37 quotes from veteran dentists, compiled from experience

1. Don't think that high cholesterol levels only make you fat, in fact, too much cholesterol intake can lead to periodontal disease. 

2. If your hands suddenly bleed when you wash them, people usually bandage them themselves or go to the doctor. However, when you brush your teeth and bleed, people are oblivious to it. Bleeding gums may indicate that you have periodontal disease. 

3. Even with healthy gums, you should visit the dentist twice a year, yet most people fail to do so. 

4. In many patients, a strange phenomenon can be found: periodontal disease often has a serious impact on the large teeth in the back of the mouth, but the front teeth of the patient are very healthy. The reason for this is that people only carefully brush the teeth that others can see. 

Dentists always tell patients with severe gum disease to floss, but it's not the only time you need to floss. It's like how you often need to clean out the bottom of your shirt pocket so it doesn't accumulate debris. 

6. When people first meet, the first thing they notice is the eyes, then the teeth, and in third place, the hair. Yet people spend more money on their hair than on their teeth. 

7. Maintaining oral hygiene requires brushing your teeth for 10 minutes a day. Yet the average brushing time for adults is only 2 or 3 minutes, and the average brushing time for children is even shorter. 

8. Smokers often use mints or mouthwash to cover the smell of smoke, however the foul smell from tobacco has invaded the gum tissues which are distributed in the mouth, so using mints or mouthwash will not work to protect the teeth. 

9. People often brush their teeth only on the surface, it is difficult to brush the deeper germ-eating area of the mouth, but it is this area that emits the bad odor. Therefore, you must floss daily and clean your mouth every few months. If all of this is done, but the mouth still emits an unpleasant odor, start with your diet or check for other health problems.  

10. Mouthwash containing alcohol can dry out your mouth, so your breath may be very fresh within half an hour of use, but then it will become unpleasant and even worse than before. 
11. If your breath is very bad, the dentist usually will not actively remind you; only if you ask, the doctor will tell you. 

12. Toothpaste is not a panacea, and the new bright white formula is no exception. Although this toothpaste can remove the dark spots on the surface of your teeth, it cannot make your teeth as white as bleach. 

13. Electric toothbrushes are one of the best tools to emerge from dentistry. They replicate the professional cleaning process, and while they don't reach below the gum line, they are usually superior to conventional toothbrushes. 

14. Every tooth is surrounded by saliva full of decaying material and bacteria, and people should use scaling more often to clean this debris from their mouths daily for the benefit of gum health. 

15. Often, there are good-looking, well-dressed children with mouths full of black teeth, which is related to poor parental supervision. 

For the past 20 years, dentists have been talking to parents about bottle caries, telling them not to let their children sleep with bottles in their mouths, but it doesn't seem to be working. 

17. If the mother's mouth is not hygienic, when she tastes the child's food hot or not and then puts the spoon into his mouth, she also transmits the tooth decay bacteria to the child. 

18. Children with dental problems often get into trouble at school. They often act distracted and agitated. Teachers may think they have demeanor problems, but in fact they have a toothache. 

Parents often think that children's milk teeth will be replaced by new teeth, so they don't need to pay much attention to their early teeth. But when a new tooth comes in too early and the other teeth are still in place, the child's teeth can grow backwards if not seen in time. 

20. Dentists call soda "liquid sawbuck". This drink is both sugary and acidic, so it can erode teeth and lead to tooth decay. 
21. If you want to reduce harmful bacteria in your mouth, you should eat more xylitol. Xylitol can change the chemical properties of the mouth. Six to seven tablets of xylitol a day will help you to avoid tooth decay. 

22. Some people lose confidence in teeth whitening patches because the gel can make their teeth and gums feel uncomfortable. Just use a little fluoride mouthwash or gel before and after using whitening veneers to make your teeth less sensitive. 

Silver and mercury fillings do release small amounts of mercury due to wear and tear in the mouth. However, you only experience about 300 fillings before the concentration of mercury becomes a threat to your health, and even then, the threat is minimal. Many dentists use silver-mercury fillings in their own mouths. 

24. Removing a metal filling releases more mercury than putting it in. 

25. While alloy fillings are popular with patients, metal fillings are more durable, especially if the tooth is used frequently. 

26. Many patients worry that dental x-rays can cause cancer, but if you spend an hour outdoors, you will be exposed to more radiation than if you have a full dental x-ray. The dentist's concern is that without a dental x-ray, you may miss important information about your treatment. 

27. Crooked teeth can cause migraines. If we can straighten the teeth, the headache often goes away automatically. 

28. One of the symptoms of diabetes is bleeding gums. 

29. Teeth get whiter when they lose moisture. Some dentists promise that their treatment will improve your teeth by 4 shades. But if your mouth is open for an hour, your teeth can improve by 2 shades with dehydration alone. 

30. If you bleach your teeth too often, the enamel will become thinner and your teeth will end up nearly translucent. 
31. When it comes to painful things, people often cite tooth extraction as an example. In fact, tooth extraction is both quick and easy.

32. A study showed that dental implants can enhance sexual desire, perhaps because people feel more confident when they are not missing teeth or not worried about losing their dentures. 

33. Many patients do not go to the dentist until their condition has progressed to a fairly serious level. They need to pay a lot more of their hard-earned money for this. 

34. Cosmetic dentistry is predicated on oral health - you can't build a house in a swamp. But if you look around, you will find dentists who do cosmetic dentistry without first treating gum disease. 

35. Some dentists will say that you need a deep cleaning. Unless the examination shows that you have a lot of tartar on the roots of your teeth, or other signs of disease, you don't need a deep cleaning at all. 

36. Before visiting the dentist, you can seek advice from colleagues or friends and family, but make sure they have been in contact with their dentist for at least 5 years. Only after that long will you know if the crown is healthy and if the filling is working. 

37. Never eat garlic before visiting the dentist - the dentist will be full of gratitude for this.

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