Did you know you might be making mistakes when attending dentist appointments?
A top dentist has warned patients there are things they should avoid doing before and after their appointment to get the most out of their treatment.
Dr Khaled Kasem, chief orthodontist at Impress, told the Mirror that some behaviours are obvious, such as brushing your teeth before seeing an orthodontist.
“It’s really important that you brush your teeth and avoid eating certain types of food beforehand, like garlic,” Dr Kasem said. “Before coming in, you should also avoid drinking beverages like coffee, tea, Coke and red wine as these can all stain your teeth.”
Following your visit, when your teeth have been polished and are at their best, there are a few more things you should never do: “Try to avoid having acidic drinks like orange juice or soda as these can really affect the teeth.”
However, he warns that the biggest mistake you could make is to have a drink like orange juice and then brush your teeth immediately afterwards, as you can lose essential minerals and this, in turn, may weaken the enamel.
“Try to avoid brushing your teeth after drinking an acidic beverage because this would be like brushing the acid from the drink into your teeth,” warns Dr Kasem. “There is a phase when you drink an acidic beverage, this is what we call demineralisation and this is where minerals are removed from the teeth. Following this, the saliva would then do what we call remineralisation and this will help put back the minerals in the teeth.
“If you brush your teeth before the remineralisation stage takes place, you’ll avoid this phase, so usually it’s a good idea to wait for half an hour to an hour after consuming acidic food and drink before brushing your teeth.”
The dentist also urges people to brush their teeth twice a day for at least two minutes each time, but for even longer at night if possible.
This is so that the fluoride in your toothpaste, which helps prevent tooth decay, can work all through the night while you’re asleep.
