1. No pain doesn’t mean “no problem.” Some truly educated people think that if nothing in their mouth hurts, they’re fine. High cholesterol doesn’t hurt, either, but it’s a big problem.
2. Bleeding is not OK. If your hands bled when you washed them, you’d run to the doctor. But in the public’s mind, bleeding gums are okay. Unless you’re really whaling away with your brush, if your gums bleed even a little, that’s periodontal disease, period.
3. Your dentist does need to see you. The advice to see your dentist twice a year applies only if you have healthy gums. Most people don’t.
4. The problem might not be what you think it is. People come to me with a mouthful of tooth decay and say, “I got my grandfather’s soft teeth.” I don’t even know what soft teeth are.
5. The more time you spend, the less we have to. Proper oral hygiene requires ten minutes of brushing and flossing every day. The average adult spends two or three minutes total, and kids do even worse.
6. Chewing gum can be good. If you want to reduce the bad bacteria in your mouth, you should be all over xylitol, a sugar substitute found in chewing gum. It changes the chemistry of your mouth. Six or seven pieces of xylitol gum every day will help keep cavities away.
7. Mouthwash is a very short-term strategy. A mouthwash with alcohol dries out your mouth—you’ll smell nice and minty for a half hour, but then the bad breath comes back worse than ever.
8. The electric toothbrush is one of the best things to ever happen to dentistry. The newer ones replicate professional cleaning—they won’t reach much below the gum line, but they’re far superior to regular toothbrushes. The cheap ones are okay for kids, but you’ll have to pay more than $75 for a really good brush with a warranty and replacement heads.
9. We think X-rays do more good than harm. A lot of patients are worried that dental X-rays can cause cancer, but if you’re outside for an hour, you’re exposed to more radiation than you’d get from a full set of dental X-rays. What I worry about is that if I don’t take an X-ray, I might miss something serious.
TOP SECRET! Minty mouthwash or breath mints don’t fight bad breath! Most mouthwashes contain alcohol, which dries up saliva and makes your breath worse afterward. Mint candy is just a cover-up; it actually feeds the odor-causing bacteria more sugar! For a natural mouthwash, mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 1 cup of a 2 to 3 percent solution of hydrogen peroxide. The foam it kicks up has a powerful oxidizing effect that kills odoriferous bacteria.
10. There’s no way to make implants cheaper. If you’re missing teeth, chances are that your insurance company won’t cover implants—only one out of 22 insurance companies I deal with covers them, even though they’re better than dentures in every way.
11. Sometimes, we can fix your headache. Misaligned teeth can cause migraine headaches. If we can align the teeth and fix the bite, the pain often goes away.
12. Teeth get whiter when they dry out. Some dentists promise that their office procedures will make your teeth four shades whiter. But if you leave your mouth open for an hour, you could easily be two shades whiter just from dehydration.
13. We need you to know what your insurance covers. People think we have a crystal ball that tells us everyone’s insurance information. We don’t. And we need to find out what’s covered before we can do anything.
SOURCES: Michael Alkon, DMD, general dentist, Holmdel, New Jersey; Damian Dachowski, DMD, general dentist, Horsham, Pennsylvania; Danine Fresch Gray, DDS, general dentist, Arlington, Virginia; Jay Grossman, DDS, cosmetic dentist, Brentwood, California; Gary Herskovits, DDS, family dentist, Brooklyn, New York; Paul Hettinger, DMD, general dentist, Orlando, Florida; Jennifer Jablow, DDS, cosmetic dentist, New York, New York; Jim Janakievski, DDS, periodontist, Tacoma, Washington; Chris Kammer, DDS, cosmetic dentist, Middleton, Wisconsin; Mark Mutschler, DDS, pediatric dentist, Oregon City, Oregon; Mai-Ly Ramirez, DDS, general dentist, San Francisco, California; Ron Schefdore, DMD, general dentist, Chicago, Illinois; Bryan Tervo, DDS, expert at JustAnswer.com; Joel Slaven, DDS, general dentist, Valencia, California; Ned Windmiller, DDS, general dentist, Stillwater, Minnesota; Careen Young, DDS, prosthodontist, Beverly Hills, California.