The chopstick is a wooden accessory that has been used for many years to remove pieces of food from half the teeth, thus avoiding the accumulation of bacteria and the development of cavities.
However, its use may not be as beneficial as expected and may even be responsible for the onset of mouth problems, such as infections, gingivitis or gum retraction for example.
- So the best option is to always use the toothbrush to clean your teeth or.
- If you’re away from home.
- Floss to get food out of the gaps between your teeth.
- The toothpick should only be used as a last resort.
- When no other option is available.
While the toothpick helps easily remove food pieces between your teeth, it also has several drawbacks such as:
Because it is a hard object and is widely used against teeth, the toothpick can cause erosion of tooth enamel, which is the outer end and helps protect the tooth from bacteria and cavities.
Although this erosion is very small, when used very often, the toothpick can cause enamel defects, which increase over time and allow bacteria to penetrate.
The fine tip of the toothpick is sharp enough to easily pierce the gums and cause injury, this wound, in addition to causing pain and discomfort, also ends up being a gateway of bacteria to the body, therefore, the greater the number of wounds and their frequency of appearance, the greater the risk of gingivitis.
Most people use the toothpick without much care, pushing it hard between the tooth spaces to better clean the food that has accumulated, however, this movement can cause the teeth to deviate slightly, especially if done several times a day. day, functioning as a dental device that constantly pushes the teeth, but in the opposite direction.
In people who have retracted gum tissue, teeth may be more visible at the base and may even expose the root of the tooth.When this happens, it is easy to reach with the toothpick in this area of the tooth, which ends up being more fragile and can break or suffer microfractures by the action of the toothpick.
When the root is affected, the tooth is less stable and therefore, in addition to causing pain, there is also a risk that the tooth will fall off because it is not well attached to the gum.
Although chopsticks seem to help clean teeth and remove bacteria, often the toothpick will only remove some of the dirt, pushing the rest into a wedge between the teeth.This makes it more difficult to remove dirt later, eventually accumulating bacteria and contributing to plaque growth and cavity development.