What is Your Dental Hygiene Routine?

By Alyssa McCarty
Tribune Recorder Leader

Is there a particular order that you should execute your dental hygiene routine? Should you brush your teeth first, then floss? Or should you floss prior to brushing them?
It seems that there is logical reasoning behind both sequences. If you brush your teeth prior to flossing, some of the plague will have been removed, resulting in less to remove when flossing. In contrast, if flossed before brushed, the plague or food from between your teeth is already loosened in your mouth, allowing it to easily be brushed away and the fluoride from your tooth paste to reach the areas between your teeth and fight bacteria.
A polls reveals that the area dentists are torn nearly 50/50 on the question of whether to floss first or brush first. Family Dentistry of Sandusky suggests flossing first and then brushing your teeth because once you get done brushing, you might not feel like flossing. However, if you floss first you will feel the plague and food from in between your teeth and you will want to brush your teeth. In contrast, Upright Dental of Marlette argues that flossing first is counterproductive. If you floss first, you are only pushing the plaque and bacteria from your dirty teeth in between your teeth; therefore, it is more beneficial to brush first.
That truth of the matter is, most dentists will not scold you either way, as long as you brush and floss your teeth as often as possible.