Using mouthwash can often feel redundant. What can it do that brushing and flossing doesn’t? Well, the truth is that mouthwash can do a quite a lot to help your brushing and flossing habits have an even greater impact for the better on your teeth and oral health.
Mouthwash use and oral health go hand-in-hand. What’s key is understanding what that relationship looks like, and how mouthwash really does impact your oral health.
Gets the germs you couldn’t
Perhaps the most important aspect of mouthwash use is that it gets rid of the germs and bacteria your brushing and flossing couldn’t. Brushing and flossing are critical, and by themselves they do a great job of getting rid of most of the decay-causing bacteria in your mouth.
But adding mouthwash to your routine increases the amount of germs you’re able to kill.
Cleans where you can’t
The other benefit of adding mouthwash to your oral health routine is the fact that it cleans the tight nooks and crannies in your smile. Whether that’s the spot in your back molars where you can never quite get the floss in right, or it just cleans more around your gum line, mouthwash is a great final line of defense against the forces trying to destroy your oral health.
Dr. Theodore Gehrig and the team at Lincoln Park Dental Associates in Chicago, Illinois recommend mouthwash use. To get specific details on brands or the amount to use per day, call us at 773-348-7008.