Is mouthwash necessary? It depends on who you ask, but one dentist says it's not the most important thing you should do with your dental care routine.
Your burning dental hygiene questions, answered.
Most of us know that brushing and flossing our teeth is as
important as showering, but is mouthwash necessary, too? No, at least
according to one expert dentist.
[post_ads]"The biggest bang for your buck is brushing your teeth and
seeing your dentist regularly," Lance Vernon, a former senior instructor
at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine told Apartment Therapy. "If you can do these things, you're lowering your risk for tooth decay and gum disease."
The problem with mouthwash, according to Dr. Vernon, is
that people think mouthwash is a replacement for brushing — and it’s
definitely not. The reason: "Gingivitis comes when you don't clean your
teeth where the tooth meets the gum," Vernon said. "The plaque
accumulates on the gum line, which can become inflamed and swollen."
Is mouthwash necessary ever?
Vernon puts it this way: "Brushing for five seconds would be more helpful than mouth rinse."
Kids shouldn’t use mouthwash, either, according to the
American Dental Association, but it can be helpful to quickly freshen
breath and reduce conditions like oral thrush.
If you do buy it, look for an alcohol-free version. "Alcohol will dry the tissue [in your mouth]," Vernon told the website.
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Do we really need to floss?
The answer to "is mouthwash necessary?" is maybe, but flossing should always be part of your oral care routine (sorry).
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services quietly
left flossing out of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines, leading many to assume
that meant daily flossing is no longer necessary.
However, the HHS and the ADA later issued a statement saying that flossing is "an important oral hygiene practice," and leaving it out of the guidelines doesn’t mean otherwise.
Another 2016 investigation by the Associated Press couldn’t
find any conclusive evidence that flossing provides benefits. And the
American Academy of Periodontology agreed.
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"Much of the current evidence does not utilize a large sample size or examine gum health over a significant amount of time," the AAP said at the time.
"Additionally, many of the existing studies do not measure true markers
of periodontal health such as inflammation or clinical attachment loss
[when a tooth becomes less connected to the jawbone]."
But still: "In the absence of quality research, patients
should continue to include flossing as a part of their daily oral
hygiene habit."
Flossing gets the food particles between teeth that normal
brushing doesn’t get. Left behind, these food particles and bacteria mix
with saliva to create enamel-eroding plaque.
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