When using an electric toothbrush, should you wet the brush before or after applying toothpaste? What do dentists recommend?
1. Rinse the bristles with water before applying toothpaste.
When electric toothbrushes are left exposed to the air, bacteria can accumulate on the bristles. Some people have also reported seeing cockroaches in the bathroom, which may crawl onto the toothbrush at night. Therefore, it is believed that the toothbrush must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before it is placed in the mouth.
For those who rinse the brush head with water before applying toothpaste, the goal is to help the toothpaste adhere to the bristles and soften them. On the other hand, those who add water after applying the paste aim to create a rich lather, and some prefer to rinse the brush head twice—that is, once before and once after applying the toothpaste.
2. Don't get it wet again after squeezing out the toothpaste
The main cleaning ingredient in toothpaste is fluoride. Fluoride effectively prevents tooth decay; fluoride ions bind with minerals inside the teeth to form fluorinated minerals, which strengthen the teeth’s resistance to decay and make the enamel stronger.
If you wet the toothpaste with water after squeezing it out, you’ll dilute the fluoride content, which reduces the toothpaste’s effectiveness. You should minimize contact with water as much as possible to ensure the fluoride in the toothpaste provides the best possible cleaning effect.
3. The dentist's response to Electric Toothbrush Recommendations for Using Toothpaste:
Lynn Tomkins, President of the Ontario Dental Association in Canada, believes that if we wet the toothpaste first, it will foam up quickly on our teeth, creating the illusion that we’ve brushed our teeth thoroughly—but in reality, many people rinse their mouths before they’ve actually finished brushing.
The correct way is to squeeze an appropriate amount of toothpaste onto a dry toothbrush, brush without wetting it first, and let the toothpaste gradually lather up as you brush.
Summary: When brushing your teeth with an electric toothbrush, you should first rinse it thoroughly with water, then apply toothpaste, and then brush your teeth.
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