Dentist Questions Teeth, And Gum Care

Is it okay to gargle with water after brushing your teeth?

I'm 29 years old, and every time I brush my teeth, I usually gargle with water to get the taste of toothpaste out of my mouth. Is this okay?

18 Answers

As long as you're not using a high fluoride toothpaste for caries prevention, ok. If you're cavity prone, then a prescription toothpaste needs to not be diluted via gargling.
Yes of course.
Yes, it is okay to rinse your mouth out with water after using mouthwash.
Completely fine. Don't give it a second thought.
Yes, it’s okay.
Yes, there is nothing wrong with rinsing with water following brushing your teeth
It's not a problem at all. It's better than swallowing the toothpaste.
Yes, it is ideal. Also, floss and use a tongue scraper, Sonicare, Waterpik if needed. You can never be too clean. No need for mouth rinse unless you need fluoride for cavity control. No alcohol rinses as a rule please.

Dr. M
Yes, it is ok to gargle with water after brushing your teeth. As long as you are brushing for at least 2 minutes and flossing. The ideal time to brush after eating is 30 minutes after a meal.
Yes, perfectly fine to rinse after brushing. The only time I do not recommend it is when using a prescription fluoride toothpaste.

Regards,

Dr. Preston
It is completely okay to rinse with water after brushing. If you are using prescription toothpaste, it is recommended not to rinse with water after brushing for a minimum of thirty minutes. This will allow more contact of paste on your teeth to get maximum benefits of toothpaste.

Kiranpreet Kaur
Of course it's fine!
Of course there's nothing like H2O! You can also use Listerine or Scope. They have a bacteriostatic property that kills the bacteria in your mouth.
It’s fine to gargle with water after brushing unless you are using a toothpaste that specifies not to. Some toothpastes are deactivated by water. Read the directions first.
Absolutely.
Yes, it is recommended that you do rinse with water after you brush your teeth. That allows you to expel any lose food particles that may be lingering.
Ok. Brush correctly, use floss, and make sure your teeth are WELL BRUSHED. Learn to like your toothpaste.
Tooth pastes should not be swallowed. After you have flossed and are brushing your teeth, you are brushing away bacteria, food particles. You don't want to swallow that. Salt water rinses are soothing to your tissues. One half tsp of salt to a warm glass of water works. You instinctively knew you should not be swallowing your tooth pastes. Plain water or salt water is fine.