If you use e-mail or social media, you’ve likely seen misconceptions about dental health masquerading as news articles with health advice. Some advice, such as drinking apple cider vinegar or brushing with activated charcoal, could literally damage your teeth and increase your risks for tooth decay. Permanent damage to your teeth could lead to the need for restorations or root canal treatment.
Since it can be difficult to discern legitimate health tips from misinformed ones, our team has compiled a list of common oral health myths.
Myth: Home Remedies are Superior to Conventional Dental Treatment
Watch morning news shows, peruse Facebook, or check your “chain” e-mail and you will find an abundance of advice on home remedies for general wellness and oral health. While some home remedies aren’t dangerous, others can literally damage your teeth and increase your risk for oral disease.
Before you make any changes to your oral hygiene regimen, it’s important to run it by your dentist. Your dental provider will be able to determine which remedies are beneficial and which are potentially harmful.
Myth: If a toothache subsides, you don’t need to visit a dentist.
While a toothache is a good indicator that something is wrong with your tooth, the absence of pain doesn’t mean that you don’t need professional care. Many times, a toothache subsiding means that the infection inside a tooth has killed its nerves, which relay signals of pain.
Infected teeth typically require root canal treatment, even if pain subsides. Foregoing root canal treatment could lead to the development of painful (and destructive) infections called abscesses.
Myth: The harder you brush, the cleaner your teeth.
While scrubbing furiously cleans dishes and countertops, the same principle doesn’t ring true for oral hygiene. Brushing hard and vigorously won’t make your teeth cleaner. Vigorous brushing actually erodes the protective coating called tooth enamel around your teeth.
The most effective brushing technique is to brush teeth in soft, circular motions. Your toothbrush is designed to remove plaque and debris with light pressure.
We are accepting new patients. If you’ve been referred for root canal treatment, call Access Endodontics to set-up an appointment.