If you can’t brush your teeth for medical reasons, is it better to rinse your mouth with a bit of toothpaste and water instead of just water — or could that actually be worse for your teeth for some reason?
is there any benefit to putting a bit of toothpaste and water in your mouth and swishing it around thoroughly?
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Has your doctor not given you any advise?
Usually, when there is a medical reason, they’ll prescribe a mouthwash or advise you on what kind of mouthwash you should or shouldn’t use.
I don’t think swishing toothpaste around will do anything at all.
It’s probably better than nothing but if you can only gargle, Listerine would be a better option.
You were given any instruction by your doctor/dentist?
I don’t know anything fucking scientifically, can I just comment?
Look into oil swishing with like coconut oil
But uh, you’re gonna need to scrub eventually, or probably stop eating certain foods. Your mouth evolved to expect very low nutrient food high fiber, it’s just not equipped for our modern diet
Swishing with mouthwash would probably be better. Swishing anything at least has some mechanical action to dislodge debris but it won’t stop plaque buildup.
Depends what the medical reasons are
I am not a dentist, but I would expect there would be some benefit. I would suggest as little water as possible, try to get the toothpaste to coat your teeth, and spit out the excess. Do not rinse, the idea being that at least the fluoride in the toothpaste will have a chance to absorb into your teeth somewhat.
The mechanical action of brushing would, of course, help remove plaque and tartar better.
Yes I would say there absolutely is some kind of benefit. I learned too late in life that we aren’t in fact supposed to rinse our mouths out after brushing our teeth. The intent is the keep the layer of tooth paste on your teeth after brushing ( obviously spit it out, just don’t rinse) to let the fluoride protect and work onto the enamel.
Sugar free chewing gum stimulates saliva production, which is an excellent cavity prevention agent.
When I was a kid, there was a poster in my dentist’s office that said, “If you can’t brush, swish and swallow.”
There must be some benefit to it.
Probably get some flouride
I’ve done it when I wake up and for what ever reason my toothbrush is missing. At the very least it will help with the stank breath
Well, technically, toothpaste is designed to stay on your teeth, not just get swished around like mouthwash. So yeah, it could do more harm than good, like leaving behind a chalky residue. If you can’t brush, maybe try a fluoride rinse or just water—otherwise, you’re basically giving your teeth a weird toothpaste bath that they didn’t sign up for.
You can even just wipe your teeth with a q-tip, a tissue, or even a piece of cloth. Anything is better than nothing 👌
Rinse mouthwash around, but don’t then rinse with water (at night).