Floss conundrum

[owlmoose]

So now that I'm going to be a good girl and floss my teeth every night, I face a serious question: order of operations. I've always brushed first, then used mouthwash, which seems a highly logical order to me, but I can make equally good arguments for flossing either before or after brushing (I'm pretty convinced the mouthwash ought to be last).

[Poll #1215778]

Present your evidence! (Or your strong personal opinions, or wild guesses. Those work too.)

Comments

[bottle-of-shine.livejournal.com]

How's brushing before flossing work? THAT SEEMS SO STRANGE. But then again, I grew up watching my mom with her three different types of toothbrushes:

1. Floss front.
2. Brush with soft brush.
3. Floss back.
4. Brush with medium brush.
5. Gargle.
6. Floss entire mouth again.
7. Gargle.

My habit has developed since if I floss after brushing and just rinse, I find all sort of treasure later. NO THANKS, MOUTH. I will pass.

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but back when I did floss, that was how I did it. Mouthwash seems to get the extra bits. but maybe brushing gets them better! I'll have to try it both ways and see what I like.

[concertinette.livejournal.com]

I asked my dentist once - though I didn't have "a" dentist, I had a new senior dental school student each year, but here I refer to one who I trusted - and she said it honestly didn't matter, that any pattern that inspired me to floss regularly was the right way. Personally, I find it kind of rewarding to get all sorts of gunk out from in between my teeth when I floss, so I floss first, then brush.

One might argue that the toothbrush could then knock gunk back into those crevices, at which point it becomes clear that cleanliness is an iterative process. As in, how many passes with the whisk before you stop trying to sweep the last bits of dirt into the dustpan and just scatter them back around the room?

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

any pattern that inspired me to floss regularly was the right way

Now that's interesting. And it makes sense, too -- that even if there is a way that's better, flossing is always better than not-flossing, so even if your way is suboptimal, if it keeps you in the habit, then that's the way to go.