If You Don't Floss, That Could Be Why Your Mouthwash Isn't Working

Posted on: 19 May 2019

Mouthwash is a go-to for a lot of people to help keep their teeth clean and their breath smelling nice. Unfortunately, a lot of people come away from using mouthwash thinking that it's not working on their teeth, either because their dental checkups come up poorly or because they're still struggling with bad breath. If you consider yourself to be one of them, here's why flossing is integral to making your mouthwash work as well as advertised.

Mouthwash Can't Remove Plaque and Tartar

If getting rid of plaque and tartar from between your teeth was as easy as flushing mouthwash around, then you'd be able to get rid of a lot of it just by rinsing with water, too. Unfortunately, that's far from the case.

Plaque is sticky and effectively glues itself to the surface of your teeth. Tartar is hard and unyielding, and once it develops, you're basically stuck with it until you see a dentist. Unfortunately, mouthwash can't actively remove either of these, even if it's advertised as being antibacterial. Once the plaque and tartar is there, it has to be manually removed with floss (plaque only) or a dental cleaning (for both).

Bacteria Creates Stink

Bacteria is actually to blame for bad breath. Mouthwash does a good job of killing bacteria, typically, but it needs to have the groundwork laid out for it first.

Bacteria can hide in plaque and tartar, as the two substances are made by bacteria after all. When you swish mouthwash around your mouth, these substances can act as havens for bacteria. As soon as the mouthwash is gone, they can begin to reproduce again and can quickly bring back your bad breath. So if you don't floss, chances are mouthwash's effects won't last as long for you as they would if you were a flosser.

Middle Ground

If you can't stand flossing or have a physical impairment that makes it difficult, there's a potential solution for you: water flossers.

Water flossers use high-powered jets of water to blast away plaque and bacteria from between the teeth. They can't help you with tartar, but if you have limited tartar development this shouldn't be an issue. Most water flossers are equipped with long handles so that they're easy to use and don't require the dexterity and hand movements that traditional flossing calls for.

In addition, many water flossers allow people to load them with their favorite mouthwash. This means you can blast away the plaque while you're using your favorite mouthwash, so you can guarantee that you're getting the full benefits of it.

Regular visits to the dentist's office will find dental problems and resolve them early on. However, it's important to maintain optimal care for your teeth and gums at home, too. Feel free to keep using mouthwash, but remember that it can't do its full job if you haven't done all the prep work first by flossing.

Talk to a business like Persona  Dental for more details.

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