Q&As on new dental trends – with the advent of the internet we have access to a gigantic amount of information about any topic you can imagine – and with that information comes some ideas of…dubious repute.
We’ve heard plenty of old wives’ tales at Walloon Dental and thought it might be a great idea to ask a couple of our dentists about their thoughts on some recent dental trends:
Dental Trends
Charcoal Toothpaste
We asked Dr. Lisa what she thought:
Dr. Lisa: These hit the shelves a few years ago and polish away staining on teeth – in our experience they aren’t any more effective than any other whitening toothpaste, given that charcoal/white silica (sand by any other name) do a very similar job.
If you do use charcoal toothpaste, please be wary that the black charcoal may get underneath leaky fillings or fine divets of teeth and end up staining them more. Please use this together with traditional fluoride containing toothpastes, not as a complete replacement.
Oil Pulling Benefits
We asked Dr. Andrea what she thought:
Dr. Andrea: Oil pulling refers to rinsing your mouth out with a small amount of coconut oil to ‘pull’ bacteria away from your teeth. It may have a mild effect, but as usual we suggest that the tried and tested toothbrush is your best bet here. In conjunction with regular flossing, the ‘colonies’ of bacteria will be broken up. We don’t see any harm in oil pulling per se, but please don’t replace any of your other tooth care regiment (i.e. brushing and flossing) with it!
How does banana peel whiten teeth?
We asked Dr. Lisa what she thought:
Dr. Lisa: As there are high levels of potassium in bananas, and potassium can be a mild abrasive, this can work on superficial stains. With regards to actually whitening your teeth, you’d probably go through quite a few bananas – using a conventional whitening toothpaste will garner you a better result. And please don’t replace your brushing and flossing with banana skins!
Any questions about this article or your teeth in general?
Brushing and flossing remain the most important ways you can take care of your teeth every day. Although some of these ideas can help, the tried and trusted methods of tooth care remain the easiest way to take care of your chompers. Have you got any other dental questions you’d like answered? Please click here to book an appointment or call the friendly team at Walloon Dental today on 3067 7990.