Teeth Cleaning Myths Dispelled by a St. Petersburg FL dental office

Our dentist office serving St. Petersburg, FL seems to be dispelling teeth cleaning myths all the time. We make it a priority to have conversations with out St. Petersburg patients whenever they ask a question about their teeth cleaning. Here’s a few of the myths we’ve come across over the years:

When teeth cleaning, the more you brush the healthier you teeth will be.
While brushing twice a day forms a solid base for your dental hygiene routine, over brushing can be a concern with some people. Brushing scrapes food and debris from your teeth and gums. A two minute teeth cleaning brushing session is an appropriate routine. In rare cases, a patient may feel the need to brush for a much longer duration and much more frequently. This is actually a bad idea because once the brushing has removed the debris, it actually can start to hurt the tooth enamel by continuously brushing for upwards of fifteen minutes and more. In addition, the gums are soft tissue that, while benefitting from some stimulation from brushing, will definitely start to get damaged by over brushing. So, just stick with two two-minute brushing sessions a day.

Candy causes cavities.
Well, this one seems obvious, but it’s actually not true if you have proper dental hygiene. Only when sugar is left on the tooth does the bacteria get a chance to use it. This bacteria is called plaque and when it uses the sugar for energy, it leaves behind a kind of acid. It is that acid that begins to erode a tooth. So, if you’re brushing and rinsing your teeth, the sugar is removed and there’s no sugary nutrients left for the plaque.

I use a dental rinse, so I don’t have to floss.
Many people feel that a dental rinse is helping to clean their teeth in the same way as flossing. While it is true that a dental rinse can reach places in the gaps between teeth, it doesn’t reach where the teeth are touching each other. Flossing remains a critical tool in dental hygiene. With proper flossing, you can clean where the teeth touch.

Our friendly dedicated staff greets you by name and with a warm smile. Dr. Maher Rashid, Dr. Murad Rashid, and our entire team of experienced dental professionals are committed to treating you with respect, personal attention and a higher level of care that comes from decades of combined dental experience. At Dolphin Dental Group, we take the time to listen because there is simply no better way to ensure you get the gentle care and beautiful smile you deserve. We take care to make our dentistry practice the best it can be. We serve the Seminole, St. Petersburg, and Largo, Florida areas.

We would like to be your St. Petersburg dentist office. Please Contact Us to let us show you how much we care about our patients.

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