What Comes First Dental Floss or Your Toothbrush?

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Taking care of your teeth by either using a dental Floss routine and brushing your teeth is critical for great dental hygiene, preventing bad breath, gum disease, and cavities.

Most people brush their teeth before they floss but this is actually a mistake, to learn why this sequence is best for your oral health continue reading our blog.

Why is it better to do Dental Floss floss before brushing them?

When you brush your teeth before you floss any food, bacteria, and bacteria that are loosened by flossing stay there until the next time that you brush your teeth.Ā  But if you floss first and then brush the particles that are released are removed from your mouth resulting in less dental plaque and a lower chance of getting gum disease.

So remember to floss to loosen food debris and plaque deep between your teeth and brush your teeth to remove the plaque.Ā  If you follow this pattern you’ll reduce plaque, help prevent gum disease and don’t rinse or put anything in your mouth after brushing your teeth.Ā  This will help you keep the fluoride in your mouth for as long as possible.Ā  You should wait for at least 30 minutes after using mouthwash to eat or drink anything.
To learn some new strategies on how to have healthy gums and have a great oral health routine check out Harvard Health’s at-home health care guide.
8 dental hygiene tips by Healthline:
  • Don’t use toothpicks to remove food
  • Floss every day to remove plaque, bacteria, and food debris
  • Use toothpaste and mouth rinses with fluoride in them
  • Apply gentle pressure while brushing
  • Brush your teeth and the roof of your mouth
  • Use dental products that are ADA approved
  • Get routine dental cleanings twice a year
  • Brush twice a day
When should I see a dentist?
Your dentist should also examine your mouth every 6 months as well to detect early signs of gingivitis, oral infection, and oral cancer:
  • Loose teeth
  • Tooth pain
  • Ā Receding gums
  • Bad breath
  • Cold or hot sensitivity
  • Red or swollen gums
Dental problems like cavities, gum disease, bad breath, and sore gums are preventable by practicing great oral hygiene in the proper order.Ā  Oral health can also have a huge impact on your overall health and quality of life.

Don’t forget about maximizing your water Intake for improving at-home dental care:Ā Ā 

To further improve your oral health you should remember that what we drink can be as bad for our teeth as what we eat or perhaps even worse for us because sugary drinks donā€™t fill us up and have high concentrations of sugars, sodium, and saturated fat.Ā  Getting in the habit of comparing nutritionĀ facts on drinks just like food products is important because although drinks donā€™t get stuck in between your teeth like food can they can lead to tooth decay.Ā  Water is also vital to our general health,Ā Scientific evidenceĀ supports the positive health impact ofĀ fluoridated drinking waterĀ as a solution for preventing tooth decay.

Strategies to Improve your Oral Health:

  • Limit the sugary or teeth staining drinks available at home (red wine, pop, tea, juices)
  • Drink more water, carry a water bottle around when you go out, you can even add flavour to your water-using (herbs, fruit, berries, cucumbers for different tastes)
  • Eat snacks that wonā€™t harm your teeth like salads, nuts, seeds, fruits, raw vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, cheese, and milk

If you’d like to get more oral health advice that can benefit your at-home dental care routine contact our dental clinic in London Ontario and always remember that regular cleanings by a dental hygenist cannot be replaced no matter how great the at-home routine is.

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