When it comes to making decisions about your smile, you want to make sure that you’re working with the best information available. In this short article, our Saint Louis dentists are addressing some commonly spread myths about dental treatment and oral health. We hope that this helps you better understand your treatment options.
- Day-glo teeth: many people are afraid that if they undergo professional dental whitening, they’ll end up with enamel that is too white and bright. Well, this simply isn’t how whitening treatments work. The whitening formulations we use are designed to lift stains from the dental surface, thus returning the smile to its previous level of whiteness.
- Brushing is always beneficial: the ADA recommends that patients brush their teeth every morning and every night before bed. You should absolutely follow this guideline, or the recommendations your dentists give you to replace it. However, talk to your dentist if you want to brush your smile more frequently. There is such a thing as brushing too much—doing so can lead to enamel thinning as well as gum tissue damage. Plus, you want to make sure not to brush for about 20 to 30 minutes after acid exposure, as your enamel is temporarily softened for this period of time.
- Bad breath is a superficial issue: too many of us try to treat chronic bad breath with products like breath mints, gum, and oral sprays. This is because we are trying to address the symptom, rather than the actual issue. The truth is that bad breath can actually indicate an underlying oral health problem, like gum disease or dental cavities. In order to conquer bad breath for good, you have to improve your oral health.
In our Saint Louis dental office, we take the time to educate our patients on crucial oral health issues, So, if you have lingering questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!