- Okay now, open up and say ah.
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- What's the best way to respond
when you ask us a question while
working on my mouth?
We understand that there's a lot
of things that are in your mouth when we do work.
And it's difficult to communicate.
- I guess kind of just be like, uh-huh,
or wink that you agree.
I think we just do it naturally,
it's a thing that we forget that we're in your mouth.
- What you should not do is basically
move your head or grab our arm to tell us to stop.
We don't want to hurt you with
the instruments in your mouth.
- Do you judge us if we don't brush before an appointment?
A lot of people don't brush before.
It's pretty obvious.
- It really doesn't make a difference
if you brush right before the appointment.
- I personally don't judge,
but I do give my patients a hard time,
you know, I'm like yeah I can totally
tell that you didn't brush cause
it's gonna be a bloody scene.
(laughing)
- Have people done weird things
when you were working in their mouth?
Yes, I've actually had a patient
lick my finger while I was working on them.
I couldn't believe it, I was just in their mouth,
working on them, and their tongue
licked my finger and then they did it again.
They were definitely aware of it,
because they were looking at me while
they were doing it.
I just went ahead and just finished the procedure
and just hoped for it to be over.
- No, no, no, no, no, you do not share toothbrushes.
Because you can swap bacteria.
When you kiss someone, when you share a toothbrush,
all those different things, you literally are
interchanging bodily fluids and saliva,
and within the saliva is a transfer
of that bacteria.
A lot of the times, we even tell expecting moms
or moms who just had a child,
they're oral hygiene has to be
on point, because what ends up happening is,
if their oral hygiene is poor,
they could transfer that bacteria
to their child.
You know when they take the bottle,
and they test it with their mouth,
they can transfer all that.
So it's the same thing goes for when
you're using a toothbrush.
Whatever your boyfriend has in his mouth,
if he has a lot of cavities, ahem,
and you transfer it and you use it,
it's going to you.
What's the best way to whiten your teeth?
Best way to whiten your teeth is to go to your dentist,
let them know that you're interested in doing that,
and they can get you bleaching trays.
- There are over the counter products
that you can use.
Crest white strips, it's cheap, it's effective,
a lot of people have different results with that,
that's the easiest way to do it.
- Press HD White is pretty good,
I also like Sensodyne Treewhite,
people who have sensitive teeth.
- I would definitely not recommend
the people in the mall, by the kiosk,
because what's happening is,
a lot of people get themselves in some sticky situations,
and they come to us afterwards to try to fix that problem.
If you're gonna do any bleaching,
do it under the guidance and care of a doctor.
- What is the weirdest thing you've found
in between someones teeth?
Some fish bones?
It's kinda weird because you can see the little scales.
- I've definitely seen some hair is some patients teeth.
Which I thought that was very weird.
- You always find food in between someones teeth.
No matter how hard they brush.
(laughing)
- What foods can permanently dye your teeth?
Anything that's gonna stain your clothes
can stain your teeth.
So things that are dark, like red wine,
coffee, tea, spaghetti sauce,
things like that.
Smoking, like that's something that will also
stain your teeth as well, and that's a little
more obvious because of where it is.
You can drink with a straw if it's something
like and iced coffee or an iced tea.
And the other thing I recommend is just
rinsing with water afterwards.
Why does orange juice taste disgusting
after brushing your teeth?
Toothpaste has an ingredient called Sodium Laurel Sulphates,
or SLS, and what that does is it'll bind to the
sweet receptors that are in your tastebuds
on your tongue, so it's kinda blocking any
type of sweetness that you would have with an orange
from reaching your tastebuds,
so you can't perceive that it's sweet.
- Are biting your nails bad for you teeth?
Yes, definitely.
- If it's something that you're doing daily,
you definitely will start to see some little
indentations in the teeth.
- Well when you have a lot of chips on your teeth,
the teeth do get weaker, when you have weak enamel,
it's gonna chip even more, so biting your teeth
is gonna make that worse.
- If you don't have insurance,
what's the best way to have your teeth examined?
One, go to a local residency program,
or two, go into a dental school.
Usually what you'll find is they have reduced
dental prices, and sometimes even if you go
to a local private office and discuss it
with the doctor, they may be able to
negotiate some fees with you
and work with you, get you on a payment plan.
How do you feel about charcoal toothpaste?
I wouldn't recommend it, because it is very abrasive,
and it can cause wear and tear to the enamel
and that can cause your teeth to be
sensitive over time.
- There's really no scientific based evidence
on the effectiveness and the safety of charcoal toothpaste.
- That is a trend that I would say don't follow.
Or you can follow it, and then come see me and then
I'll professionally whiten your teeth.
- Would you recommend at home teeth straightening?
No, I would definitely recommend that you only
do that under the care and guidance of a dentist
in a dental office.
- It's just like anything else,
you wouldn't do your own eye surgery so,
why would you want to straighten your own teeth?
Sometimes it can be very dangerous if you have
a lot of bone loss.
- There are a lot of cases you know,
where people come back and they're losing teeth,
or teeth are shifted in the wrong direction.
Teeth are in bone for a reason,
for protection, so if you're doing that at home,
on your own without any knowledge of what to do,
you can be putting yourself and your teeth
at major risk.
How often and long should you brush?
Two minutes.
- 30 seconds in each quadrant of the mouth.
At least twice a day, flossing once a day.
- Should you brush your tongue?
Yes!
And why?
Because it cause bad breath if you don't.
And then you end up with this like,
white coating on the top of your tongue,
and it just doesn't look good.
- If you're not brushing your tongue,
it's very easy for bacteria and food
to kind of get trapped in the tongue.
- Cause bacteria causes bad breath.
Plain and simple.
- So just remember to brush and floss twice a day,
and I'll see you in six months.
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