Ever wondered what products dentists would never use on their very own teeth? From organic toothpaste to at-home teeth whitening kits, Dr Peta Leigh from elleven Dental reveals 5 products she would avoid using on her own teeth 

Brighter, healthier teeth make for a happier, more confident you, and with Instagram filled with Hollywood worthy smiles, the want for whiter, shinier teeth continues to grow.

With this demand comes a plethora of products and coverings promising to offer you that perfect teeth glow up, nevertheless lots of these will be detrimental to the health of your pearly whites.

Healthista spoke to Dr Peta Leigh from elleven Dental, who is devoted to maintaining and enhancing on a regular basis smiles for her clients, listed here are 5 products she would never use on her own teeth…

Product #1 Organic Toothpaste

All toothpastes are not equal. Many don’t stop to think concerning the whole role of toothpaste in your brushing regime.

Firstly it acts as a lubricant to help manual cleansing and the detergent motion helps with food and plaque removal. Secondly the minerals within the toothpaste (Fluoride and Calcium) absorb topically into tooth surfaces, repairing demineralised enamel and improving the integrity of the outer surface.

Organic toothpastes lack fluoride and calcium so for me only do half the job and I’d never recommend or use them. There are a lot of SLS free, plastic free great tasting toothpastes on the market now and if you would like to avoid Fluoride, go for Calcium based toothpastes.

Product #2 DIY UV Whitening at home

These DIY kits will be bought online or over-the-counter and claim to be protected and essentially idiot proof. Unfortunately, research and experience has shown they will result in mouth infections, gingival trauma, soft tissue burns and toothache if used incorrectly.

If the whitening agent shouldn’t be applied evenly it is probably going that the outcomes will probably be patchy with white spots.

Should you are going to try something like this it is healthier to make use of knowledgeable home whitening kit supervised and provided by your dentist. They will offer you highly effective products which might be protected and well supported by research.

Product #3 Water flossing devices

They sound great, they’re more fun and plenty of can help you mix this with mouthwash. But there isn’t a comparison to the outcomes from using floss or interdental brushes.

Interdental cleansing is important for a clean mouth. Tooth brushes cannot access the interproximal (in between teeth) and subgingival  (under the gum line) areas to the identical degree as floss and interdental brushes.

Not utilising these cleansing techniques will end in plaque being left behind and faster calculus construct up. Most patients profit from using floss within the front areas of their mouth and interdental brushes in between the back teeth.

It’s because of the morphology of the teeth differs in these areas leaving different size spaces in several parts of the mouth. Water flossers could also be useful if you will have braces or issues with dexterity, but they have a tendency to simply make people lazy.

Product #4 Coconut Oil

Coconut oil in food is great, but I wouldn’t buy it for the only purpose of my dental care. With many celebrities endorsing this craze, oil pulling with coconut oil has grow to be increasingly popular.

The technique involves using a tablespoon of oil (normally coconut oil) and swishing this across the mouth. Claims that regularly doing this may reduces toxins in your body by drawing them out of your mouth, are completely unfounded.

Whilst not harmful, there may be also no evidence that oral health is improved or that teeth grow to be whiter.

Product #5 Whitening strips

These strips are infused with hydrogen peroxide and activate on contact with teeth and saliva. They will look like quite effective, but often end in streaky white patches developing in accordance with the positioning of the whitening strip.

Some whitening strips have a low pH and will be damaging to the enamel and these could make teeth quite sensitive. Most dentists don’t recommend whitening strips as a long-term whitening solution. There are safer, more proven techniques available.