What is the proper order for brushing, flossing and rinsing ?

Brush­ing, floss­ing and rins­ing are the three essen­tial steps of oral hygiene that can help you pre­vent tooth decay, gum dis­ease and bad breath. But do you know what is the prop­er order to do them? Accord­ing to den­tists, there is a right way to per­form these tasks that can max­i­mize their effec­tive­ness and ben­e­fit your oral health.

The prop­er order for brush­ing, floss­ing and rins­ing is:

1‑Floss first
Floss­ing should be the first step of your oral hygiene rou­tine, as it removes any food par­ti­cles and plaque that are stuck between your teeth and under your gum­line. These areas are hard to reach with a tooth­brush and can har­bor harm­ful bac­te­ria that can cause cav­i­ties and gum inflam­ma­tion. Floss­ing also helps to pre­vent tar­tar buildup, which can only be removed by a pro­fes­sion­al cleaning.

To floss prop­er­ly, you should take about 12 to 18 inch­es of floss or den­tal tape and wrap it around your mid­dle fin­gers, leav­ing about 2 inch­es of floss between them. Gen­tly slide the floss between your teeth and curve it around each tooth in a C shape. Move the floss up and down along the side of each tooth, mak­ing sure to go below the gum­line. Use a clean sec­tion of floss for each tooth and avoid snap­ping or forc­ing the floss into tight spaces.

You should floss at least once a day, prefer­ably before brush­ing your teeth.

1- Brush sec­ond
Brush­ing should be the sec­ond step of your oral hygiene rou­tine, as it cleans the sur­faces of your teeth and removes any remain­ing plaque and bac­te­ria. Brush­ing also helps to pol­ish your teeth and fresh­en your breath.

To brush prop­er­ly, you should use a soft-bris­tled tooth­brush and a flu­o­ride tooth­paste that can help strength­en your enam­el and pre­vent tooth decay. Hold the tooth­brush at a 45-degree angle to your gums and gen­tly move it back and forth in short strokes. Brush all the sur­faces of your teeth: the out­er, inner and chew­ing sur­faces. Don’t for­get to brush your tongue as well, as it can har­bor bac­te­ria that can cause bad breath.

You should brush your teeth twice a day, for two min­utes each time. You should also replace your tooth­brush every three to four months or when the bris­tles become frayed.

3- Rinse last
Rins­ing should be the last step of your oral hygiene rou­tine, as it helps to wash away any left­over debris and bac­te­ria from your mouth. Rins­ing also helps to moist­en your mouth and pre­vent dry­ness, which can increase the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

To rinse prop­er­ly, you should use a mouth­wash that suits your needs and pref­er­ences. You can choose from dif­fer­ent types of mouth­wash­es, such as antibac­te­r­i­al, anti-cav­i­ty, anti-plaque or cos­met­ic ones. You can also use plain water or salt water if you don’t have or like mouth­wash. Swish the liq­uid around your mouth for about 30 sec­onds and spit it out.

You should rinse your mouth after brush­ing your teeth¹, but not imme­di­ate­ly after, as this can wash away the flu­o­ride from your tooth­paste that can pro­tect your teeth. You should wait at least 30 min­utes before rins­ing or eat­ing or drink­ing any­thing after brushing.

By fol­low­ing this prop­er order for brush­ing, floss­ing and rins­ing, you can improve your oral hygiene and health. You should also vis­it your den­tist reg­u­lar­ly for check­ups and clean­ings, as they can detect any prob­lems ear­ly and pro­vide pro­fes­sion­al care for your teeth and gums.