Your Dentists in Denver Break Down the Top Dental Myths

Staying informed about your teeth is one of the most beneficial things you can do to keep up your dental health. If your teeth aren’t healthy, it can lead to complications in the rest of your body, so it’s important to know what’s going on at all times.

Unfortunately, in today’s world of Internet-based knowledge and an over-abundance of information from well-meaning friends and family, it’s easy to be mislead by myths and misinformation about dental conditions and best practices. This can lead you to making poor decisions about your teeth, which can lead to even more complications.

So, instead of stumbling around in the dark, let LeDowns Dentistry debunk some of the most common dental myths for you.

1. Sugar Causes Cavities

It’s the myth that’s as old as time. You’ve heard it from your mom. You’ve heard it from your friend’s moms. You may have even heard it from your childhood dentists.

Sugar causes cavities.

This is suspect number one in our list of myths. And there’s some truth to it.

Sugar doesn’t cause the cavities.

It’s the bacteria that feed off the sugar on your teeth that cause cavities. This may seem like a fine line, but it’s an important one. It still means that you can’t continue to eat a ton of sugar all the time, because the more sugar on your teeth, the more food the bacteria have to eat.

2. Wisdom Teeth Should Always Be Removed

Many people think that wisdom teeth should always be removed or else their entire mouth will suffer.

While this may be true in some cases, it simply isn’t true in other cases.

Another common myth that goes along with this idea is that wisdom teeth don’t serve any purpose. Many experts believe that wisdom teeth were the evolutionary results of our ancestors needing to eat coarser foods than we eat now. In today’s world, we consider these vestigial organs, like your appendix or tonsils.

If your wisdom teeth aren’t causing—and won’t cause—any serious complications in your mouth, it might be prudent to leave them be.

3. Teeth Whitening Damages Enamel

Another common myth in the dental world is that whitening your teeth can lead to serious enamel damage.

It’s easy to see where this myth comes from. Teeth whitening uses chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide to strip away the stains on the surface of your teeth. Some people thing that it goes even further and strips away the enamel, too.

This isn’t true.

While most whitening kits are safe, we still recommend coming to our office to get professional teeth whitening in Denver CO.

4. You Should Use Mouthwash that Contains Alcohol

While mouthwash that contains alcohol has been linked to oral cancer cases for a long time, some recent studies have claimed that the only reason for those results were because the patients were smokers and drinkers.

However, it’s still a myth that your mouthwash should contain alcohol. These kinds of mouthwashes dehydrate your mouth and can tamper with the natural bacteria that live in your mouth.

Ask if You’re Concerned

Remember that we’re always here to answer any questions you have about your dental care and health. If you read something online that you’re not sure about, don’t hesitate to ask us about it. We’re more than happy to help you feel comfortable with your routine oral care and keep you informed on actual dental facts.