Tooth care products appearing on the market lately promise to reduce a number of the problems patients face. Even though they may be therapeutic in their ingredients, dental check-ups and good oral hygiene should not be neglected.
Patients are tempted to use wonder products designed to reduce tooth sensitivity, reduce gum bleeding and even whiten teeth.
To a certain extent, these products will do what they are designed to do, but if used without the advice of a dentist, they can be harmful.
Patients are bombarded from all directions with offers, promotions and even misleading information. Therefore, the only one who can clarify the situation is the dentist. The following are the most common myths about oral hygiene:
Gum bleeding is normal. FALSE!
Any bleeding from any part of the body is pathologic. Bleeding gums should worry the patient as much as if any other organ was bleeding.
Bleeding gums most often occur due to bacterial plaque build-up, the result of poor hygiene.
Other causes of bleeding gums are improperly fitting dentures, caries involving the dental socket area or poor fillings of such caries.
In order to ensure a correct and complete dental hygiene protocol, after brushing, the patient should use additional means such as flossing, mouthwash and mouthrinse.
Plaque can be removed by brushing. Left unremoved, the components of saliva can mineralize it and turn it into tartar, which can only be removed by scaling.
Dental floss is the only way to clean the spaces between the teeth. FALSE!
Flossing is the most popular way to remove plaque residing in the interdental spaces, but it is not the only way. In addition to this, the mouth douche or mouth irrigator is a tool that none of us should be without, and is even easier to use than dental floss.
Thus, with the mouthwash, food debris and plaque can be removed more easily and effectively, without the risk of damaging the gums. Another way to remove interdental plaque is with interdental brushes, each patient will choose, together with his or her dentist, the oral hygiene options that suit him or her. These are not mutually exclusive but complementary.
Oral health with is not directly related to general health. FALSE.
The mouth, being a cavity that communicates directly with the external environment, can be a pathway for pathogens to enter the body. Symptoms of general diseases often manifest themselves in the mouth (autoimmune diseases, viral infections). Recent studies show a correlation between periodontal disease and heart disease and diabetes, which are mutually reinforcing.
Patients are responsible for their oral and general health, to which their dentist can contribute by providing advice and solutions to solve problems and maintain a state of functional balance.
