I’m a dentist – it’s pointless brushing right before an appointment… we know if you’ve not been taking care, here’s how
A DENTIST has revealed how he can tell when people have been lying about how often they brush and floss their teeth.
Dr. Benjamin Winters, otherwise known as The Bentist, owns his own practice and often uses his social media to share funny and educational videos.
He first posted a clip of a woman furiously brushing her teeth before using floss to try and get rid of the plaque.
Over this, she wrote: “When you try to hide years worth of damage right before your dentist visit”.
Ben then came onto the screen to state: “…And it doesn’t help at all.”
He continued: “You know, I’d like to think that you guys don’t do this but looking at the comments…”
The dentist explained that many people could relate when he saw the comments left on the woman’s post.
One person had said: “Me with the floss: ‘Yes, I floss daily.’”
Ben continued: “But it looks like some people do know that it doesn’t really matter because some people are like: ‘It’s pointless, they know immediately.’”
He explained that it’s true, dentists can absolutely tell if you haven’t been brushing your teeth.
And though you might think everything will be fine if you just brush and floss before an appointment, Ben said this is just not true.
“You see plaque is the gunk that fits on your teeth over 24 hours of not brushing,” he explained.
“It’s like food and nastiness and it’s soft. Imagine like cement. A soft, poured cement. If I told you to clean it up, you could just wipe it off and it would be just fine.
“But after 24 to 48 hours, that soft cement, plaque, hardens into what we like to call calculus. It turns into a very hard, concrete layer and it sticks to your teeth.”
Ben went on to share that the only way you can get it off is with electric scalers to essentially “jackhammer” it off.
He added: “So as much as you brush and floss, you’re not going to get that calculus off.”
He said this is especially true if you have gingivitis, which is a form of gum disease. He said you’ll probably bleed and this will make your gums red and puffy – a telltale sign that you don’t brush your teeth often enough.
People were quick to comment on the clip as one person shared: “We know it doesn’t work, it just makes us feel better.”
Another said: “i just try and brush my teeth so that y’all don’t see I ate chicken nuggets for lunch lmao”.
While a third added: “I already knew that info but I still try to hide it with brushing really hard”.
How often do you brush your teeth?