Keeping your teeth and gums healthy requires a solid oral hygiene regimen, which starts with visiting your dentist every six months for a checkup and extends to consistently brushing and flossing at home. However, those aren’t the only ways you can help prevent tooth decay, gum disease, and even serious dental emergencies. To avoid dental damage, you should also follow your dentist’s lead. For example, here are a few things your dentist never puts in their mouth.
1. 100% Lemon Juice
Lemons are loaded with vitamins. As a result, a lot of people in the wellness community have begun drinking pure lemon juice, stating that it helps with everything from preventing sinus infections to improving your digestion. However, the acidity can erode your enamel quickly, which can increase your chances of developing tooth decay. That’s why it’s important to dilute lemon juice in water, use a straw, and rinse your mouth with water afterward.
2. Large Ice Cubes
When the temperature reaches the 90s and the humidity sets in, it’s incredibly refreshing to drink a large glass of water filled to the brim with ice cubes to keep it cold. This poses no danger to your oral health – as long as you don’t bite into one of the ice cubes! This can result in a serious crack or fracture that requires an immediate trip to your dentist’s office.
3. Metal Bottle Caps
If you’re having trouble opening a bottle cap, and you don’t have a bottle cap opener nearby, it can be tempting to use your teeth instead. Don’t! Simply put, your teeth aren’t meant to withstand the pressure, which can lead to a large, painful fracture. In some cases, the damage is so severe that the tooth has to be removed entirely as well.
4. Other People’s Toothbrushes
Whether it’s your mom, your significant other, or your best friend, you should never use someone else’s toothbrush. Remember, those bristles remove bacteria, plaque, and other debris from their mouth, and exposing all of that to yours can negatively impact your oral and overall health.
5. Hard Candies
Do you love hard candies? Unfortunately, these treats create a lose-lose situation. If you bite into them too soon, you can crack a tooth. If you suck on them for 20+ minutes, then you can end up with a mouthful of cavities due to the continuous exposure to sugar.
6. Their Keys
The next time you put your keys in your mouth because your hands are full… think of all the places your keys have been. The bottom of your purse. The countertop at the store. The asphalt in the parking lot. If you’re like a lot of people, you probably don’t clean your keys regularly either, so there’s truly endless bacteria on them.
About the Practice
Dr. Donald Marks has always called Pennsylvania home, and he has a genuine passion for providing his community, neighbors, and friends with top-tier dentistry. As for his studies, he earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh and obtained his dental doctorate at their School of Dental Medicine. Today, he has more than 30 years of experience, and he continues to love helping patients achieve healthy, beautiful, and fully functional smiles. If you want to learn more about how to maintain your oral health, you need treatment from an emergency dentist, or you simply want to schedule an appointment, visit his website or call (814) 826-3767.
