Healthy Teeth - Fact Or Fiction?

Sweets rot your teeth?

• Fiction - It's actually a byproduct of the bacteria in your mouth that creates the pores in your tooth structure that we call "cavities".  Starchy foods attract those acid-producing bacteria just like sweets do.

We've all read about what the bacteria that fly around our bathrooms...keeping my toothbrush covered or in a case keeping it cleaner?

• Fiction - Covering your toothbrush or storing it in a closed container actually creates a better environment for those microorganisms to flourish than the open bathroom air.

Discolored teeth can be just as healthy as pearly whites?

• Fact - Discolored teeth are not necessarily unhealthy. Sometimes when the enamel becomes thinner with age, the darker layer shows through.

It's normal for your gums to bleed from time to time?

• Fiction - Bleeding is not OK. Bleeding is a sign of infection, and if the infection is not treated infection can become worse.

If it does not hurt, there's probably nothing wrong?

• Fiction - Most infections of the mouth and teeth (gum disease and tooth decay) don't hurt. By the time something starts hurting, the treatment can often be much more expensive and treatment can be more extensive.

Flossing is as important as brushing?

• Fact - Flossing is just as important as brushing. Flossing helps remove plaque and food from between the teeth and under the gums.

Kids don't need to go to the dentist until they have teeth?

• Fiction - The ADA recommends babies see the dentist with the eruption of the first tooth by the age of 1.