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Floss Before Brushing
- AznHisoka 11mo agoWhat about rinsing your toothbrush as you brush? Is there a min number of times you should do so? Just can I just wash it out when i am done?
- random3 11mo agoI guess this goes for water pickers use too
- rustybolt 11mo agoI stubbornly floss every day and every yearly checkup my dentist tells me it does not help and recommends me to stop doing it.
- AznHisoka 11mo agoMaybe your dentist just needs more business? Im half kidding but i once had a dentist that told me I had 4 cavities that needed to be fixed, but when I to a 2nd dentist, she spotted zero cavities
- whateveracct 11mo agoSome dentists are way too aggressive about fillings. My dentist keeps a watch on smaller cavities and if they aren't progressing terribly they hold off.
- alabhyajindal 11mo agoI have had the exact same experience. Always worth it to get a second opinion before any dental work.
- aaronbrethorst 11mo agoThat's absolutely happening. https://jacobin.com/2025/07/private-equity-dental-care-health https://jacobin.com/2025/07/private-equity-dental-care-healt...
- troupo 11mo agoIIRC there were studies saying that flossing isn't as great as people suppose it is. My completely uneducated guess is that it's marginally useful for people with good teeth (shape, spacing) because debris doesn't accumulate as easily, and brushes are effective. For my case (crooked teeth, very narrow gaps) it's a great helper to get out the debris, morsels of food etc. that the brush can't get out.
- dsego 11mo agoI shared this with HN on many occasions. My wife has crowded teeth, doesn't floss, barely touches her waterpik, doesn't use any proper brushing technique. She probably had a couple of fillings done since I met her 20 years ago. In the meantime I have cavities almost every year, one root canal and a dental implant on a previosly failed root canal. I flossed since university and use mouth rinses and electric toothbrushes and so on. Except for genetics, there are a few differences in our habits throughout the years. I would always brush in the evenings but I was neglecting mornings (somehow I internalized something that a teacher once said that brushing in the morning is silly because you haven't eaten anything). I also drink way too much coffee which is acidic, she doesn't drink any. And lastly, I would at times avoid dentist appointments for years, which probably didn't help. Edit: I forgot to mention, when I was younger, I used to snore and breathe through my mouth a lot. I think this has also negatively affected my teeth.
- troupo 11mo agoOh, genetics trump everything.
- jemmyw 11mo agoYou started out good with what seemed like an easy comparison, she doesn't floss, you do, she still has better teeth. But then you go on to show all the other differences, especially not always brushing twice a day, different diet, avoiding dentist, and its hard to understand the point of your post. My wife and I have an almost identical routine and diet, we use the same brand electric brushes, always twice a day, and usually have coffee together. However, she's not had many dental problems, but I've had to go to the dentist tons this year. Oh, incidentally I also knocked my front teeth out in a cycling accident.
- ses1984 11mo agoWell based on the amount of shit I dig out even if I floss after, and it’s effect on my breath, ima keep doing it.
- rustybolt 11mo agoYes, that's exactly my reasoning. Even if it doesn't help for anything, it just feels satisfying and more clean. Kind of like picking your nails.
- dexwiz 11mo agoSome people do over floss and it can cause permanent gum damage. I assume that is a tiny fraction though.
- jpalawaga 11mo agothere are studies that show that flossing with the wrong technique doesn't do much. and it's meh on cavity prevention. what it does do is prevent gingival inflammation, which can be good for gum health, especially if you're prone to getting food caught in there.
- gdulli 11mo agoIf you floss too hard or aggressively then that can be bad for your teeth/gums. If you floss only rarely causing your gums to bleed when you do and you don't wash or brush away the dried blood, that can also be bad. But I don't believe that any dentist in good faith would advise not to floss, if done properly.
- aaronbrethorst 11mo agoI'm surprised that this isn't self-evident. Flossing dislodges stuff from between your teeth. Brushing beforehand means you don't have an opportunity to remove that stuff.
- dsego 11mo agoWhy don't you have the opportunity? Flossing removes the stuff.
- dexwiz 11mo agoNot completely. It might end up on the floss but it might also end up on your teeth or gums.
- dsego 11mo agoHow does brushing remove it then? I'm guessing it's still in between your teeth.
- stronglikedan 11mo agoAnd just rinsing removes it.
- Traubenfuchs 11mo agoI have talked about this flossing topic surprisingly often and it's one of the reasons I believe the majority of people are idiots with zero critical thinking. Especially in regards to health. No one seems to read inlets or understand them. It's awful.
- tonyspiff 11mo agoThere's the argument that flossing afterwards would drag some fluoride/nHAP to the space between your teeth which wouldn't be reachable by the toothbrush. So I floss during brushing. One pass with the toothbrush, floss, second pass with toothbrush, rinse.
- 11mo ago
- jayd16 11mo agoI thought the ideal order was brush, floss, mouthwash.
- srik 11mo agoUsing mouthwash every time is not ideal because most mouthwashes disrupt your oral microbiome which will result in undesired side-effects like teeth staining etc.
- ravenstine 11mo agoI've heard this before, yet my mouth remains... unaffected. What does an "oral microbiome" even mean? I understand what it means in the literal sense, but would a person's mouth be dysfunctional if it were hypothetically devoid of microbes? Is there an accepted healthy oral microbiome composition?
- dsego 11mo agoYou can get oral probiotics, like lactibiane buccodental. These healthy bacteria compete with harmful bacteria that causes cavities and gum disease.
- jayd16 11mo agoYou're saying we can make good toothpaste but we can't make good mouthwash?
- IAmBroom 11mo agoCitation required.
- dingaling 11mo agoNo, mouthwash after brushing removes the fluoride that the toothpaste has just deposited. Similarly, avoid rinsing after brushing. There's not really a 'good' time to use mouthwash. Maybe an hour or more after a meal, if you're in a rush - but no sooner than that, as the tooth enamel will still be softened by the food.
- eqvinox 11mo agoDid they teach it the other way around somewhere? Here (Germany) I've been told floss before brush for as long as I can remember...
- bena 11mo agoWhen I get my teeth cleaned at the dentist, flossing is the last thing done. So I assume people internalize that
- distances 11mo agoSo a stupid question, but does teeth cleaning do something more than removing the stone (calculus)? My dentist removes that with a spike during a checkup and isn't doing any upsells so I've never in my life had a separate cleaning appointment.
- RandallBrown 11mo agoMy dentists have always done a floss, polish, and fluoride treatment (in addition to the tooth scraping) as part of my cleanings.
- bena 11mo agoYeah, scrape away any built up plaque, polish, floss, check for cavities, x-rays every other visit (once a year).
- jhack 11mo agoThis is how I've always done it and I was blown away when I found out people do it backwards. It makes no logical sense.
- dsego 11mo agoWhy not? Brushing and swishing removes most of the particles, and then you floss to reach the tight spaces.
- DuncanCoffee 11mo agoBecause when you floss you create more particles
- CoastalCoder 11mo agoIs there empirical evidence that this order is more effective?
- gcanyon 11mo agoThe article cites a study saying that it is.
- ninju 11mo agohttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29741239/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29741239/ (a study linked in the article)
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- derbOac 11mo agoThe essay links to this study, so yes: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29741239/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29741239/ I was a bit confused about why it would matter, but then realized I brush, then floss, then use a fluoride rinse, which isn't really addressed by the study. If you didn't use a rinse or a fluoride floss, presumably the toothpaste from brushing would be more likely to get into the areas between your teeth after flossing. If you use a fluoride rinse or fluoride floss I'm not sure it would matter much, or brushing first might even be better, because it would remove material to make flossing more effective. Maybe?
- IAmBroom 11mo agoAgain, "fluoridated" is not equal. In concentrations: Drinking water << mouthwash << toothpaste (assuming all are "fluoridated").
- sublinear 11mo agoI also rinse after flossing before brushing. Then I rinse again after brushing. I also rinse throughout the day whenever I can. It's not a routine for me as much as a habit along with generally always having plenty of water to keep things moving and clean.
- dsego 11mo agoI mean, it's advice from someone on the internet, are there any studies to back it up? Edit: I missed the study linked at the bottom. I floss after brushing, just because brushing removes a lot of particles. If I floss before, there is just so much more flossing I need to do to get everything out. I learned another thing recently, to use a proper brushing technique, I think it's the modified Bass technique. I also make sure to let the bristles go underneath the gum line.
- fishtoaster 11mo agoWell, TFA linked to https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29741239/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29741239/
- brap 11mo agoMight sound like an ad but I don’t care: I cannot recommend enough Jordan Expand floss. There are probably other brands that have these but that’s just the one I know. The amount of shit this floss scrapes out is like an order of magnitude more than regular floss. Going back to plain floss feels like you’re not even flossing, it just glides over without really doing anything.
- scoot 11mo agoWhile we're on the subject, if you brush after meals, you're doing it wrong. Brush first thing in the morning (before your first meal/drink, other than water), and last thing at night (well after your last meal). Plaque acid is at its lowest, so this approach results in the least damage to enamel from brushing. (Amongst other reasons.) For a similar reason, only have a thorough brush in the morning, and a mild brush in the evening.
- NoboruWataya 11mo agoIt so happens that this is what I was doing, which is good. However, for years I was brushing after eating my breakfast because I assumed it was the better way as then you aren't going about your day with your breakfast on your teeth. But when I looked into it I found that for a variety of reasons it is apparently better to brush before breakfast. So it was an important lesson in not assuming the "obvious" (to you) way is the best.
- PcChip 11mo agoI'm curious what these reasons are (My second thought after typing that was "I suppose I could just ask an LLM though")
- chucky_z 11mo agoThere are 'best to brush' timelines around eating/drinking. Usually you want to either: - Brush no less than 15m before eating - Do not brush until 45m+ after eating I don't fully understand the science, as I'm not a dentist, but it's something related to the way that things stick to/are absorbed by enamel and dentin. I believe water is the exception here, you can drink water and then immediately brush. You should not brush and then immediately drink water though. You want the toothpaste to stick around and form a barrier.
- dsego 11mo agoSupposedly, after eating the pH in the mouth drops and becomes more acidic, which softens the enamel, so brushing will do more harm than good. That's my understanding.
- deepvibrations 11mo agoSo long as you leave a gap of 45 minutes, you're still better off cleaning After breakfast as far as I understand.
- SilverElfin 11mo agoHow do people here feel about water flossers?
- OptionOfT 11mo agoFrom my convo with the dentist (N=1): flossing is better. But anything is better than not doing anything.
- pyk 11mo agoIncredible for post-popcorn, and for $10 nowadays a no brainer. I still find floss does a better job at scraping the sides of the tooth vs water flossers for dislodging.
- Herring 11mo agoI got one recently. Felt like my teeth have never really been clean before.
- plorkyeran 11mo agoThe most important thing is to find something that you'll use regularly. If you find water flossing easier to do daily than manual flossing, that's more important than which is better at cleaning your teeth.
- crimsoneer 11mo agoWorth pointing out the evidence for flossing at all is pretty darn poor.
- PlunderBunny 11mo agoYeah, but have you ever smelled a little bit of meat that has been stuck between your teeth for a while?
- IAmBroom 11mo agoIMO, it varies by person. I rarely have inter-tooth cavities, so I seldom floss.
- gcanyon 11mo agoFor anyone who's curious, Reach TotalCare Floss is the best: * Very shred-resistant * Grippy, even when wet, so you don't have to turn your fingertips purple * Thin enough to fit most teeth, but supposed to have some sort of textured surface to work better
- stronglikedan 11mo agoI find that regular old Reach waxed works just as well, and has two benefits over Totalcare: it's more comfortable and it's cheaper — dirt cheap for floss, really.
- gcanyon 11mo agoFor me at least, traditional floss shreds and breaks. The finger-tips aspect is a deal breaker for me. Floss is such a minor expense at the end of the day, it doesn't make sense to worry about the price -- that said, the non-slippery-when-wet aspect means you can use less of Totalcare, evening out the price differential somewhat.
- snozolli 11mo agoOn the subject of dental health: Bill Burr, the comedian, worked as a dental assistant when he was younger. He gave a piece of advice on his podcast that I wish I had heard when I was young: if a dentist tells you that you have a cavity, get a second opinion. Once that outer layer of enamel is breached, it will never be as resilient again.
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