In the video, viewers are told that rinsing with a fluoride mouth rinse will effectively wash away the fluoride toothpaste you are currently using. Mouthwash, Peterson explains, contains significantly less fluoride than toothpaste and is not enough to protect the teeth. This practice can then lead to tooth decay, she says in her video. That sounds plausible, but both Lawrence Fung, DDS, a Los Angeles dentist, and Mona Riaz, a registered dental assistant and researcher at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, contradict this view.

While For this reason, you should by no means rinse with water – this rinses fluoride out of the mouth, which effectively sabotages the protection of the teeth – with mouth rinses the situation is a little more nuanced, explains Riaz. “There isn’t enough evidence that the amount of fluoride washed away in a mouthwash is actually harmful to the tooth, “she says.

In fact, Riaz says that rinsing with a fluoridated mouthwash right after brushing your teeth would likely keep you balanced or even ahead of the pack in terms of the fluoride exposure your teeth are maintaining. She says that in most cases, toothpaste is severely diluted by saliva, which means that its fluoride concentration is reduced. And most people also don’t brush for the full two minutes recommended, which also means they won’t necessarily be getting the high fluoride levels the TikTok video suggests.

Supplementing a mouthwash containing fluoride can actually be helpful. Yes, it contains less fluoride than toothpaste, but you use a larger amount of it, it’s a simpler product (meaning it has fewer ingredients to rival the fluoride) and it isn’t diluted in the same way, says Riaz. “Yyou can actually get in the end more Fluoride from mouthwash than from toothpaste, “she says. So, if you’re someone who doesn’t necessarily brush adequately or rinses your mouth out with water after brushing your teeth (but stop!), Riaz would actually recommend using a fluoride-based mouthwash afterwards.

If you’re brushing enough and not rinsing, it may be better to use fluoridated mouthwashes at another time of the day, such as when you are going to rinse and of the American Dental Association because it increases your daily fluoride exposure – you get it with brushing and later rinsing too. And as the original TikTok video says, brushing your teeth after you eat can erode your teeth. Because of this, Riaz agrees that for people struggling with erosion, fluorinated mouthwash is a better option than brushing their teeth after a meal.

Riaz’s recommendations regarding mouthwash also depend on the patient’s risk profile. If someone comes to her with new tooth decay and tells her they use mouthwash after brushing their teeth, she might tell them to try waiting until another time in the day to make sure they increase their overall fluoride exposure. If a patient rinsed out with mouthwash immediately after brushing their teeth and had no new tooth decay, she would not adjust her routine – because it works.

However, all of this changes when you deal with a mouthwash that does not contain fluoride, and Riaz points out that many do not. If you are using a non-fluoridated conditioner, do not use it immediately after brushing your teeth, stop using it altogether, and instead use it at other times of the day – at least two hours after brushing your teeth – as recommended above.

Ultimately, however, both Riaz and Dr. Fung the use of fluoride mouthwash in most patients. Dr. Fung notes that it gets into the corners of the teeth better than toothpaste, while Riaz reiterates that most people are not good enough at brushing their teeth, so using mouthwash can add to their exposure to protection. “It’s a very rare case that I don’t recommend fluoride to an adult, “says Riaz.

Oh hello! You look like someone who loves free workouts, discounts on cult favorite wellness brands, and exclusive Well + Good content. Register with Well +, our online community of wellness insiders, and activate your rewards immediately.