Roughly 74% of Americans have some kind of periodontal disease right now. Although these dental issues can strike anyone at any time, a lot of these problems are caused by people not knowing how to properly take care of themselves and their mouths. Everyone knows that brushing, going to the dentist, and staying away from too much sugar is important, but there are so many myths involved with dental hygiene that it’s ruining people’s teeth and gums.
Here are some common dental hygiene myths that are complete nonsense:
You only need to visit your dentist once a year, if that
WRONG.
You need to visit your dentist much more than once a year. Dentists aren’t there to give you a yearly checkup, they are there to prevent dental issues such as cavities or infected dental pulp before they occur. Even if you have perfect teeth (which you likely don’t), you should still go see a dental professional at least two or three times a year to make sure that everything is all right inside your mouth. Unfortunately, many people go years in between dental cleanings and check ups!
You only have to brush once a day
This is not even close to being right. In fact, it’s a perfect recipe for bad breath and dental problems alike.
If you want to have any chance of keeping your healthy teeth into your 30s, 40s, or 50s, then you must brush your teeth once in the morning and once before you go to sleep. For best results, you should consider brushing after each meal you eat throughout the day.
Your dentist doesn’t care if you floss or not
No, no, no, and no.
Of course your dentist cares if you floss or not. And you should too. If you don’t floss, your teeth and gums are going to be experiencing some serious issues in the near future — so get flossing.
Mouthwash can fix any mouth problem
Really?
No. No it cannot.
Stop believing this nonsense. When it comes to your dental hygiene, you can’t afford to make any mistakes like the ones we discussed above. You need to visit your dentist much more frequently, you need to brush in the morning and at night, you need to floss every day, and, though mouthwash is great, it does not fix any dental issue. Again, stop believing this nonsense before you develop a bad breath reputation.
To find out exactly what you should be doing to take care of your teeth, contact a dentist to set up your next cleaning.