Why can brushing your teeth too hard damage them, but the sharp metal points dentists use to scrape enamel off don’t?
In: Other
The sharp metal points *can* damage your teeth, but you aren’t doing that every day. If your dentist was scraping your teeth in a full cleaning every day then it would be really hard on your tooth enamel and not a good idea. However when done only very occasionally by a trained dentist it is good.
Because you don’t scrap your teeth with sharp metal twice a day everyday your entire life. If you did, you certainly would cause damage to your teeth.
Plus, dentists and techs really aren’t putting that much pressure on those tools. Sure because they’re hard metal you can feel it/hear it. But they really aren’t pushing on your tooth itself that hard. Just enough to get plaque off.
It’s the difference between searching your arm lightly when you have an itch, vs really digging your nails into your arm and scratching them up a bunch
Pretty sure brushing hard harms your gums not teeth. Enamel is super hard and can withstand the dentist tools.
*I’m not a doctor or your doctor*
The concern isn’t that brushing too hard will hurt your teeth themselves but rather damage your gums. Gum damage can accumulate and progress to inflammation and even recession of your gums away from your teeth. Just like a tree needs soil, without your gums you teeth will more easily get damaged or diseased and that’s No Bueno.
In addition to not using metal tools every day, the assistants are careful in the direction they use the force.
They can use angles against the plaque formations to remove them, rather than applying pressure with the pointy end of the tip into the tooth.
If someone were picking randomly with a dental pick, they could cause serious damage.
Brushing your teeth too hard is more likely to damage your gums/gingiva, not necessarily your teeth.
Dentists aren’t scraping your enamel off, they’re scraping plaque off.
The point of a hygienist using their metal is to clean away the plaque build up. This is done once every 6 months/a year(ideally)
A good hygienist will tell you if you don’t need the work done.
It’s not necessarily the toothbrush. I think it has to do with toothpaste having abrasives in them.
Brushing too hard with a too stiff bristle can damage your teeth but usually what you’re damaging most is the gums/gumline. Then you expose the part of the root that shouldn’t be. Hard to regrow gums takes time.
The metal CAN scratch your enamel but really they’re just going along the plaque line to dislodge the hard buildup and shouldn’t be scratching that hard on/along your tooth surface.
The angle they’re used at makes a huge difference.
Consider a razor blade and glass:
* You can point the blade directly towards the glass and make a huge gouge in it
* You can lie the blade almost flat and use it to remove a sticker without any noticeable damage to the glass
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