In collaboration with SBO, our T32 Dental surgeons Dr Chin and Dr Ally address and break down some of the common myths about teeth and mouth hygiene.
Video Transcript
Dr. Ally: Hi, I’m Dr. Ally.
Dr Chin: Hi, I’m Dr. Chin.
Dr. Ally: We’re from T32 Dental Group.
Dr Chin: And we’re here to debunk some myths.
Myth #1: You only need to brush your teeth once a day
Dr. Chin: No. That’s not true.
Dr. Ally: You should brush your teeth twice a day and then floss once a day before you go to sleep so that you can prevent plaque from building up. Actually, I have a lot of patients who say, “Oh, I brush my teeth twice a day, why do I have so much plaque?”.
Myth #2: You should brush your teeth only after breakfast
Dr. Chin: Before or after breakfast?
Dr. Chin: I think it doesn’t really matter if you brush before or after breakfast, as long as you do it twice a day. But you shouldn’t brush your teeth right after you eat something. You should wait at least 30 minutes because sometimes you might eat something very acidic and the PH in your mouth gets very low. So if you suddenly brush your teeth, you might be damaging the enamel of your teeth.
Myth #3: Teeth cannot be extracted from 12pm – 1pm because the bleeding won’t stop
Dr. Chin: Yeah, you can’t extract it from 12pm to 1pm, because that’s my lunch break. Just kidding.
Dr. Ally: Actually, bleeding has a lot to do with your health, not necessarily the time of the day. You can actually take out a tooth any time of the day.
Dr. Chin: Yeah exactly. But maybe if the patient is a bit nervous about bleeding, they can time the extraction for the morning. So at least in the afternoon or evening, if the dentist’s office is still open, they can call or come back if they think they are bleeding excessively.
Myth #4: Mouthwash can fix any mouth problem
Dr. Ally: This is a weird myth.
Dr. Chin: Yeah. Do people actually think that?
Dr. Ally: Mouthwash is not like a magic potion.
Myth #5: Applying aspirin directly to teeth helps get rid of toothache
Dr. Chin: No. That’s not true. In fact, aspirin might cause burns on the gum, right?
Dr. Ally: Go to the dentist.
Dr Chin: If you have a toothache, and if you’re in a place with no access to dentists, you could take a painkiller. If you really don’t have anything, you can gargle with some salt water that might alleviate the symptoms temporarily.
Myth #6: The harder you brush, the cleaner your teeth
Dr. Chin: Not true, it’s more to do with the technique. Always angle your toothbrush 45 degrees upwards to the upper teeth. Put half the bristles on the gums and half on the teeth and do a small circular motion. Okay, then you can move on to the next segment and do a small circular motion all the way around. For the inside, you do the same thing. You angle it 45 degrees upwards to the gumline, and do a small circular motion. For the biting surface, just scrub, like that. For lower teeth, you angle it 45 degrees downward, and also a small circular motion.
Dr. Ally: Thank you for watching. This is all the time we have to debunk the myths today.
Dr Chin: If you have any further questions, leave them in the comment section below. Thank you.
Check out another video of Dr Chin and Dr Ally answering Google’s most searched questions!