Brush/floss...which comes first?

[Tap]

Brush/floss :drool: ...which comes first?  Answer what you usually do, not what you think is ideal.  :rolleyes:

Multiple choices allowed just in case you like to mix it up a bit. 

 

ETA: if you use a water pick or a different device to floss, count that as flossing too. 

[Tap]

I brush in the morning, quite often brush mid-day and Try to make myself brush/floss/brush at night.I am not very good at flossing. :gnorsi:   I can't help but brush again after I floss.  Just the idea of little bits floating about.....ick, they gotta go!

[Slartibartfast]

I brush then floss then brush.

[Isabella]

I mostly just brush only...I know..that's bad and very lazy! I floss every few weeks maybe. But when I do floss, it's mostly brush, then floss, then rinse. But sometimes when I feel squicky, I brush, floss, brush.

[LucyStoner]

Floss first then brush. My dentist and orthodontist both say floss then brush. I don't think brushing and then flossing and then brushing is necessary. In fact it seems like it could lead to overbrushing. Which is a thing, actually.

 

I floss at least once a day but because I have a permanently affixed retainer on six of my teeth, I use threader floss after eating anything likely to stick to that or annoy me. I have to do it right after eating because I have a standard retainer I need to wear most all the time and I take it out just to eat.

 

My standard nighttime routine is to clean my lower retainer, floss, brush, use a mouth wash rinse, drink a little water and put my lower retainer back in and my night gaurd. Gosh, my mouth is complicated and expensive.

[HSmomof2]

I floss, then brush. I once asked my dentist if it mattered which came first. He said he's just happy when patients floss at all.

[Elfknitter.#]

What I do: brush then floss. I guess because that's what was ingrained.

 

My dentist says: order doesn't matter so long as both are done.

[Tammi K]

I thought I remembered reading that a study showed flossing after brushing but before rinsing carried some of the tooth paste between the teeth and made the flossing more effective. That was some time ago so I don't know how things have changed but I'm a creature of habit so I stick with that approach.

[Pawz4me]

Umm . . . other?  It depends.

 

If I know something is stuck (I seem to have a food storage area between two of my back teeth) then I floss first.  Brushing around something obviously stuck doesn't seem like it would be very effective.

 

Otherwise I usually brush then floss, so that's how I voted.  No reason except that when I have my teeth cleaned the hygienist always flosses last thing.  So I think I've always assumed it was supposed to be done last.

[Melissa in Australia]

I brush after breakfast and before bed. I only floss if I have something stuck in my teeth.

[craftymama]

My mouth feels cleaner when I floss first and then brush.  And I always use a tongue cleaner after I brush too.

[ashfern]

I brush, floss, and then use mouthwash. 

[umsami]

I chose brush then floss then brush again....but if I were to do just two, I'd do brush then floss.  Why? That's how my dentist does it.  They do the scaling and cleaning, then brush, and then floss at the end. :)   Reality today is brush, Water Pik, fluoride rinse, mouth wash.....but pre-Water Pik it was brush/floss/brush.

 

You need an option for  "brush....and then stare at the floss, thinking...."Oh, I know I should"....and then move on."

[marbel]

I brush, floss, rinse with listerine (or similar). 

 

But I have been told a couple time by hygienists that it's better to floss first, to get the bits loose.  Not sure why I can't change my brain to do it that way.

 

I used to be casual about flossing, till I ended up with periodontal disease and had to endure quarterly cleanings for a while.  Now I am a dedicated flosser. 

[JFSinIL]

I read somewhere that one should floss first, as then the brushing will remove the stuff the floss pulled out.

[KrissiK]

I floss first. The brush to get rid of all the stuff I flossed out.

[Southern Ivy]

I had to vote for the pirate. It looked so lonely. 

Anyway, I brush, then floss, then use mouthwash. 

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I use closy's (sp?), floss, brush, listerine, act.

[GailV]

I use closy's (sp?), floss, brush, listerine, act.

 

Dr. Elly for the win!  I do the same, but skip the LIsterine because it gives me mouth sores.  I ended up using the rest of the bottle as toothbrush disinfectant.

 

Also, I think it's "Closys" without the apostrophe.

[flyingiguana]

Brush, then floss.  If I don't get the large surface stuff off first (by brushing), it seems I drive more bits of food in between my teeth with the floss.

 

But I've asked two hygienists about this.  Neither seemed to think the order mattered.

 

Sometimes I just floss.  Randomly.  Mid day, when I wasn't planning on brushing.  Because I remembered I hadn't done it recently and if I stopped to brush first I still wouldn't floss.

 

Actually, my question is which is more important -- brushing or flossing.  If you could only do one.

[Tap]

Umm . . . other?  It depends.

 

If I know something is stuck (I seem to have a food storage area between two of my back teeth) then I floss first.  Brushing around something obviously stuck doesn't seem like it would be very effective.

 

Otherwise I usually brush then floss, so that's how I voted.  No reason except that when I have my teeth cleaned the hygienist always flosses last thing.  So I think I've always assumed it was supposed to be done last.

Just click all the options that apply to you.  :0) 

[stephanier.1765]

Brush, rinse, floss, mouth wash.  I like to brush first as a way to get the most of the junk out of my mouth so the floss can concentrate on the harder to reach stuff.