Introduction

Welcome to another enlightening episode of Minty Fresh Takes, where we dive into the essential aspects of oral wellness with Dr. Jordan Harper. Discover innovative strategies for maintaining healthy teeth and gums, and learn about the science behind effective brushing, flossing, and the role of modern oral care products. Explore the benefits of alternative ingredients and techniques that can elevate your dental hygiene routine.

How can we optimize our daily oral care routines with effective brushing and flossing techniques?

Dive into Dr. Harper's expert advice on sustaining oral health with simple yet impactful habits. For more insights, check out our related post on "The Science of Brushing Twice Daily."

💡 Related Post: How Oral Wellness and a Radiant Smile Enhance Your Appearance

Video Embed 

Key Questions and Answers

1. Why is nighttime brushing crucial for oral health?

Nighttime brushing helps remove food particles and bacteria that can lead to cavities while you sleep.

2. What is the truth behind candy and cavities?

It's not the candy itself, but the acid byproduct from bacteria that causes tooth decay.

3. How often should you floss your teeth?

Flossing daily prevents interproximal decay by removing food and plaque between teeth.

4. Why do dentists say "spit, don't rinse"?

This technique increases the contact time of active ingredients, enhancing toothpaste effectiveness.

5. Is an electric toothbrush better than a manual one?

While both can be effective, electric toothbrushes often compensate for poor brushing techniques.

💡 Related Post: How Teeth Impact Nutrient Absorption: The Importance of Chewing for Optimal Health

Conclusion

In conclusion, adopting effective oral care strategies is key to maintaining a healthy smile. Explore enml.com for innovative oral care products that support your dental health journey. Don't forget to watch the embedded video and explore related blog posts for more valuable insights.

Transcript

The, the, the most important one is at night to get food off the teeth because if you go and sleep six, eight hours, um, that food is just chilling on the teeth. Most people think, Oh, it's the candy causing the cavity. No, the bacteria feed on the sugar. Uh, and then I take x rays of myself every year and they all look the same, you know, so I'm doing a pretty good job.

Stick your head on the faucet and rinse it out or swish with some water, something like that. You're diluting it faster and getting rid of it. If you allow, Uh, the microhydroxyapatite to sit on the teeth a little bit longer. Welcome to Minty Fresh Takes presented by Enamel, the podcast where we explore the latest trends, science, and personal stories behind oral wellness.

I'm your host Xander, and today we have a jam packed show covering some of the most important topics in oral care. From celebrities to experts in the field, you're sure to hear dentistry content done in a fun way. So sit back grab your popcorn and your floss because you'll need it after and enjoy this conversation.

Thanks for listening Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of minty fresh takes. We've got dr. Jordan harper in set today today We're going to be going through dentist sayings What do they actually mean and why do they say okay, and I felt like from my perspective I really wanted to hear this because every time you know for the average person that goes to the dentist We're probably going to the dentist what twice a year, right?

And when you go to see the dentist as long as you're maintaining your teeth throughout the year They say the same thing sometimes when you come and see him And so we're gonna break down some of those sayings on why they're saying those sayings All right, and these are and these are unscripted. So you haven't seen these.

I know I'm not Here we go So, first one is brushing twice a day. Yep, sure. So, um, so, the science behind brushing twice a day, and for two minutes, right, that gives you, uh, there's four quadrants of the mouth. That gives you 30 seconds per quadrant, and people smarter than me, um, have done the studies to prove that that is an effective length of time when brushing properly, getting all sides of the teeth, right.

Uh, top of the tooth and both sides of the tooth, um, that's effective in, in helping remove the, the plaque and biofilms off the teeth that the bacteria feed on, um, to produce the acid, acid byproducts or create cavities, right? So the reason we say, uh, you know, Twice a day. Um, the, the, the most important one is at night to get food off the teeth because if you go and sleep six to eight hours, um, that food's just chilling on the teeth.

Um, but you know, it's beneficial to do it in the morning as well because you're going to start your day off with nice, fresh, clean teeth, um, before you go and introduce food. Yep. And as we learned on a previous episode, it is actually not the food that eats away your teeth, but it's the, um, Acid. It's the acid.

Yes. It's the byproduct of the black powder. Yes, so most people don't realize that. Yeah, most people think. Oh, it's the candy causing the cavity. No, the bacteria feed on the sugar. Uh, and then the acid byproduct from the bacteria is actually what erodes a hole into the tooth and creates and generates that cavity.

Okay. Now they're saying, Dennis say only floss the teeth you want to keep. I like that one. That's good. Um, so we touched on flossing a couple episodes ago. Um, You know, I let out the bombshell that I don't floss but twice a year when my hygienist flosses my teeth for me So so so yes, the truth is only floss the teeth you want to keep that's great Because I think it drives home the point that flossing is important For a lot of patients we I'll touch on it again.

There are a subset of patients that Um, have extremely tight contacts, don't have food traps, and therefore don't get interproximal decay, which is what flossing is designed to do. It's designed to remove food and plaque from in between the teeth. Um, I'm one of those people. So, um, you know, I take x rays of myself every year and they all look the same, you know, so I'm doing a pretty good job.

Um, And I've never had it in between the tooth cavity, but um, but yeah, that's that's a that's a pretty pretty good thing I like that. Okay, some dentists say spit don't rinse Spit don't rinse. Yeah, so the reason they're saying that is that's increasing contact time So so typically they're saying that in reference to brushing your teeth.

And so what that's doing is that's increasing The contact time of the active ingredient in the toothpaste, um, with the teeth. If you, you know, you know, stick your head on the faucet and rinse it out or swish with some water or something like that, you're diluting it faster and getting rid of it. If you allow, uh, the micro hydroxy appetite to sit on the teeth a little bit longer, um, you know, you're, you're just giving it the teeth, the best fighting chance to, to have the, the active ingredient, the micro hydroxy appetite work.

An electric toothbrush is better than mechanical. So, um, Again, it's patient dependent. Okay. So. For the vast majority of the general public, that answer is going to be yes. Um, and that's purely because the vast majority of the public have poor brush technique. Um, no one gets taught how to brush their teeth properly.

And so for the vast majority of people, the, the electronic toothbrush is going to help pick up the slack, right? It's going to help them in, in, in their deficient ways of brushing. So they're, they're going to, you know, do it better. Right. Um, you can brush your teeth just as effectively with a manual toothbrush.

Um, You don't need to have an electric one, but you just have to brush properly with a manual toothbrush, right? Um, so it's, you know, gentle circular motions. It's the 45 degree angles of the bristles to the teeth. And what that's doing is that's allowing the bristles the best chance to get up underneath the gums, gently, gently removing any biofilm and plaque, um, and keeping the team teeth as clean as possible.

If your gums bleed, it's a warning sign. So, so that's good. Uh, I like this. Yes, it is a warning sign. There's definitely something going on. Here's the caveat. Most of my patients that I see, their gums start bleeding, so they stop brushing. Correct. That's the problem. Yep. The warning sign is you've got something going on with your gums.

So either A, probably go see your dentist. Or B, brush and floss the area way better because you either have food impacted, you've got some sort of inflammation going on because you've got some sort of biofilm subgingival that's causing irritation. Um, you could even have an abscess, right? Um, so, Yes, bleeding gums, not good.

That doesn't mean stop brushing. That means brush better, floss better, keep these things clean. Maybe go see a dentist if it persists for more than a week. You know, um, because the whole goal is to decrease that inflammation. The inflammation is present because the body is sending these specific cells to the area.

Right? To try and fight something. Whether that's food, plaque, tartar, calculus buildup, whatever. Now, obviously we have a new year coming up, so a lot of people put on their new year's resolutions that they're going to get back to flossing. When they get back to flossing at the beginning of the year, they're likely going to start bleeding.

Is that a sign, and for how long should they? Yeah, so, so if you, if you are someone who doesn't floss, but needs to be flossing, those people are out there, right? Um, Yes, your gums will bleed. I mean, it's, it's no different than like a callus on your hand, right? Um, or a callus on your foot. Um, the gums sometimes need to toughen up a little bit.

Um, and so there's probably going to be some moments where they're tender. Um, there's probably been some chronic inflammation in those areas if you haven't been flossing, and so they probably bleed a little bit. But, um, after a couple weeks, you, gums shouldn't be bleeding. Everything should be back to status quo, and you should be able to floss without bleeding.

And you know, that's what they say is wrong with this generation, is the gums are too soft. That's true. That's true. That's right. All right. Um, now one of the biggest things that we hear when we go to the dentist is make sure you're brushing when you brush for two minutes. Where did that number come from?

So I think it's less about the number. I think it's more about the being realistic with our patients and the fact that two minutes is a really long time. Yep. And if we say two minutes, most people probably eke out 30 seconds. Okay. And if we said 30 seconds, most people do it for one second. Right. And that's just the way it is in society.

Right. And so, um, I bet if you clocked the average patient, they're, they're probably maximally brushing 30 to 45 seconds, right? Cause that feels like forever. Um, when the advent of the electronic toothbrush came out and they have a counter on there that shows you two minutes. That's right. Even me, I was shocked.

I was like, dang, two minutes is a while. That's right. Um, so, so really I think it's just more than anything. I think it's just a number that has been used to help encourage people to spend enough time. Getting as much stuff off their teeth as possible. One last thing about Dr. Harper is when he walks in to see a patient, he'll walk in and they'll ask him, Hey, how you doing?

And say, I'm living the dream, fixing teeth and saving lives. It's true. It's true. That's what I am. Cause I am living the dream. I want to do this. I was 14. So I am living the dream. That's right. Last thing for a take home gift for the audience out there. What's one tip or trick that you could give to help them brush their teeth?

So one thing that's been used is, um, especially helps with kids cause for, you know, two minutes for kids is a long time. Um, is as the kids starting to learn to brush their teeth, have them sing the happy birthday song, right? Every kid knows the happy birthday song. Have them kind of sing to themselves the happy birthday song while they're brushing.

And that'll do two things. One, it'll make them brush longer. Um, and two, it'll kind of distract them from the fact they're brushing their teeth. That's right. Um, let them keep brushing, get a little more contact time with the, With the enamel on the teeth. That's right. And three, no kid ever has a bad day on their birthday.

So don't make me smile. Thank you guys so much for watching. We appreciate it. Make sure to go get all of your enamel products. E N M L. com. They're available today at the shop. Thank you guys. Hey guys. Thanks so much for tuning into another episode of minty fresh takes presented by enamel. Listen, we all know people that are into the latest trends for their oral care.

We also know people on the other side of the spectrum that are not. This show is made for both of those people. And so if you could do us the absolute biggest favor and share this, like, comment, subscribe, make, make, make sure to share this with your friends on both sides of the spectrum and somebody right in the middle.

That would be awesome. Our biggest mission here, not only doing this podcast, but with all the products and the dentistry here in NYSL is to ensure the trust and the quality of product that we continually offer to our patients. Our mission through this show and through our brand new product enamel is to ensure that your teeth are being covered by nutrients that actually benefit your teeth.

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