[cameronbrown]

You can spit but don't add water. That should get rid of most of it.

[throwaway287391]

Right but the question is for how long? Surely you're not supposed to never put water in your mouth again, so how long should you wait? 1 minute? 10 minutes? An hour?

[Darmody]

30 minutes according to some dentists I know.

I used to rinse my mouth with water, now I just spit the toothpaste.

I haven't asked but this may be recommended only if you're not using an abrasive toothpaste which could damage your teeth enamel.

[klyrs]

Depends what you're optimizing for. If you never eat or drink anything again, your teeth will stay healthy until you die...?

I've heard dentists recommend brushing after every meal. Which really doesn't seem realistic for people who snack or regularly drink coffee / tea.

[chpmrc]

Have you ever brushed your teeth?? (Just joking)

[HenryBemis]

I think we all use excessive amount of toothpaste. That makes us get a mouth full of foam, that subsequently forces us to rinse instead of just spit.

[xenospn]

Great marketing by Colgate. They just show the toothpaste covering the entire length of the brush and we all follow along.

[StavrosK]

I just got a very short brush.