Dentists Are Revealing The Biggest Mistakes People Make With Their Dental Hygiene, And It's Wild
1. “Do not ‘whiten’ your teeth with charcoal toothpaste! You’re damaging your enamel and making your teeth weaker and more prone to cavities and sensitivity.”
“DO NOT use those black charcoal whiteners. You are rubbing tiny rocks on your teeth and damaging enamel. That is why they look whiter temporarily — because the top dirty layer of enamel was roughly scraped away, revealing the brighter, whiter, layer underneath. But you want that enamel to last as long as possible, do not harshly destroy it.”
2. “Please don’t by expensive toothpaste off social media. I have personally seen patients who are a dental mess, who have needed me to remove multiple teeth, advertising their favorite charcoal toothpaste on social media using doctored-up photos. Another trick: If the toothpaste lists ‘aqua’ as a major ingredient, it’s because it is being labeled as a cosmetic product and following different labeling standards.”
“This is usually because there is insufficient evidence, or the company hasn’t spent the time or money to research whether or not their product actually does anything. So, it gets labeled a cosmetic, and they call it a day.”
3. “It’s not the amount of sugar consumption that’s a problem — it’s the frequency. If you chug a 2-liter bottle of Coke in under a minute, it’s not great, but your teeth are exposed to the sugar and acid for under a minute. Compare that to sipping on a giant cup of soda throughout the morning at the office. That’s a near-constant exposure of sugar and acid to your teeth all throughout the morning. Compare it to ripping a Band-Aid off quickly versus slowly taking it off through a four-hour period.”
“On black coffee: Sugar is bad because bacteria eat the sugar and convert it into lactic acid, which erodes your teeth and creates cavities. Black coffee skips the sugar part and jumps straight to the acidic part. Frequently consuming black coffee all day long will cause problems as well.
On sugar-free gum: Check the ingredients for xylitol, which is amazing for your oral health. It’s basically the world’s most tantalizing mouse trap for the bacteria in your mouth, but it’s poisonous to cats and dogs.”
4. “Do not brush your teeth for at least one hour after vomiting. [Instead,] rinse with water using 1 tsp of baking soda mixed with 8 ounces of water. Rinse with water if there is no baking soda available. Brushing after the acidic challenge of stomach acid will accelerate enamel damage.”
“To add, following an episode of vomiting, it is advisable to rinse the mouth out with water or a fluoride mouthwash to avoid the effects of gastric acid on the teeth. … Ideally, the teeth should be brushed before eating, but if this is not practical again, wait at least an hour after sugar consumption.”
5. “Dental hygienist here. Kids need their teeth brushed, too. Baby teeth can get cavities. Kids can have dental pain. Kids sometimes need root canals. Just because they’ll lose those teeth doesn’t mean you can avoid brushing them. I met a woman yesterday who said she never brushes her 2-year-old’s teeth. Please brush their teeth. Please don’t make them get dental work at such a young age. This causes dental fear and avoidance of dentists later in life!”
“For when you should take a child for their first visit, it’s a little subjective. ADA (American Dental Association) recommends when teeth start coming in. I personally feel like age 1 is a great time (unless there are issues you are concerned with). At age 1, they have almost all their baby teeth. Gives the dentist something to see. The first appointment is not just to check the baby’s teeth but to give advice and educate parents.
Also, getting a baby/toddler to sit, open, and tolerate brushing…it’s a crap shoot. Some do it willingly, and some freak out. Parenting is the bee’s knees sometimes. You hold them down and get ‘er done. I had to wrestle mine for over a year until he started sitting fairly calm while I brushed.”
6. “I see plenty of bad brushing. I often recommend an electric brush to my patients (the Sonicares are the bomb) if they have anything less than perfect oral hygiene. If you insist on a manual, YouTube the Bass or Charter’s technique for toothbrushing and practice! You will thank yourself later.”
“I’m a dental assistant, so I’m around dentists more often than not. I wouldn’t have to work again if I had a dollar for every time I heard them tell a patient that an electric toothbrush is way more beneficial than a manual. But it’s true. Also, just because you scrub your teeth harder doesn’t mean they’re getting cleaner. You’re actually causing harm, which is why an electric toothbrush is more beneficial; some stop when you apply too much pressure.”
7. “Old folks who blast their periodontal pockets with a Waterpik on the highest settings, then wonder why their pockets are getting deeper. Please use a low setting on your Waterpik, and don’t sit with it in the same spot for a minute.”
8. “I am a dentist in the Midwest US, and the worst thing I see on a daily basis is SODA, by far. Just cavities everywhere from people sitting at their desk jobs sipping sodas all day. In kids, it’s when parents put them to bed with a bottle of milk or juice or when kids walk around with juice or Kool-Aid in sippy cups all day. Water only between meals is key, and you never want to sip on anything acidic or with any sugar.”
“Sweet tea, Gatorade, Kool-Aid, juice, etc are all harmful for the same reason”
9. “After drinking something acidic, please rinse with water at the very least. If you’re a soda drinker, just drink the damn thing, and don’t sip on it. Afterward, swish water around your mouth or chew gum with xylitol.”
10. “Root canals are not that scary anymore! Old dentistry had these horror stories from getting them. More than anything today, it can be annoying to get it done, and it will often relieve some pain fairly quickly. It’s a great way to keep a tooth that can be saved. Crowns are often the best treatment for root canal teeth, so don’t skimp on that step to save a few bucks. You got all that work done; do what’s best for the tooth long term!”
11. “Dentist here. Fluoride is the most important component in toothpaste. Some brands do not include fluoride and may be referred to as ‘herbal’ or ‘natural.’ Fluoride is a naturally occurring element, and there is a tremendous body of research pointing to the positive effects for remineralization of enamel as well as some antimicrobial activity.”
12. “All carbs can damage teeth, not just sugar. [That means high-in-carb foods can also weaken your enamel if you don’t brush your teeth or rinse your mouth after eating things like pasta or bread.]”
14. “Toothpaste is best left on your teeth following brushing. Spit, don’t rinse.”
“The most effective toothcare is a bit unintuitive: Brush first thing in the morning before you have eaten. Don’t rinse; just spit. This is when the fluoride does its thing (you can drink some water, but don’t rinse it around). Mouthwash does bring benefit, but it’s best used during the day partly for the aforementioned reason of not washing out the fluoride.”
15. “Another problem I see is people brushing right after eating. This is a terrible time to brush. All the acid in your food is stuck up in between your teeth. By brushing your rubbing that acid around acting like sandpaper. You should wait [at least 30 minutes] after eating to brush so that the saliva in your mouth lowers the ph.”
16. “Brush along the gumline, not just the teeth.”
“Gum health [is so important.] There’s no point having strong white teeth if you have gum problems, which eventually means those teeth get loose and fall out or need to be pulled.”
“Dentist here. I can’t tell you how many patients swear they brush twice a day, but somehow, I find giant blobs of plaque at the gum line, and their gums look like they’d bleed if you gave them a hard look. Everybody should watch a YouTube video on brushing technique. Technique is as important as frequency and duration.”
And finally…
17. “If you’ve had braces, wear your retainer for as long as you want straight teeth; even after many years, the teeth can try and rotate back to their original position.”
Wow. Fellow dentists, what are some other dental hygiene “lies” people should stop believing and following? Tell us in the comments below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
