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Comment by a_imho | Hacker News Reader

I've always wondered what is the order of importance when it comes to oral hygiene. Brush, paste, duration, technique. Further which is more important, brushing, flossing or a good mouthwash? Is there anything that survives a chlorhexidine rinse?

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> Is there anything that survives a chlorhexidine rinse?

At first I was going to ask if that was the stuff in original Listerine (if you don't recall or remember, or too young to know, Listerine used to sell a version that was a yellowish-tint, tasted like crap, and burned the s--t out of your gums and mouth; likely it was just high-proof alcohol, and the same could be done with some cheap vodka)...

Now I'm wondering if chlorhexidine is the stuff my dental hygienist gives me to rinse my mouth out with before she starts to clean my teeth - I'll have to ask.

For what it's worth, my dentist told me he didn't care if his patients brushed their teeth or not, as long as they flossed.

My dentist always said, "brushing is for you, flossing is for me." (He meant that brushing is to remove the bad taste teeth fuzz, but flossing is what keeps my teeth and gums healthy.)

I’ve heard the saying “you only need to floss between the teeth you want to keep” in response to the question “do I really need to floss?”

A fun variation is pausing to floss halfway through brushing your teeth — foamy mouth and all. A major function of toothpaste is that it breaks up bacterial biofilm, so it provides a nice buff to the mechanical action of flossing.

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