Dental pain is arguably one of the worst pains to deal with, but many put their oral health on a back burner.
The ECHO has previously reported concerns from a health charity who warned it “might be years” before patients can access an NHS dentist in Liverpool. In its assessment of NHS dentistry in the city, Healthwatch Liverpool has said some people are being forced “out of desperation” to use their savings to pay for vital dental care owing to the apparent lack of public health options.
Dentists have said making simple changes can help improve your oral hygiene and would likely lead to less urgent trips to the dentist. The ECHO has spoken to MJ Rowland-Warmann, of Smile Works in Liverpool One and Dr Salman Khan, of Baycliff Dental Surgery, who have told of the worst things you can do to your teeth, and some of them were surprising.
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Working as a dentist for the past 15 years, Dr MJ said anything high in sugar or high in acid is bad for your teeth, backed by Dr Khan. Here are some top tips to keep in mind.
Food and drink
Dr MJ said: "Very often we see a lot of sugar consumption from hidden sugars. It's not just your sports drinks or your sweets, but also foods you may not think have a lot of sugar in them.
"A lot of foods have hidden sugars so if you add snacking into that you're running into a considerable amount of problems because of the repeated sugar exposure."
Foods with a lot of hidden sugars include tomato sauce, yoghurts, breakfast cereals, teriyaki sauce, salad dressings and alcohol. Dr MJ urges people to check the sugar content on labels.
Caffeine itself, Dr MJ, the founder and lead clinician, said is not bad for your teeth, it is the sugar. She added: "Drinking 20 cups of coffee may not be good for your heart, but it won't cause teeth problems. If you have sugar in each one, that's where the problem lies."
Dr Khan recommends staying away from fizzy drinks and energy drinks. He also says if you are to snack, snack in one go rather than throughout the day.
He added: "Energy drinks have a tremendous amount of sugar in. Also if you look at Coke, there's 15 cubes of sugar in one can which is a huge amount. White bread is also one to avoid as well as chocolate and boiled sweets.
"It's best to snack in one go rather than through the day, what you're essentially doing is repeated sugar exposure and the bacteria in your mouth works a lot quicker."
Tik Tok trends
Dr MJ said: "I see a lot of people getting their health advice from TikTok. There's fads like sticking lemons in water. Lemons are hugely acidic and so we are seeing a lot of acid erosion, especially in people who are very health conscious.
"They will be doing these trends to improve their diet but they are actually harmful and based on very little evidence so we are seeing a lot of erosion and decay because of that."
Brushing your teeth
Dr MJ said: "A lot of people don't actually brush twice a day, and if they do, they will in the morning because it freshens their teeth up. But if you only do it once a day it needs to be an evening."
However, due to bacterial build up overnight, which results in morning breath, Dr MJ said brushing twice a day should be something everyone does.
Also Dr MJ warns that brushing without a fluoride toothpaste is a waste of time. She said: "It helps reduce tooth decay. If you're not using that, you may as well be brushing with soap."
Dr Khan added that an electric toothbrush is preferred as he told the ECHO: "An electric toothbrush you just hold in place and it will carry out a circular motion very effectively.
"Manual is absolutely fine but a medium toothbrush is always better. A hard toothbrush can cause damage to tooth surfaces."
Mouthwash
Dr Khan said using mouthwash straight after brushing your teeth is not advised. He said: "The toothpaste used to brush your teeth ideally should stay there longer. If you use mouthwash you're essentially washing away what you've just done."
Visiting a dentist
The dentist added that many people put off visiting their dentist. But people need to go regularly to get the best outcome.
She said: "You can't inspect your mouth yourself. A lot of patients, I'd say 60%, have some degree of gum disease. A mouth full of irritated gums is equivalent in size to an ulcer the size of your hand.
"If you have an ulcer on any part of your body, you'd seek medical help, yet people are walking around with bleeding gums thinking it's normal, it's not. Hurting teeth isn't normal. It's important to get your teeth checked.
"If you have niggling dental pain, don't ignore it. It doesn't get better, it gets worse and its sods law it will be worse when the dentists are closed. The number of calls we get from patients out of hours in pain is ridiculous.
"I know dentists are perceived as expensive, but the longer you leave it, the more expensive it will be. You need to catch things early. Lots of things can go wrong.
"If you're breaking out in ulcers, nine times out of ten it's nothing serious, but it's always worth getting checked out. The first person who picks up on anything wrong is the dentist."
Echoed by Dr Khan, he said: "Every six months you should visit a dentist. And stop smoking, that can cause problems with teeth and can cause oral cancer."
Dental tourism
Dr MJ adds: "Another prominent thing, don't go to whitening deals that aren't from dentists. They can damage teeth and gums. We see it a lot when people go to practitioners on Instagram and a lot of the time it doesn't work, but it can be very damaging.
"Dental tourism is a problem. We are unable to offer help when it goes wrong and you find yourself in quite a significant spot of bother and stuck with a bill many times higher than the original cost. Just play it safe and keep it healthy.
"Prevent any problems before they occur and don't be enticed by deals that are often too good to be true."
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