s not true. As long as you brush the standard two times a day for two minutes each time, the fluoride will remain in your mouth to help protect your teeth.
You’re still doing what you need to do to have good oral health to protect your teeth. The idea of not rinsing is just an extra step to help the fluoride be even more effective.
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