Myths are an integral aspect of any field. But, when it comes to myths involving health, they can be potentially dangerous. There are lots of myths associated with dental health. I mention the popular ones. Do feel free to add you own in the comments section.
1. Tooth Decay caused by worms
This is age old myth which was accepted by the public due to proposal put forth by medical scholars of that time. This myth is not very popular among the educated world.
Still, there are people who subscribe to this theory. Well, just to clear this up, tooth decay is caused by acid released by caries-causing bacteria.
2. Tooth extraction affects eye sight
This is a very popular myth and many people swear by this. Let me tell there is absolutely no affect on the eyesight by the extraction of any number of teeth. Go to any qualified dentist and he will tell you the same.
3. The more you brush, better your teeth
This concept is gaining momentum in the modern world. It’s not proposed by anyone but just the thinking of many that more brushing should make their teeth whiter and shinier.
On the contrary, overzealous brushing for extended periods of time does more harm than good. The teeth surface is made of enamel which gets abraded on brushing for extended periods which lead to tooth sensitivity and other complications in the long term. The recommended time period for brushing is 3 minutes twice a day.
4. Medication CURES toothache
Medication might temporarily relief toothache but does not cure toothache. The only way to cure a toothache is to find the cause and treat that. I have been surprised by many home remedies which are promoted as cures for toothache. These can do more harm than good. Got a toothache? Visit the dentist.
5. Eating chocolate causes tooth decay
This is partially true. If you consume chocolate in between meals often and don’t rinse your mouth afterwards, it puts you at a high risk of tooth decay. The important aspect to note here is that the sticky chocolate particles on the tooth surface after consumption acts as food for decay causing bacteria. So, if you consume chocolate and rinse your mouth immediately after, you will be doing great.
6. Tooth extraction is painful
Modern medicine has enabled the dentist to use effective local anesthetics to render least amount of pain to the patients. The local anesthetic injection desensitizes a patient to pain during an extraction so that the tooth can be removed without much discomfort during extraction. Note that there can be some pain in extractions of impacted tooth, tooth with dilacerated roots and other complications. I personally had a mesio-angular impacted tooth which was below the mandibular canal (which basically means a complicated extraction) removed with out any conceivable pain.
7. Using Toothpicks widens gap between teeth
There is no such harm when you use the commercially available toothpicks. Toothpicks can help you remove food particles between teeth. In fact, you might as well floss your teeth than using toothpicks which serves the same purpose but is more effective. Be careful of injury to your gums when you use sharp tooth picks.
These are some popular dental myths. But there are lots others; I might come up with a part 2 of this. Do add dental myths you know in the comments section.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
number 6 is total bollocks-
last time i got one pulled i had knee- sized bruises on my chest from where the sawbones got his leverage
-hurt for weeks and even after about 7 injections i felt every twitch- if i get another one done im taking my own cocaine and then it might hold true!
- the bruising left to the jaw afterwards is also horrific if your teeth are hard to get out yer head- as mine are- hence the chest bruising…. are you even a dentist?
chocolate acts like food?
erm chocolate IS food last i heard- it having calorific value and being digestable.
some proper numptys on the web think we need to hear every random brain fart they have.
oh and number 4 is tosh also- if i have a bacterial tooth infection that causes me pain and i take an antibiotic- that antibiotic effectively cures my toothache- pulling the thing out helps too but doesnt make the antibiotic any less of a cure for a painful bacterial infection.
heres a widely accepted myth that you should add
- people with medical qualifications always know what they are doing or talking about….
for the good of your own profession i would advise you to spend a little more time with a textbook before you spout any more “trust me im a dentist” stuff.
im glad your not my dentist- sane you may be but good at dentistry i somehow doubt it.
I’d never trust a dentist who isnt a crazy sadist.
Well,
Appreciate your comment. Lemme try to clarify.
Read No. 6 carefully again
“Note that there can be some pain in extractions of impacted tooth”
-I guess yours was not a simple extraction but an impacted tooth (Tooth embedded in bone)
-And regarding the fact you did not get desensitized even after 7 injections, you might be non-responsive to the specific anasthesia which was used on you. Some people are resistant in which case an anasthesia with different composition is used.
- I am really surprised when you say that the dentist used your chest for support and you have bruises on your chest. Dentist’s are not supposed to be using the patient’s chest for leverage! I am not really too sure about the ability of your dentist.
-Regarding your doubt “chocolate acts like food?”
Again, please read it more carefully. It is “acts as food for decay causing bacteria”
- Regarding your doubt about No.4… The cause of pain can be correctly determined by the dentist. If its tooth decay, it requires a restoration or Root canal done, If its gum disease, it will require scaling and root planing or even gum surgery, If it’s an impacted tooth, it will require surgical extraction. All this is in addition to medication. So, my point is simply that since patient can’t diagnose what’s causing the tooth pain, they can’t treat it with any so-called magical home remedies. Dental problems such as tooth decay, gum disease,impacted tooth require the intervention of the dentist failing which they progress to an advanced stage.
Hope that clears your doubt and btw- yeah, I’m a Dentist.
you should add this one to your list too but theyd strike youoff for damaging profit
the dental elephant in the room
MERCURY AMALGAM FILLINGS ARE HARMLESS
yeah and my Plutonium tablets do me so much good….
“MERCURY AMALGAM FILLINGS ARE HARMLESS”
Yes, actually they are.
There’s no credible evidence they’re harmful, and plenty of evidence they’re safe. For instance:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20230961
Can we talk about something sensible now?
I liked the list and thought it was reasonable. It was meant to be helpful, not perfect. If people want a textbook list, buy a textbook.
#6 does assume access to decent care and that’s not always the case for some people.
By the way, I made a blog post for Dentist Haters. Looks like you caught one of them here.
Here’s one… “Pregnancy causes cavities by stealing the calcium from teeth.”
How about that the tooth fairies exist. =)
Dental x-rays are dangerous.
Dental cleanings aren’t required during pregnancy.
Brushing my teeth several times a day harms the enamel.
If tooth enamel is white, the tooth must be considered healthy.
Expensive toothpastes are always better than cheap ones.
There is no need in seeing dentist if there is no visible problem with my teeth.
MERCURY is Toxic you lieing scum you just want to protect your eugenics friends
mercury fillings an very bad for you dont lie about them its been well known since the 90% but its coverd up
You get more mercury from eating a fillet of fish than from having an amalgam filling. The amount of mercury an amalgam filling is negligible, and in a different form from that which causes harm.
Do some proper research before you make outrageous claims. If you find some proper scientific papers that back your claim we will happily talk with you about it. At the moment you sound like a drunk on a street corner telling us the world is going to end.
You just made a good argument for avoiding the eating of fish, not the safety of mercury fillings. I don’t care how small the amount of mercury is. It’s still undesireable.
that last post was nerfed but you no what i ment mercury fillings are harmful very harmful so dont lie anyone who defends them defends attempted murder an eugenics
I’m amazed at the people on here that believe mercury fillings are harmful. The element in its pure form is harmful, but not when it is used in a filling. Show me the evidence. Just another conspiracy.
#2- i had someone come on facebook page. what followed were 10 comments from people who believed the same thing. crazy!
You did not publish any of the information from reliable sources that I provided that mercury was a poison – neurotoxin as established by Environment Canada and scientific entities. Why was that? The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology and the World Health Organization has proven that mercury is poisonious. Just do the research and not believe what the dental college and peers are telling you. You know that the mercury comes in packaging that has a skull and crossbones on it. How can you – as a medical professional – continue with the advice you are providing? This website can be used as a legal tool against you – be very careful.
In similar regards to over-brushing, are there any ways to prevent using too much force/pressure when brushing?
I also thought some of them were true. Thanks for this informative post.
Very amusing post to read specially the comments and the arguments. Good post though, but I guess the many myths where started to scare people to take care of their teeth.
I can’t tell you how often we explain that MORE brushing isn’t always better. Another myth… medium bristles will clean teeth better! Stick to SOFT!
#4 is soooo important.. across the board.
Very interesting article, thanks for posting it. I agree more brushing isn’t always better.
The seven different myths are great! I had never really thought about how overly brushing one’s teeth may cause more harm than good, it makes sense though that the enamel on a persons teeth could ware out. I enjoyed reading the myth about chocolate, I am a chocoholic, so it is good to know that rinsing ones mouth after consuming some is a good thing to do. I have also heard to that rinsing the mouth is good after drinking acidic beverages, such as soda and/or lemonade, because it too can help the enamel not disappear.
This article is very informative!
While reading through it, I can’t believe that I believed in some of those myths. It’s really good that we visit the dentist to ask for questions about our teeth. Getting an accurate answer from the expert will dispel those myths.