Secrets Your Dentist Won't Tell You

The age has arrived finally when the trip to the dentist isn't as scary anymore. New cutting-edge technologies and advancements have now put an end to all the fretting and worrying prior to an appointment with the dentist. However, when you sit in the dentist's chamber with your mouth wide open and flinching, you do feel that you needed to take better care of your teeth and gums. Here are some things your dentist probably won’t tell you.

• People assume that if nothing in their mouth hurts, they’re fine. High blood pressure doesn’t hurt either, but it doesn’t mean you’re okay.

• Most patients suffer from decay and dental issues in their back teeth. Clearly, they clean only what the others can see.

• People arrive at the dentist’s with a mouthful of decayed teeth and claim that they have their grandfather’s ‘soft teeth’. Honestly, there’s no such thing as soft teeth.

• If your body parts start to bleed when you wash them, you’d run to a doctor. But you delay visits to the dentists when your gums bleed. Isn’t the mouth a part of your body?

• Toothpastes have limitations. New whitening toothpastes can get rid of surface stains, but eventually, your teeth will end up being the same as before.

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• People who smoke try to cover up the bad breath with mints and mouthwash, but actually it doesn’t work. The stench has probably steeped into their gum and mouth tissues.

• Proper oral health requires ten minutes of brushing and cleaning. Most adults barely reach above 5 minutes; children are worse.

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• ‘Criss-cross bristles’ is not just a marketing idea. They actually do a better job of cleaning between the teeth.

• Kids having dental problems are ill-behaved at school. Teachers complain of such kids being distracted and restless, but actually, they’re just suffering from toothaches.

• Tongue piercing is dangerous. There’s hardly anyone who has had a tongue piercing and hasn’t had a chipped front teeth. In some cases, dentists have to cut out a portion of the tongue because the infection becomes so severe.

• Extraction of upper molars doesn’t affect brain function and cause loss of vision.

• People are worried that dental X-rays can cause cancer; but actually, you’re exposed to much more radiation outside a clinic than while getting an X-ray done.

• Strange but true - Mis-aligned teeth can cause migraine headaches. Aligning them properly can help the headache go away.

• Bleeding gums is a sign of diabetes.

• Teeth get whiter when they dry out. Some treatments promise to give you 4 shades whiter teeth, but in the reality, you could get two shades whiter teeth just from dehydration.

• The smell of your breath can be a clue to diabetes, bronchitis and lung infections.

• If you bleach your teeth too often, you can end up stripping a large portion of your tooth enamel.

• Cosmetic dentistry works only on a healthy mouth. You can’t build a house on a swamp.

• People often assume that the more a dentist charges, the better he is. In reality, however, there’s no co-relation between the two of them.

• Silver fillings do release a small amount of mercury through wear and tear, but you would need around 300 fillings to be done to cause a small damage to your body.

• Composite fillings are popular, but metal fillings are more durable and resistant.

• Bacteria that cause cavities spread through saliva. So don’t share your spoon with your kin.

• To reduce the bacteria in your mouth, chew 6-7 chewing gums containing xylitol (a sugar substitute) a day.

Source-Medindia