6 Things Dentists Don’t Tell Patients

Despite all modern technologies, visiting the dentist is always something to worry about. But anyway, you need to consult it regularly if you don’t want to celebrate Toothache Day, celebrated every year on February 9th.

And even with advances in dentistry, we often forget to ask our dentist some important questions. What are these professionals hiding from us? Are these just professional secrets?

O awesome.club decided to investigate important dental issues that, if they were not so important, are certainly very curious.

How many times a day should we brush our teeth? Dentists claim that the standard answer is “at least in the morning and at night”, but they also say that the important thing is not the frequency of cleaning, but its effectiveness. It takes 48 hours for bacteria to proliferate in the mouth. So, if you brush your teeth once a day, but very efficiently, everything will be fine. As a precaution, rinse your mouth after eating.

There are proven cleaning techniques that have been worked out by different dentists, and that have earned their name.

The most famous techniques are:

Charter technique. Carry out vibrating and rotating movements at the same time, with the brush forming a 40 degree angle. Perfectly rub the gums, eliminating leftover food from the space between the teeth. Leonard technique. The brush must be perpendicular between the surface of the teeth, making vertical movements: from top to bottom and from bottom to top. The teeth must remain closed. The surface used for chewing should be cleaned with the “back and forth” method. Smith-Bell technique. It is the imitation of chewing food. The brush is perpendicular to the teeth, pressing them and making smooth rotational movements.

It is common knowledge that the toothbrush accumulates bacteria. But how often do you need to replace the object? It is best to change your toothbrush every three months, on the condition that you wash and dry it well so that it does not lose its shape.

If you are among those who like to chew the toothbrush, its lifespan drops to a month. Damaged bristles can injure the mucous membrane, and this surface is very vulnerable to the action of bacteria.

Dental floss and modern oral irrigators that flush away debris using a stream of water are great, but flossing has not been clinically proven to positively affect the condition of your teeth and the development of cavities. Therefore, many dentists let patients decide whether they want to use the wire or not.

More attention has been paid to gingivitis, as food debris between the teeth affects the gums more. On the other hand, if you have sensitive gums, you need to be extra careful with flossing. For paintings like this, it is better to bet on irrigators. If your gums are healthy, flossing is an additional massage.

Many patients follow a rule: it is better to finish as soon as possible with the unpleasant obligation. Therefore, they usually make an appointment at the dentist in the morning.

But professionals are human and, between us, your dentist may not be so focused in the mornings. So, if you want to receive 100% care, it is better to be the third or fourth patient🇧🇷 As you can imagine, being among the last in line is not the best option either.

Regarding the regularity of visits, the average is that adults make one consultation per year. For children, the rule is one appointment every six months.

Dentists rarely mention it, but prevention is much more effective for dental care than constant visits to the office.

And we’re not just talking about oral hygiene. Everyday habits also affect teeth a lot: smoking, drinking very hot or cold drinks, ingesting large amounts of sugar and vitamin deficiency.

A not-so-good habit is the obsession with whitening your teeth. Not all dentists will say that a healthy tooth color is a little yellow or grayish. The color is not determined by the enamel, but by the dentin, which is the inner part of the tooth. The chemical gets into the tooth, leaving the enamel porous and brittle. Therefore, it is better to talk to your dentist before whitening, as the method may have many contraindications.

External enamel plaque is removed by professional cleaning. After that, the teeth become clearer.

If you don’t have the possibility to see the dentist during a toothache, you can relieve the discomfort by massaging pressure points. The most efficient of them is between the thumb and the forefinger: when pressing it and making friction, it is necessary to open and close the mouth at the same time.

Sitting in the dentist’s chair, don’t you get the impression that he and his assistant are conspiring against you from behind the tray of tools? That makes sense: the professional always tries to prevent the patient from seeing those frightening paraphernalia and get even more nervous.

In addition, many dentists have rehearsed short phrases to talk to the assistant, ensuring that the patient does not receive any worrisome information.

And have you ever wondered where the extracted teeth go? It is possible that it serves science and is handed over for studies. Another possibility is that your tooth becomes part of a mannequin used by dental students. Modern mannequins have artificial teeth, but specific cases can be illustrated with the help of a real tooth. However, the tooth can have a much simpler destination: to be disinfected and… thrown in the trash.