The New Brushing Technique: No RINSING

Did you know that there has been a new toothbrush regimen that is being accepted by most people? Many of us are used to rinsing or gargling after we brush our teeth but dentists nowadays have recommended to not rinse at all. I tried this a while ago and really it didn't feel fresh unlike brushing with rinsing. The toothpaste just didn't taste fine.

The explanation to this is that the fluoride in the toothpaste stays on our teeth in the mouth for a much longer time. When we rinse, of course, the fluoride along with residual toothpaste and saliva will be flushed away.

What is the purpose of fluoride in our toothpaste anyway? The fluoride is responsible for making our teeth stronger to resist cavities. By the way, our teeth are composed of minerals that get easily destroyed (or de- mineralized) by acids.

Where do these acids come from? These come from the bacteria, which are normally present in our mouth, that use sugars (sweet foods, chocolates, breads) as their food. These sugars are metabolized to form acids which are very good de-mineralizers of the acid component in our teeth. The result? Cavities! To put this simply, just remember the toothpaste advertisement which features a shell rendered weak after being immersed in vinegar.

The idea of not rinsing after brushing may not taste good at all but if we think of it and try to evaluate the mechanism of fluoride in a cellular level, it really is very convenient in maintaining our teeth cavity-free.