Never Brush Your Teeth Right After You Puke, And 16 Other Dental Hygiene "Secrets" Dentists Wish More People Knew

1. "DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) here. Mouthwash is NOT a substitute for flossing oregon brushing. It makes your rima consciousness cleanable and kills bacteria for 30 seconds, but aft that, your rima is conscionable arsenic susceptible to bacterial invasion, causing cavities. I person Listerine retired for patients to rinse with aft impressions and atrocious flavors/grits we use, but I DON'T condone its usage arsenic a sub for due oral hygiene."

—jahmahn

"My idiosyncratic opinion: I deliberation that Listerine and different OTC mouthwashes that assertion to termination bacteria are a discarded of money. You're fundamentally spitting currency down the drain. But, I deliberation that different fluoride rinses are NOT a discarded of money. If your h2o isn't fluoridated, get this, and usage it decently astatine slightest 3 times a week."

—None

2. "I'm a dental assistant. I've been assisting for a portion now, and person worked successful 1 backstage oral country practice, and now, I enactment for a ample wide practice. Buy soft-bristle brushes. NEVER bargain the hard-bristled brushes; those are really for cleaning dentures."

"I person nary thought wherefore toothbrush companies don't advertise those brushes arsenic denture brushes, but they should. You tin easy scrape the enamel disconnected your bony with those brushes."

—None

3. "As a retired dentist, 1 of the immense rackets successful the dental tract is the extraction of contented teeth — 95% of contented teeth DO NOT NEED TO BE EXTRACTED. Impacted contented teeth, if near alone, volition origin a minimum of trouble, and you volition pb a perfectly mean beingness with them. They whitethorn request occasional medicine for symptom if it occurs astatine all, but otherwise, they are innocuous successful their effect."

"Dentists regularly scare their patients into having unnecessary removal. They bash it truthful often they astir apt judge their ain hype. It is simply a immense root of income for dentists and oral surgeons."

—Finchgate

4. "It's not mean for gums to bleed erstwhile brushing oregon flossing. If you commencement flossing regularly, the bleeding should stop. If you haven't had a dental cleaning successful a agelong time, you request your teeth cleaned to get a caller start."

—teethjanitor

5. "Soft drinks, juice, and sports drinks are atrocious for your teeth. One Coke = 10 literal teaspoons of sugar. Same goes for Gatorade/Powerade/etc. I consciousness truthful atrocious for the parents of the small guys we person needing 10 positive fillings, and they are truthful arrogant of giving their small hockey subordinate Gatorade for 'electrolytes.' Marketing is almighty stuff. The changeless vulnerability to this sweetener creates an acidic environment, which virtually melts oregon erodes the enamel causing decay."

"It's the frequence of vulnerability to refined carbs much than the measurement of sweetener that causes bony decay. Every clip your saliva neutralizes the acerb from these drinks, you re-expose teeth to the acid. Parents bash your kids a favor: tons of h2o for hydration and a banana for electrolytes."

—jahmahn

6. "It's true: Cavities travel from the FREQUENCY of sweetener exposure, not the AMOUNT of sweetener exposure. So, sipping a soda, juice, Gatorade, oregon Redbull for hours is overmuch worse than drinking it successful 5 minutes."

—DustinNielsen

7. "Don't brushwood immediately aft consuming an acerb similar soda, fruit, sports drinks, etc. Instead, rinse with h2o aft and past hold an hr to brush. Brushing instantly volition origin further acerb erosion."

—potatoewedges

8. "Yes, flossing is necessary. Do it. If you are susceptible to cavities oregon gum disease, this will minimize your chance of cavities oregon premature bony loss. Those that are debased hazard oregon little susceptible tin get distant with this much (one of my dentist buddies claims helium ne'er flosses and has ne'er had a cavity), but your hazard factors tin change, and you volition wage the price."

—jahmahn

9. "Whitening strips work, but you tin hazard bleach pain if the strips overlap your gums. Same with powerfulness whitening. You volition apt beryllium delicate arsenic hellhole aft powerfulness whitening. The champion happening you tin bash for whitening is to get professionally made trays and usage them AS DIRECTED. Bleach burns suck, and they tin hap if you aren't careful."

—unity57643

"Whitening products are champion erstwhile you acquisition trays made astatine your dentist, and they springiness you the refillable gel. If you usage m.i. paste successful adjunct with whitening, it volition support sensitivity down."

—potatoewedges

10. "Fourth-year dental pupil here. Myth: 'If I person a crown connected a tooth, it can't get different cavity.' You can, and it volition hap wherever the crown borderline meets the earthy bony if you ne'er brushwood it."

—buhr

11. "Myth: 'It doesn't substance if my kids don't attraction for their teeth due to the fact that they're going to autumn retired anyway.' If your child's rima has cavities, it volition big much of the aforesaid bacteria that origin cavities successful their big-kid teeth."

—buhr

12. "We don't usage Novocaine. In fact, Novocaine has not been disposable for dental purposes successful the US for astir 15 years. I'm a dentist, and People inquire astir novocaine each the time. I deliberation it's weird. It's a spot similar going successful for country and asking the anesthesiologist astir ether. So, what bash we use? Various different anesthetics that enactment better. Most commonly, lidocaine 2% and articaine 4%."

—fattyre

13. "If your toothbrush frays astatine each (and I mean adjacent a small bit!), you are brushing excessively hard! You should regenerate a toothbrush/electric toothbrush caput each 3 months. If by 3 months it’s fraying, you are applying excessively overmuch pressure."

—teethjanitor

"You brushwood excessively hard, really. That's wherefore electrical toothbrushes are beneficial; chiefly due to the fact that it's easier to instinctively brushwood lighter."

—daveyb86

14. "Brushing correctly is much more important than however galore times you brushwood daily. I've seen radical who accidental they brushwood their teeth 3 times a time (and I judge them) but inactive person plaque and calculus (tartar) connected their teeth."

—None

"Brush doubly a day, for 2 minutes each time. Don't usage a batch of unit erstwhile you brushwood (aka don't 'scrub' aggressively); it's much astir being thorough. With a manual toothbrush, space the bristles astatine a 45-degree space toward the gums and brushwood successful abbreviated circular motions. With an electrical toothbrush, you conscionable request to marque interaction with each bony aboveground astatine a 45-degree space and glide on the teeth; the electrical toothbrush does the rest. I highly urge having an electrical toothbrush, particularly for older radical oregon those with dexterity issues."

—teethjanitor

15. "Myth: Canker sores tin beryllium cured. There's nary grounds to beryllium this arsenic of yet. You tin negociate symptoms of symptom with Canker Cover oregon Anbesol/Orajel, but it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to get escaped of them completely. We aren't adjacent definite what causes them entirely. Bacteria? Acidic foods? No statement yet."

—jahmahn

16. "If you ever puke, don't brushwood close afterward since the pH of your tummy acerb tin temporarily soften your teeth, and you tin past harm your teeth erstwhile you brush. Instead, you should rinse with a baking soda solution to neutralize the acid, and past you tin brushwood your teeth possibly 30–60 minutes later."

—DustinNielsen

17. "Dental hygienist here. Floss picks, h2o picks, toothpicks, interproximal brushes, rima rinse, oregon immoderate other you effort to bash to support from really flossing are not arsenic bully arsenic flossing. Period. Watch immoderate YouTube videos connected how to floss, and wage attraction to the mode you HOLD the floss. It makes it truthful overmuch easier."

—Al_Dental

"When you floss, don't just shove it down and popular the floss backmost out. If you person choky contacts (the abstraction betwixt your teeth), you're going to harm your sharpey's fibers. Sharpey's fibers are the tiny ligaments that connect your bony to the bone. Also, you mightiness really beryllium cramming nutrient deeper into your gingiva. Not cool. Use a dilatory see-saw question down, wrapper the floss astir the sides of each tooth, past see-saw backmost up."

—None

Fellow dentists, what are immoderate oral hygiene "lies" radical shouldn't judge oregon the communal mistakes they're making? Tell america successful the comments oregon usage this anonymous signifier below.

Note: Some submissions person been edited for magnitude and/or clarity.