When it comes to dental health and hygiene, there is an extraordinary amount of myths and legends that could impact the way you think of your teeth. Stemming from the dental history of the past, filled with back-street surgeries and no anesthesia, the practicalities of dentistry have remained blurred. However, being able to separate your fact from your fiction is an excellent way to stop your fear of the dentist, as well as helping you to give your teeth the care necessary.
Believing outdated myths about your teeth could have harmful effects such as not looking after them in the correct way. For instance, if you heard a myth that brushing your teeth was bad for you, you are far more likely to forgo brushing them. Therefore, believing myths could lead to an increase in your chances of getting cavities and having to have surgical procedures. Then, understanding the facts is important to have a healthy smile throughout your life, enabling you to get the right care for your teeth rather than following the tricks of a myth.
Diet Soda Is Better For You
When it comes to our food and drink intake, there are many myths that are broadcast widely in order to promote goods. Diet soda is a common feature of these. Diet sodas are often advertised as an excellent alternative to help you lose weight and look after your body, including your teeth. Whilst they have less sugar in them than normal fizzy drinks, reducing the number of calories that they contain, they are not any better for your teeth. This is because it is not only sugar that causes cavities- their acidity content is still high, and, like citrus fruit, this can wear away the enamel on your tooth. They can cause damage for twenty minutes after each mouthful that you drink, meaning that the time period in which they can cause damage is quite extensive. Therefore, while the development of diet sodas means that many people do not limit their intake of these, they can still do potentially harmful damage to your teeth.
To reduce the effects of soda on your teeth, you should limit your fizzy drink intake to no more than one small can a day. However, if you struggle to do this, then you should drink the soda through a straw to limit the amount of sugar meeting your teeth as well as washing your mouth out with water afterward. This dilutes the effect of the sugar in your mouth and lessens the impact of this on your teeth.
The Harder You Brush, The Better
Although it might feel natural to you that the harder you brush, the whiter and nicer your teeth will be, removing more plaque and harmful bacteria, this is not always the case. To brush your teeth properly, you should brush lightly and slowly. If you have an electric toothbrush, you should let it do all the work for you, gently hovering over each tooth in turn rather than moving it around in circles yourself. This will ensure that your teeth are cleaned properly without the damaging impact of brushing too hard. Brushing your teeth harder will not change the extent of your brushing. Instead, it will increase your risk of gum disease as you will erode your gum lining. If your gums recede, this can lead to major problems later in life as bacteria will be able to enter more easily through the gaps in your gums. Half of American adults have gum disease, however, it is easily prevented through brushing correctly and visiting your dentist regularly.
Gum Disease Isn’t Common
Whilst many people believe that gum disease is something that they do not have to worry about, the change in our lifestyle over recent years, as well as the wide variety of causes, make gum disease a top concern. This is a top priority for people aged 65 and over, where the percentage goes up to sixty-four percent from fifty. This is due to the fact that we are naturally more susceptible to disease and infection as we age and our immune systems weaker. However, these statistics do not mean that we should ignore signs of gum disease as adults. Gum disease is extremely common, as seen from the above statistics. If left untreated, it can lead to a large number of different problems with our physical health, such as a higher risk of contracting esophageal cancer and respiratory diseases. This is due to the bacteria entering our bloodstream and affecting other organs such as our brain and lungs.
Bleeding Gums Are Normal
Bleeding gums, in the same vein as a broken ankle, should not be ignored. While harmless knocks and scrapes can make them bleed, there could be further underlying health problems such as gum disease. Gums can start to bleed when plaque builds up behind the teeth in places which are difficult to reach. If this is left untreated, your gums and bones can wear away under this pressure. This can be stopped through methods such as flossing. Whilst brushing with a toothbrush only covers around 60% of your teeth’s surfaces, flossing reaches the narrow gaps in which plaque can build up. This then helps to stop inflammation and bleeding in your gums.
Painless Teeth Mean Healthy Teeth
Many people only see the dentist when they are in pain, with 42% of Americans saying that they do not see the dentist as often as they would like. However, many problems with your tooth are painless in the beginning stages. For instance, cavities can be painless for a long time. They only become painful when they reach the center of your tooth where your nerves are. At this stage, your tooth may need a crown or root canal to fix your problem. This makes it vital that you see the dentist at least once a year, who can spot the signs of decay and disease before you can. If you do not, this could lead to problems getting worse and more intrusive surgical procedures may be needed the longer that you leave it. Therefore, the best way to maintain healthy teeth is through preventative methods such as visiting the dentist and brushing well, or else this could lead to larger procedures such as tooth extractions.
Mail order dental supplies such as those available with Kent Express can help dental practices to achieve the best results for your teeth with up-to-date tools and equipment. For dental practices looking for the best value dental supplies to help stop the process of tooth decay and gum disease, they offer a trusted and reliable service for regular customers and a 120-day no-quibble guarantee on own brand products. Their knowledgeable customer service team goes above and beyond to help their customers as they keep in regular contact with their dental practices. Therefore, they have the best knowledge to help dental practices find the right equipment for their needs.
Whitening Damages Teeth
The whitening equipment of the past might have had strong effects on your teeth, removing their fragile enamel surface. However, whitening treatments have advanced through modern dentistry technology and now have no harmful effects on your teeth. If you get teeth whitening procedures performed by a professional, and not at an unlicensed venue such as a beauty parlor, then tooth damage should not be a problem. Rather than damage, the enamel, teeth whitening procedures open the pores of your teeth to let the peroxide in, and these will close naturally over time, leaving your tooth unharmed. However, while they do not ultimately harm the tooth, whitening toothpaste can be a problem for sensitivity. They are less advanced and the peroxide used in these can penetrate through the enamel to the more sensitive part of the tooth.
White Teeth Mean Healthy Teeth
Although it is a common misconception supported by advertising and other media, white teeth do not necessarily mean healthy teeth. Teeth naturally range in color and this color changes as we age, often away from the pearly whites of the television. However, this does not mean that they are in poor health as they can have no issues even though they are naturally discolored. Having completely white teeth is unnatural and can only be achieved by most people through whitening procedures, which are for cosmetic reasons only. Your teeth may be stained by a number of reasons that may include coffee, wine and even medication. However, this does not necessarily harm the nature of your teeth, even though they might not look as perfect as you wish.
Pregnant Women Lose Teeth
It is a common myth that women can discover they are pregnant through dreams where their teeth fall out. This is also a common myth in dentistry, with many people believing the ratio is as high as one tooth per child. However, whilst pregnant women are more susceptible to infection and a weakening of the enamel, it is unlikely that this will cause tooth loss at such a rapid pace. Hormonal changes can lead to an increase in bacteria. This can cause bleeding gums and gum disease in some women, however, this can be prevented through visiting your dentist regularly. By doing so, like anyone, you will be able to catch problems easily and will usually find that they are easily preventable.
Looking After Milk Teeth is Not Important
Most parents put their children’s health at the top of their priorities and will do as much as possible to ensure that they remain happy and healthy. However, if myths permeate facts about children’s teeth, this can lead to severe problems for children as they grow up. Although many adults take their children to regular dental appointments and ensure good brushing routines, it can be surprisingly common for children to have fillings. Myths are not completely to blame for this. A variety of factors such as poor diets and a lack of oral hygiene are also big causes.
However, maintaining a child’s oral health can be complicated by the myth that looking after children’s milk teeth is not important. This may make logical sense due to the fact that they start to fall out when children reach the age of 6 or 7. However, the treatment and state of your child’s milk teeth can affect the adult teeth that grow through. This will then have an impact on the set of teeth that they will have their whole lives. Leaving milk teeth without a good oral routine can also result in procedures such as fillings which can leave children wary of the dentist for life.
Root Canals Are Painful
Root canal treatments are procedures that are used when there is an infection in the middle of a tooth. Dentists remove the infected pulp from the center of your tooth and then clean and refill your tooth. This is known for being a highly painful operation, however, the procedure is normally not painful. Although tooth infections themselves are painful, root canals are performed under local anesthesia and so are generally completely painless. The benefits of root canals outweigh any fears you might have of the procedure itself as 90% of root canal treated teeth survive for 8-10 years. Most importantly, they will also stop any pain you may be feeling and make the tooth usable again to chew and smile, for instance.
Knowing the importance between fact and fiction is almost as important as good dental care. The best care you can give your teeth is through regular dental check-ups with a professional and through a daily toothbrushing regime. Without the proper knowledge, it is likely that the care you give your teeth would not benefit them, especially not to the same extent. You will also more likely forgo activities which can prevent decay and diseases such as flossing and brushing gently. However, with the facts and statistics above, you can be assured that you will be able to stick to a good oral hygiene routine that will benefit your teeth’s health. Not only this, but it will also decrease your number of visits to the dentist.
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