Dear Dr. Ellie:If Closys is an antibacterial rinse, why doesn't your system use it before and after brushing, instead of using Listerine?VW Dear VW
This is a long answer - but you asked the question!
Not all antibacterial products work the same way : Listerine and Closys are not inter changeable.
The features of Closys are very different from those of Listerine. Closys is pH neutral and Listerine is acidic.
The antibacterial nature of these rinses is important, but my system also uses their neutral and acidic features.
Closys is a pH neutral rinse ( this ensures that your mouth is not acidic before brushing).
Toothpaste is abrasive (Crest is not too abrasive - but all pastes contain abrasive). If you brush toothpaste onto acid-softened teeth, you wear away enamel.
Closys is a very good surfactant - it can travel down crevices around the tooth - down the "pockets" or spaces between gums and the tooth surface. Closys seems to pick up debris and float it to the surface - ready to be brushed away. [This is why we use it first]
(You can experiment yourself: Rub garden dirt around your finger tips - under the cuticles of your finger nails. Now wash with soap - the dirt will probably remain under the cuticles. Now use a little Closys before the soap stage - and the dirt will lift out easily and your nails (and cuticles) will be clean.)
Listerine is acidic. It is an excellent cleaner - to wash off debris after brushing. Listerine works best on the spherical - immature bacteria - the early precursors of plaque. (Listerine does not seem to have much effect getting rid of old bacteria of periodontal and gum disease from pockets around teeth - use Closys for this - not Listerine).
So we use Listerine to clean off toothpaste - we leave the surface clean. Listerine is acidic and opens up the "pores" of teeth. We like this because it enhances the effects of the ACT dilute fluoride rinse. ACT "closes" the pores of the teeth with extra minerals.
So it is not just their "antibacterial" features that we access - we are looking for a "complete package." Try this
system for yourself and you will "feel" the effects!
Thanks for your interest,
Ellie
If Closys is an antibacterial rinse, why doesn't your system use it before and after brushing, instead of using Listerine?
VW
Dear VW
This is a long answer - but you asked the question!
Not all antibacterial products work the same way : Listerine and Closys are not inter changeable.
The features of Closys are very different from those of Listerine. Closys is pH neutral and Listerine is acidic.
The antibacterial nature of these rinses is important, but my system also uses their neutral and acidic features.
Closys is a pH neutral rinse ( this ensures that your mouth is not acidic before brushing).
Toothpaste is abrasive (Crest is not too abrasive - but all pastes contain abrasive). If you brush toothpaste onto acid-softened teeth, you wear away enamel.
Closys is a very good surfactant - it can travel down crevices around the tooth - down the "pockets" or spaces between gums and the tooth surface. Closys seems to pick up debris and float it to the surface - ready to be brushed away. [This is why we use it first]
(You can experiment yourself: Rub garden dirt around your finger tips - under the cuticles of your finger nails. Now wash with soap - the dirt will probably remain under the cuticles. Now use a little Closys before the soap stage - and the dirt will lift out easily and your nails (and cuticles) will be clean.)
Listerine is acidic. It is an excellent cleaner - to wash off debris after brushing. Listerine works best on the spherical - immature bacteria - the early precursors of plaque. (Listerine does not seem to have much effect getting rid of old bacteria of periodontal and gum disease from pockets around teeth - use Closys for this - not Listerine).
So we use Listerine to clean off toothpaste - we leave the surface clean. Listerine is acidic and opens up the "pores" of teeth. We like this because it enhances the effects of the ACT dilute fluoride rinse. ACT "closes" the pores of the teeth with extra minerals.
So it is not just their "antibacterial" features that we access - we are looking for a "complete package." Try this system for yourself and you will "feel" the effects!
Thanks for your interest,
Ellie