3 Common Myths That You Should Demystify For Your Patients As A Dentist

I worked in government dental clinics for 2 years. It was frustrating to see patients coming late for dental treatments.

• Their teeth would have been saved if they restored the tooth earlier.
• Their gum would not recede that much if they did scaling earlier.
• They won’t experience sleepless nights if they come to me earlier.

Here are the common myths I observed throughout the years working as a dentist:

Myth #1

Doing scaling will wear the tooth off and cause pain in the future.

I had seen lots of patients doing scaling every 3 years because of the worries they had about doing too much scaling and prophylaxis. Their gum was inflamed and swollen. After showing the pictures of the receded gum region, they were regretful and wished to know earlier.

Myth #2

Using floss will widen the gap.

They worried about floss widening the gap, hence they used toothpicks which are even worse. They will usually face problems like sensitivity and food stuck in the tooth-picked region. It is extremely hard to restore the areas unless we cut tooth structures so we can gain access to the region.

Once you compare the thickness of toothpicks and floss, they will understand and start using floss instead of toothpicks.

Myth #3

See the dentist only when severe tooth pain arises.

They chose to take painkillers instead of seeing a dentist as they thought it would go away after some time. Huge mistakes! They immediately regretted when they were forced to do root canal treatment or extraction.

I always ask them to tell their family members about this if they want to avoid paying a hefty amount of money for root canal treatment and tooth replacement.

It is in our hands to educate patients about the three myths.

They might be common knowledge for us as dentists, but please don’t underestimate the power of extra nagging before they leave.

You can indeed make changes.