YASP! (yet another stupid poll)

[tzikeh]

[Poll #1078906]

If you do other stuff before, after, or in between, pretend you don't for the sake of the poll, but add comments if you like. And if you use any space-age implements (i.e. anything other than a toothbrush and floss), go ahead and comment about that too, if you want to.

Comments

[iko.livejournal.com]

What if you brush, floss, and then brush again?

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Then you EXPLODE! LOOK OUT!

This is what comments are for. Did your dentist recommend that or do you just do it because that's what you do?

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

Or floss, then brush, then floss again.

But my comment is actually this: Listerine (vanilla mint flavor!) makes everything better.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

:D In serious, now - do you really think Listerine makes things better?

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

I really do. I could do without a little less of the dryness I feel afterward (which I ascribe to the alcohol - 26%!), but I genuinely think my teeth feel cleaner with it than without. (And they may actually be cleaner, as well. [g]) Also, mornings after no Listerine = yucky taste in my mouth (and poss. morning breath, but tragically there is nobody around to tell me if my breath stinks), which I do not find to be the case when there is evening rinsing. [shrug] I'm not going to get evangelical about it or anything, but I'm a fan.

[iko.livejournal.com]

Hee hee.

Well, my dentist told me to "brush and floss", which I take literally.
However, after I floss, I get a not-so-fresh feeling in my mouth afterwards, so I end up brushing again. I feel like the process of flossing dislodges other stuff that should get cleaned away. I don't like starting off to floss, because it seems like a lot of extra work since a light brushing beforehand can take care of the normal stuff and the flossing deals with the stubborn stuff and getting the spaces between my teeth really clean.

Then again, I'm the type of person that will shampoo my hair twice if the first pass didn't seem to do the job.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I feel like the process of flossing dislodges other stuff that should get cleaned away.

That's exactly why I asked this. During my last visit to the dentist, he said that you should always floss first and then brush, for precisely the reason you mention. I'd always heard the phrase "brush and floss" and assumed that was the right order, too.

[elynross.livejournal.com]

I said brush, then floss, which is what I *usually* do (in part because that's what the dental hygienist does when I go to the dentist), but it really depends on... stuff. And I'm not a very dedicated flosser, in any case.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

:nod: I've never been much at keeping up with flossing other than "oh, yeah, okay, floss" - but I am now Of The Floss Brigade. I wonder why all children are taught it backwards (well, backwards according to my new dentist, anyway). I also have all other kinds of things in the tooth-cleaning ritual as well. It's become quite the little production number!

[abbylee]

I usually brush then floss then brush again.

I don't like flossing *first*, but the last thing should be a rinse and the last thing before that should be brushing, and the last thing before that should be flossing. So I usually give a light brush before I floss, or at least some sort of rinse if I'm in a rush.

I only mouthwash because I don't drink much tap water and I want the extra fluoride over what's it my toothpaste.

[pun.livejournal.com]

I can't believe this poll is as close as it is. I was positive that everyone would agree floss then brush was the proper order.

[loreleif.livejournal.com]

And I was sure it would be the other way 'round!

[montanaharper]

I use a fancy-schmancy electric toothbrush, which my previous dentist (who is a god among dentists, imo) recommended, but my new dentist thinks Sonicare is the tool of the devil.

I am not so impressed with my new dentist, btw, and I continue to use my Sonicare. It leaves my teeth feeling cleaner than a regular toothbrush, plus the time and effort my hygienist has to put into cleaning my teeth every six months has dropped drastically since I bought it.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I've been hearing nothing but good about the Sonicare. I was browsing the net for them but apparently there are eightygazillion versions out there and I have no idea what to look for. Sonicare Elite Plus 3, Sonicare 5100 v.2, Sonicare Episode IV: A New Hope....

Sonicare

[kirbyfest.livejournal.com]

It doesn't matter, really. One of them buzzes after each 30 seconds (two minutes brushing total; 30 seconds each on 1/4 of the mouth), one doesn't, some have more bells and whistles. I have the cheapest one and am a complete and total pimp for it, because I have teeth made of talcum powder. Since I've used Sonicare: no new cavities, and my gums are in better shape.

Worth every penny.

[montanaharper]

I have the one they sell at Costco. *g* Mainly because then I can also get my replacement heads at Costco, which is both cheaper and easier for the terminally lazy (i.e., me).

[grace-om.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure it makes much difference so long as you do both. I always brush first, then floss. OH has started doing the opposite. And yet we're still married...go figure ;-)

[reginagiraffe]

I brush then floss then rinse well and sometimes floss again if I see bits remaining.

And I adore my OralB electric toothbrush. its head is small enough to fit in my small mouth and I can be much more precise in brush placement.

[lydiabell.livejournal.com]

And I adore my OralB electric toothbrush.

Same here. It's the only way I can really get my wisdom teeth clean.

[amy_vic.livejournal.com]

I am all for brush, then floss, (except that I usually slack on the flossing; don't tell my detnist!), then swish some mouthwash.

And while I can't stand power toothbrushes, I love that Colgate toothpaste with the little breathstrips (http://www.colgate.ca/app/MaxFresh/CA/EN/Products/CoolMint.cvsp).

[vrya.livejournal.com]

I actually asked my dentist about the order about a year ago and was given the verdict: brush, then floss, then swish anything dislodged by the floss away with mouthwash. I always did it that way growing up, but at some point I switched to floss-then-brush, so I must have heard some other dentist or reputable source say that *that* was the way to go. Which leads me to believe it doesn't really matter that much the order, just as long as you do it! I also started using this sulcabrush thing about a year ago, on recommendation from the hygenist because she said my gums where extra bleedy during the scrape-n-poke portion of her agenda...

[sanj.livejournal.com]

Actually, brush, then floss, then brush again, then mouthwash, ever since I started to get gingivitis. :P

[ratcreature]

Well, I brush, then floss (I'm not too good about that though), and then rinse, and put on some stuff that soothes the gums on them. It's some kind of organic paste thing mostly from chamomile and I think sage as active ingredients, both against inflammation, which I've been doing ever since I noticed that when I had this tooth ache that my dentist told me was really from my gums, gargling with chamomile tea as a home remedy actually helped soothing it, but the taste of that tea is kind of horrid IMO so I only drink, inhale or gargle with it when I'm sick-- however as this paste it isn't so bad, and I have noticed that my gums are better, i.e. not bleeding as easily, and the acute pain (that the dentist always treats with some kind of foul concoction he injected between teeth and gums) hasn't come back yet since then. And in any case I figure chamomile and sage can't hurt much, whereas I don't even recognize the ingredients in all these mouthwashes that are supposed to help your gums and I find the rising with alcohol based stuff more unpleasant too.

[way2busymom.livejournal.com]

Brush, Floss, Brush again & then rinse with mouthwash. :-)

[xenacryst.livejournal.com]

Fasten, zip? Wanna talk socks?

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

And the biggie -

which way does the toilet paper go?

[klia.livejournal.com]

Floss first (dislodging disgusting accumulated mung from between teeth), then brush! Also, if you use flouride toothpaste, don't rinse your mouth out with water after brushing, or you may as well not bother with the flouride at all (though, honestly, I don't know what, if anything, flouride does for geezers like us, but fuck it, I've been using it since I first sprouted teeth). Btw, this advice was from my dentist back in IL, whom I used to date. *g*

[the-shoshanna.livejournal.com]

I also use a fluoride rinse, after brushing and also when I get up, since I don't brush my teeth until after breakfast and it eliminates the morning breath worry as well. I use Oral-B, because it's the only brand I've found without alcohol. FWIW, I have receding gums but very good teeth.