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Comment by I_Am_Nous | Hacker News Reader

How long before you are ingesting significant amounts of microplastics from the bristles dissolving?

The fact that the device manufacturer profits by selling a replacement part is not evidence that the part does not need replacement.

But the fact the manufacturer wants you to replace the part, is not evidence that the part needs to be replaced.

Microplastics should be the least of your concerns. You ingest far more reactive substances just from food and breathing.

Especially mouth breathers.

I always "pre-brush" - I brush my teeth with the brush, water no paste.

Rinse.

Brush again with paste.

Rinse.

I always use hot water.

I floss a lot. and I use peroxide as a mouthwash occasionally.

But you should have a pretty good idea of the state of your brush's bristles and everything in general without the need for a freaking counter, e-waste and toxic chemicals that device will leave behind.

I also keep a box of bamboo biodegradale tooth brushes on hand for guests and travel/camping/hiking.

My dentist informed me I should not rinse after, it makes sense, leave the fluoride on the teeth to act. I still do, as I find it cloying otherwise, but am focused on clearing the foamed-toothpaste from my tongue and do not 'swish' as I would have in the past.

Of course this advice may have been tailored to my needs somewhat.

You can also use a fluoride rinse after brushing.

If that's an issue I suppose you could brush your teeth, rinse your mouth, and then use a fluoride mouthwash like act

IIRC mouthwash has been debunked as a post-brush routine and is better deployed post sugar consumption in lieu of immediate brushing.

https://nypost.com/2021/07/13/dentist-warns-to-never-use-mou... https://askthedentist.com/mouthwash-risks-and-alternatives/ https://www.rd.com/article/health-danger-mouthwash/

Categorical statements like these are infuriating. What has been “debunked” is that you should not use mouth wash that has a lower fluoride content than the toothpaste you used right before, or mouth wash that is anti-bacterial.

Not all mouthwashes and toothpastes are equal, therefore this categorical statement is wrong, and nothing has been “debunked”.

The mouth wash I use is the one recommended by my dentist, it is not anti bacterial and it has 0.2% fluoride.

The last article you posted simply lies:

> Mouthwash contains an antiseptic compound called chlorhexidine.

No it doesn’t. Not all mouthwash contains that. I recognize it though, because it’s what I use as an antiseptic alcohol to clean bruises.

Chlorhexidine isn't an alcohol.

Why would a bruise need cleaning? A bruise is always caused by internal bleeding into the interstitial tissues which does not break through the skin.

I think you may be misunderstanding someone who isn't a native English speaker.

I believe they, restated, indicated that they are aware of the alcohol content, because they use it to clean wounds to the skin.

English is indeed not my first language and I wasn’t aware that the definition of a “bruise” required there to be no breaking of the skin, I always thought it just meant a light wound, like you’d get from falling off a bike at low speed.

The reason I mentioned alcohol is that chlorhexidine is often combined with alcohol in products used for cleaning wounds, but you are correct, it’s not an alcohol.

Regardless, the point of my comment was not on how to properly clean wounds, but that you do not need to rinse your mouth with “wound-cleaners”, not all mouthwashes contain this and that means that the statement that mouthwashes are “debunked” is complete nonsense.

Hey I said IIRC - IANAD.

What has been “debunked” is that you should not use mouth wash [...] that is anti-bacterial.

Fact: that is approximately all mouthwash. Sure maybe there is some whitening only stuff or other specialist cases, but practically speaking ~everything commonly available as mouthwash is anti-bacterial (source: just checked >20 products at major retailers).

It appears that our comprehension is mutual.

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