mouth wash is at least as good
Mouthwash has a couple of downsides.
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It does not discriminate good bacteria from bad bacteria. If you stop or delay treatment, you have a chance of getting a runaway situation with nasty bacteria.
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It does not remove plaque. If you stop or delay treatment for a while, bacteria make and settle down in to plaque. You're relying on dental visits to remove the plaque.
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Mouthwash does not remove food lodged in the gumline or in between teeth.
If you don't like flossing, I'd recommend getting a waterpic. Keep your tongue scrubbed and brush after every meal. Only use mouthwash if you start having funky smells / tastes / things seem off.
No cavities in 25 years. Unfortunately, the 25 years before that did not go as well, it took me a long time to sort out dental hygiene.
Hell, I don't even trust a single study anymore... This one was done in India under the pressures of not having enough dentists to cover their massive population.
The actual point behind it might be if you're not going to floss, definitely mouthwash