Why should you never use toothpicks to clean your teeth ?

Very common problem we come across everyday in our OPD dealing with the Dental patients .

" Hey Doc i use toothpick to clean my teeth whenever food gets stucked , can you fill those gaps ?"

No Absolutely not !! these gaps cannot be filled it may cause more harm to your oral health .Instead one should clean those gaps everyday preferrably in the night .The gaps are meant to allow the circulation of your saliva . But sometimes these small gaps increase in size due to poor oral hygiene creating a bigger problem .

WHY NOT TOOTHPICKS ?

Toothpicks are hard and have rough surfaces that can cause damage to the teeth and gums when inserted in between the teeth to clean the food stuck .

Below are the reasons why you should never use toothpick to clean in between the teeth .

Breakage: A toothpick is a small piece of wood. With that, it could easily break and get lodged into your gums.

Infection: With everyone’s dirty hands grabbing out of the same container, there is a risk of infection.

Spaces : Tooth picks can create bigger spaces in between the teeth causing more food lodgement resulting in enghanced bone loss and cavities of the adjoining teeth .

Toothpicks can cause damage to the fillings and crowns done by your Dentist .

Alternative methods are there to keep the spaces clean in between the teeth like

DENTAL FLOSS ,INTERDENTAL BRUSHES ,WATER FLOSSER should be used .

The Dentist after thorough examination of your oral cavity helps you to choose which method is good for you to clean the spaces .

SO NEXT TIME WHEN YOU SEE TOOTHPICKS OFFERED IN THE RESTUARANT DO NOT URGE YOURSELF TO PICK IT UP.