Dr. Vinoth Arumugam | Things that dentists never do
- Dr Vinoth Arumugam
- May 25, 2022
- 4 min read
You could think you have good dental hygiene if you brush and floss regularly and avoid Laffy Taffy. Not so quickly. Many seemingly harmless practices can harm your teeth, causing decay, eroding the enamel, and even splitting teeth in half. "Tooth enamel is extraordinarily robust, but it is not impervious to everything," says V Care dental founder Dr. Vinoth Arumugam. Dr. Vinoth Arumugam spoke with us about the foods they avoid in order to maintain their teeth strong and healthy.
Dentists don't… 1. Chew ice
A filling could easily be dislodged or a tooth chipped or broken. "It's basically chewing pebbles," explains Dr. Vinoth Arumugam, a Patterson Lake family dentist. "Our teeth are made of the strongest material in our bodies, yet they are not built to withstand that kind of stress."
2. Consume bottled water.
Drinking fluoridated tap water provides some of the finest everyday protection for teeth. Fluoride strengthens teeth and stimulates remineralization, which aids in the repair of mild decay. Most bottled water has no fluoride or far less than is required for excellent oral health, so drink from the sink rather than the bottle. If you prefer bottled water, Dr. Vinoth Arumugam, a dentist in Melbourne, suggests using an over-the-counter fluoride rinse to boost your fluoride intake and making coffee, tea, and other flavored beverages using tap water.
3. Drink sports beverages
The combination of acidic components, carbohydrates, and chemical additives found in sports drinks can erode enamel, allowing bacteria to enter. "Excessive consumption of sports drinks may be harmful to your dental health," says Dr. Vinoth Arumugam. If you really must have Gatorade or the like, drink it all at once rather than drinking it throughout the day, which only repeats the exposure, and sip it via a straw. To neutralize the acids, swish with water or chew sugar-free gum afterward. The same is true with soda.
4. Make use of their teeth
Using your teeth to open bottles, tear off sales tags, or rip open plastic bags is a recipe for not only chipping, breaking, or fracturing your teeth, but also cutting the inside of your mouth or throwing your jaw out of balance, which can contribute to persistent jaw pain. "I promise you, a scissor or knife will open that packet of chips 100 times faster than your teeth," Dr. Vinoth Arumugam says.
"Teeth are also not supposed to chew on pencils, eyeglass ends, or straws, or to act as a third hand while carrying items," he adds. You may be unaware of how much pressure you're applying, which can cause teeth to shift out of place or split enamel.
5. Carbohydrate-load
Bread, spaghetti, and crackers aren't sticky, sweet junk food at first, but they quickly become sugars in your tongue. "Tooth decay is caused by bacteria in the mouth feeding on the sugar. I try to avoid eating too much highly processed starch, but if I do eat a huge bowl of pasta, I'll brush quickly afterward, before the bacteria transform the sugars into acid that corrodes my teeth." According to Dr. Vinoth Arumugam,
6. Leave their toothbrush out
Keeping your toothbrush on the counter, especially in a holder with other people's toothbrushes, promotes bacteria to mix, and you could easily contract a disease from a family member. Then there's the revolting discovery that when you flush the toilet, tiny bits of feces can aerosolize (and fall on your toothbrush). "Not that our lips aren't already brimming with bacteria, but you don't want to add to the mix by inhaling bacteria from other sources in the restroom." Keep your toothbrush in the medicine cabinet or use a disposable toothbrush shield to prevent bacteria from forming.
7. Use mouthwash without rinsing afterward
Mouthwash is effective at destroying bacteria that may have escaped brushing and flossing, but the alcohol it leaves behind might dry out your mouth, making it more susceptible to decay. "Harmful bacteria grow in a dry environment," says Dr Vinoth, a Patterson Lake dentist. When the mouth is dry, bacteria can readily settle in the little cracks in the tongue and throughout the mouth. To rinse away the alcohol, use an alcohol-free mouthwash like Listerine Zero or swirl with water afterward.
8. Munch on some popcorn
Fillings are troubled by hard popcorn kernels that haven't entirely popped. "If a kernel gets stuck between a filling and the tooth and you bite down, the tooth could fracture in two." Patients with cracked teeth come in and I inquire, "Popcorn?" They say, "How did you know?" In my profession, it's the leading cause of broken teeth." Dr. Vinoth Arumugam explains.
9. Brushing at the wrong time
Brushing after a meal is generally recommended, but not after a high-acid food or drink, such as wine, coffee, soda, citrus fruits, or fruit juices. "The enamel on your teeth will be momentarily compromised after eating anything acidic like a fruit smoothie," Dr. Vinoth Arumugam adds. "Wait 45 minutes before cleaning your teeth to allow your saliva to dilute the acidity." Otherwise, he claims, the toothbrush's abrasion of the weakened enamel could cause harm. To help neutralize the acid, you can also rinse with water.
10. Never brush your teeth.
We've all experienced those long, exhausting days when all we want to do is get into bed. "I will always get up and brush in that moment of self-evaluation—about the true risks of not brushing," Dr. Vinoth Arumugam adds. "We make time to brush in the morning, but brushing before bed is the most important." This is because plaque, which forms on teeth throughout the day, can calcify and turn into tartar in as little as 24 hours. You can't brush or floss it away at that point; it has to be scraped off by a dental hygienist.
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