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Comment by satvikpendem | Hacker News Reader

Did you know that after brushing with toothpaste you're supposed to just...let the foam hang around in your mouth without rinsing it out for 30 minutes? I didn't until recently, and now that I do, I'm still not gonna walk around with toothpaste foam in my mouth.

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Yeah, I learned about this a while ago and now I don't rinse my mouth after brushing. Which is weird initially but you get used to it.

I _do_ spit out excess toothpaste, which I understand still leaves enough toothpaste in your mouth for it to do it's thing.

How much foam do you end up with? I usually don't rinse out the toothpaste after, but I don't end up with a foaming mouth after. I use about a pea size amount (as recommended on the packaging) and it's not super sudsy when I'm finished. Wipe my face and done.

Not too much but it just feels disgusting to me to keep all of the food bits still suspended in the foam in my mouth.

I'm confused - what food bits? Do you have detectable food bits left over after brushing or is it an impression that there must be food still left over?

At least for me, I rinse out my mouth before I brush, so I don't expect to have detectable gunk left over. I also use a tongue scraper after, so I'm usually feeling pretty clean when I'm done.

Well both, stuff between the teeth that the brush doesn't get (I guess that's why you'd floss after brushing, but also with foam in your mouth?), and also just food microparticles that would go away when rinsing after brushing generally.

I suppose it helps to floss before brushing (as recommended) but for me personally the stray particle isn't something I've worried about. In my mind, the added benefit of retaining the fluoride longer outweighs the downsides of microparticles of food.

> I suppose it helps to floss before brushing (as recommended)

Wellp, that's something I've never heard before. Even at the dentist, when she does a cleaning, flossing comes last.

Honestly, the timing of flossing is the least important thing about it, considering most people are averse to even doing it. The payoff with flossing before brushing is that any gunk that gets brought out and left over after rinsing gets scrubbed away during brushing.

https://www.healthline.com/health/dental-and-oral-health/flo...

If you have food microparticles that would go away, then rinse them out, then wash your teeth again and keep that foam in.

I floss first, rinse, then brush. No more food bits left after I spit out the extra foam.

There's a particular prescription strength toothpaste I use when I get sensitive teeth. I keep it specifically for post-dinner brushing and it's easier to do this at that time.

I just use a flouride-based mouthwash after and call it a day. I await someone telling me how that's a bad idea and now i'm going to die.

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