We often hear lots of misconceptions from our patients when it comes to dental health. So what are these myths and are they true or false? Our Dental Practice Manager, Stacey, addresses these issues once and for all.

Mouthwash should be used between brushing times and not straight after brushing?

 TRUE: Using a mouthwash that contains fluoride can help to prevent tooth decay, but don’t use mouthwash straight after brushing your teeth or it will wash away the concentrated fluoride in the toothpaste left on your teeth.

Don’t brush if your gums are bleeding?

FALSE: Gums bleed due to inflammation caused by leaving plaque on the teeth.  Brushing and flossing regularly is the only way to make your gums start to heal.

Fizzy drinks are bad for your teeth?

TRUE: All fizzy drinks are bad for your teeth even fizzy water due to the carbonic acid that erodes your teeth, if you fancy a fizzy drink always have it at meal times.

 

Baby teeth aren’t important & don’t need brushing?

  FALSE: Not brushing baby teeth can cause tooth decay. Decayed baby teeth can cause pain, speech problems, and malalignment of adult teeth. Just because baby teeth are going to “fall out” does not make them any less important.  Baby teeth help maintain the proper structure of the mouth in providing a guide for permanent teeth to move in behind them when the time comes.

Eating more sugar means getting more cavities?

TRUE: The longer sugar sits in your teeth, the more cavities you will get.  The real danger is not brushing your teeth after eating sugary foods.

For more information on how to maintain good oral health, call us on 023 8086 8833 to book an appointment.