It’s alright to brush your teeth without using toothpaste.

 

It’s alright to brush your teeth without using toothpaste.

Surprisingly, toothbrushes alone can clean your teeth; the brushing motion is enough to remove plaque from your teeth.

Dentists even suggest dry brushing as it makes you take your time when brushing your teeth, removing more plaque.

Ideally, you should brush your teeth for two minutes — regardless if you use toothpaste or not.

Brushing for under a minute prevents you from removing a lot of plaque from your teeth.

On the other hand, brushing for more than 2 minutes can cause your gums to recede or your tooth enamel to erode.

Most of us have had the same routine for brushing our teeth since we were small and first learned the habit: brush, spit, rinse.

But even though it’s natural to have a strong desire to rinse out your mouth with water after brushing, it isn’t always recommended.

Toothpastes that contain fluoride and other ingredients meant to strengthen your tooth enamel might need a bit of extra time on the surface of your teeth for you to get their full benefit.

Let’s cover the pros and cons of rinsing after brushing, so you can decide if it’s time to make a change to your routine.