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Comment by satvikpendem | Hacker News Reader

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.

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

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...

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

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