Oral hygiene

[Agian]

I brush and floss twice a day, to minimise my risk of endocarditis. I use a mouth-wash and wait two minutes before brushing, as per advice posted on this forum. After I brush, I rinse my mouth out with Listerine. Up until recently I used 'Listerine Whitening' before brushing and standard Listerine afterwards. The 'Whitening' preparation contains Hydrogen Peroxide, which I'm told is a good antibacterial. However, I read somewhere that it softens the enamel of your teeth (this may be especially relevant, given that I brush immediately after). I toyed with the idea of using Chlorhexidine mouthwash. What do other people use? Any suggestions?

PS, do others think the concerns about the whitening formula are valid?

 

[Gail in Ca]

I only brush and floss, use mouthwash just when I have a canker sore or just want better breath! I wouldn't know about the Whitening formulas, you might ask your dentist about the procedure you're using, I guess. I know I was given chlorhexadine mouthwash in the hospital before my surgery. Since I got endocarditis from a bacteria that doesn't live in the mouth at a time in my life when I was feeling good, exercising, not run down at all, I am a bit ambivalent about going too crazy keeping my mouth ultra bacteria free.

 

[Agian]

Hi Gail,

The reason I was using the whitening formula is that it contains peroxide, which they say is a good antibacterial. When you brush and floss, you risk abrading your gums, which allows bacteria to enter your blood stream. This becomes significant if you have gingivitis or gum disease. Using an antiseptic mouthwash eradicates bacteria before brushing, but brushing and keeping your teeth healthy is much more important. I'm seeing the dentist on the 22nd; I'll quiz her about this and share the information here.

 

[pellicle]

I brush and floss twice daily because I want to keep my teeth and gums healthy. Any dentist would agree this is a good idea.

 

[Rachel]

I did the same thing you're doing after my OHS (only with regular Listerine) - I would use Listerine before and after brushing....until my gums started to bleed and slough off!!!! I had to go into see my dentist almost every day for one week just to figure out what was going on with my mouth - they determined that I was having a very BAD reaction to the Listerine! So because they also did a mouth/bacteria culture and found out that I had some very very bad bacteria in there - my dentist put me on a prescription mouthwash - chlorhexidine gluconate - I've been on this for 8 months and noticed that it does stain my teeth after 5 months of use - at my last cleaning my gums were finally healthy and the staining is gone....until December I guess....

 

[Agian]

Apparently, Chlorhexidine is the gold standard. I'm thinking about using it pre-brushing and rinsing my mouth out with Listerine afterwards. Don't really care if my teeth go yellow. I'll discuss this with my dentist.

 

[Bina]

Daily oral hygiene is super important, but just as important is seeing my dentist 2x yearly for the past 50 years.
(not using Listerine)

 

[start01]

Your oral hygene could be flawless - but if you've got wisdom teeth playing up your gums will bleed from time to time - so if you still have them, they may need extracting.