Why You Should Stop Using Toothpicks

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The toothpick is the oldest dental cleaning tool around. Fossils of 7,500-year-old teeth indicate that humans were using wooden sticks to clean their teeth well before the advent of toothbrushes. But today, there are better, safer options for removing pesky plaque and bacteria. Dentist and spokesperson with the American Dental Association Dr. Sally Cram explains why toothpicks may not be the best option.

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Following is the transcript of the video:

Sally Cram: The best analogy I give patients is, "Would you take a stick and poke it into your arm?" You wouldn't right? So why would you poke a stick into your gum? Toothpicks are okay for pushing out big chunks of food between your teeth. But in general, they don't take the place of floss or using some sort of interdental cleaner.

You know, they're wood, they're sharp. I've had patients who have used toothpicks and gotten splinters in their gums and infections. So, also think about it, you know, your job when you're cleaning between your teeth with floss and when you're brushing your teeth is basically you're trying to get down under that little collar of gum tissue and remove the plaque and bacteria. That toothpick is a stiff stick, so to get down under the gum, you're going to irritate or possibly damage the gum and probably not be very successful.

So, I tell my patients the better thing to use in between teeth rather than a toothpick are, there are things that you can get on the market, floss picks or soft picks. They're a little plastic stick but they have a little rubber tip end on them that's much kinder, gentler, more flexible... will be able to get down under the gum, remove the plaque but not damage the gum tissue.

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Комментарии

That’s why It’s called TOOTHPICK not GUMPICK

Q

Is this propaganda or something? No one "flosses" with a wooden toothpick.

manowar

Cuz they look sick as fuck when use them

kunjpatel

Ya well I also wouldn't brush my arm with a toothbrush sooo...

spudboy

Next you'll be telling us not to breathe oxygen

Dante-

Who the hell uses toothpicks for that still? I use it after steak and broccoli at restaurants but thats it.

samanthafreeman

How about don’t use toothpick the wrong way? Swallowing meat also carries a big risk of choking but no credible scientist recommended not to eat meat.

KhaledTheSaudiHawkII

Can this dentist say "false equivalence"? And I think more people cut their gums with floss than stick their gums with a toothpick.

notconvincedgranny

Obviously, one does not use a toothpick to floss. you are supposed to slightly chew the end of the toothpick to make it softer than a brush. then just use it one tooth at a time to remove plaque. you can use the sharper end to go in between your teeth but not very close to the gums. trust me, this method is way gentler than using a brush. You are still supposed to floss using the normal stuff and brush but a brush doesn't work better than a toothpick or in middle east what the call miswaki. The way she explains is actually a wrong use of a toothpick.

isoteman

It's much kinder, gentler, flexible, and expensive.

coldybright

*BREAKING NEWS* why you should stop drinking water

Walshh

We use toothpicks on our TEETH, not our GUMS. Plus people look so badass with them.

theshadowless

I rarely use wooden toothpicks but I often use those plastic ones with a floss at the end

richieThach

The only thing I use toothpicks for is removing peices of food between my teeth anyway lol.

issac

If it's there for 7500 years, there must be advantages, if it's harmful then it must have been dismissed way earlier.

Wood is bio-degradable, nobody will keep using your plastic toothpicks multiple times.
It's another way to promote the other products.

nayaktuhin