Spit, Don't Rinse!

At our dental office in Darien, CT , we are often talking to each other and our patients about toothbrushes, toothpastes, and the newest trends in dental hygiene! In this month's blog post, I want to explain the importance of what you do in the moments after you have brushed your teeth.

As I have discussed in previous blog posts, factors like the type of brush, type of toothpaste, and how long you brush are important. However, one factor we have yet to discuss is what you do immediately AFTER you brush. Right after you spit, or as we say, "expectorate", most people rinse; and THAT is an easily changeable but very IMPORTANT factor in your dental hygiene.  I will give you a game-changing habit: stop rinsing. Spit, don't rinse. Yes, that's right.

In many cases, the toothbrush and/or toothpaste you use can be the cause of a problem, like erosion, gum recession, and sensitivity; but also in many cases not rinsing and avoiding food/drink for 30 minutes after brushing, these problems can be improved. (You read that right: you can improve certain dental problems for free!)

Leaving a very thin film of toothpaste on your teeth has many benefits. Depending on your toothpaste, the added ingredients like fluoride, desensitizers, remineralizing agents, and whiteners all need time to work on the tooth surface. Leaving a film of the toothpaste on the tooth is giving these ingredients more time to take effect. And if you can take that one step further - don't eat or drink for 30 minutes after brushing either - then you are really reaping the benefits of those active ingredients in your toothpaste.

Some of you may know that there are toothpastes available by prescription only because they have ingredients to treat sensitivity, high activity of decay, dry mouth and other oral problems. If you read the instructions of use for these toothpastes, it says "expectorate, and do not rinse after use" and "NPO 30 minutes after use" (NPO meaning nothing by mouth). This is all to allow a thin film of the toothpaste to remain on the teeth as long as possible in order to take effect. If the toothpaste is rinsed off, it is only in contact with the tooth surface for 2 minutes or less, which is not enough time to do much. If you really feel the need to spit it out, especially if you are brushing for an entire 2 minutes, we suggest brushing, rinsing, and then do a light brushing again with your spit only!

So the next time you brush, before you put the brush down, take a moment to pause and remember Dr. Maryann Lehmann's advice: do not rinse! Think about not drinking or eating for the next 30 minutes. These small changes can improve your oral health in a big way.