What does a dentist have in their bathroom cupboard?

The 5 things a dentist with 20 years experience actually buys

It’s bonkers really, I worked as a dentist for 20 years, I’ve pulled out thousands of teeth and filled thousands more. I’ve settled nerves (both the ones in the teeth and the ones in the mind) and poked around in more gums than I care to remember, but I rarely talk about teeth and dentistry online. I’m not entirely sure why I don’t because I kinda miss it and I genuinely care deeply about everything oral health. Especially when it comes to kids oral health and hygiene, it’s just so important that we look after our children’s teeth and knowledge is power my friends, knowledge is power.

So before I share my bathroom cupboard, let’s chat about my main piece of dental advice, something that if you take on board for yourself (and your kids) it will be a game changer.
It’s not how much sugar you eat, it’s the frequency that matters.
Incase you didn’t know the mechanism of tooth decay, Bacteria live in our mouths, and many of the decay causing bacteria live in plaque. The bacteria feed off sugar and the by-product of that feeding is acid (essentially the bacteria poop out the acid) The acid is what causes the decay. Remove the plaque and you won’t get decay, remove the sugar and you won’t get decay. But the reality is it’s near impossible to remove either and it’s way more about getting a balance that works. And here’s the truth, It isnt about quantity, its about frequency. Your teeth can cope with having five sugar hits a day as long as they are brushed well twice a day. Any variation in that balance and you will absolutely get decay.

And by sugar hit, I mean any type of sugar in your mouth. Now that could be a sip of a sweet drink, it could be a mega bag of haribo. It’s still classed as a sugar hit. And trust me there are hidden sugars everywhere, it’s so hard to eat something that is completely sugar free. Those hidden sugars are sneaky little suckers, they creep up where you least expect them and are often really prevalent in ‘healthy’ or ‘diet’ foods. Ketchup, baked beans, yoghurts, cereal bars, cereal, there blummin everywhere. So basically, any time you eat or snack, that’s a sugar hit. And I would say, every one of us has a munch five times a day. Hence why it is so very important that you keep your drinks sugar free. We all drink way more than we eat right? So every single one of those drinks will count as a sugar hit.

Now have a think about every time you ate and drank over the past few days? I would put money on it that you didn’t get that balance right. Maybe you skipped brushing before bed, maybe you you had a snack happy day. But too many of this kind of days and you will get decay.

People moan about how much dentistry costs, but the truth is, decay is totally preventable, decay is kinda your fault. so if you want to save yourself some dental bills then stick to that 5:2 rule. Here are a few things that will make that easier.

Save up your sweet stuff. A handful of treats here and there during the day is so much worse than eating them all at once.
If you have kids, have a big treat day rather than small treats every day. May mean the sugar high and low will be unbearable, but from a teeth perspective, it’s the way forward.
Save your sweet stuff until directly after your meal. Modern processed foods mean that you will likely have had sugars during your meal anyway, so adding a pudding will still count as just the one sugar hit.
Start looking at packaging more, you’ll be surprised just how much sugar is in every day hidden foods. Heinz tomato ketchup is 22.8% sugar with 4 g in a tablespoon. Thats nearly a teaspoon of sugar, thats the same as 3 small jelly cola bottle sweets.
This one is THE most important one out of them all. Drink sugar free drinks only. Drinks with sugar are a complete waste of money, calories and health. Every sip of a sweet drink is a sugar hit, and with only 5 to be playing with you don’t want to be wasting those on a drink. If you are going to have a sweet drink, have it with a meal. Now, I’m going to be controversial here, I’m going to include sugar free but sweetened drinks in with this too. ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS! I could write a whole article on this but I believe so strongly that sweet drinks should be restricted, if not banned for children that I will shout it naked from the rooftops. If you have kids, (or plan to have kids because it’s even more important for you) please let this be the thing that you take home from this. If you give your children sweet drinks, even if they are sugar free, you are training their brain to need something sweet when they are thirsty, not something wet. These habits are almost impossible to change as they get older and I can assure you, when they have a few quid in their pocket and they’re thirsty they will give zero farts about the sugar content. they will buy the brightest, sweetest most syrupy drink because that’s what their brain has been trained to crave. We’ve made parental mistakes along the way, we aren’t perfect, but this is one thing we are so proud of. We dont have juice, we don’t have cordial, we are a water only household. And our kids definitely have more than their fair share of sweets and sweet snacks but they are filling free and I believe this is entirely because of our drinks policy.

Sorry, I know that was a long one but it’s so vital and it will save you a small fortune, not only in drinks but in dental care.

Learn how to brush your teeth again. Look, I know you think you’re doing it right but theres a 98% chance you aren’t. And you know how I know? Because when I meet you, I can see it (and sometimes smell it). Most people think they’re doing a great job, but it’s actually quite difficult to brush your teeth to an expert level. If it’s helpful. I could maybe do another post on this as I’ve already wanged on enough about dental health but again, if youre going to take some dental nuggets home from this then here’s another…Do not rinse your mouth after brushing. Yep you heard right, just spit and go. Think of toothpaste as a topical cream. You wouldn’t apply moisturiser packed full of retinoids and then wash it off would you? Same with toothpaste. coat your teeth and then let it sink in. If you rinse, you’re washing away the topical effect of the fluoride.

Ok, I’ll stop banging on now and share with you whats actually inside my dental cupboard, what are the things that I actually buy and use. What are the things that will actually save you money in dental bills in the long term. And let’s start with electric toothbrushes. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with leccy TBs. Love them because they really can do a fantastic job, hate them because honestly, I think some people can get a bit lazy with them. Just thinking that they do all the work. And you need to know what to do with them. But if you like an electric toothbrush, this is the one I would buy.
The Suri 2.0 Sonic Electric Toothbrush

I’m MAD that I’m talking about this toothbrush and potentially selling it for the brand. Like really furious. I’m furious because I’m bitter that they wouldn’t work with me. They reached out to me regarding a collaboration and then ghosted me. Honestly, there really isn’t a better fit for an influencer and brand. Shock horror, someone that actually knows what they are talking about in that field, but no, they ghosted me. I must get asked at least once a day about my thoughts on Suri and I’ve always kept quiet, because why would I want to sell for a brand who ghosted me. But very, VERY annoyingly, I really like the product and actually have one myself. So, I’ve decided to stop gatekeeping and at least I might make enough to buy myself a few new heads on my affiliate income!

Jokes aside, why is it the one I bought?
There are so many on the market but I love Suri. First and foremost it uses sonic tech which personally, I find gives me a better feel after brushing. And trust me, as a dentist, I was sent them all (not as an influencer, I rarely get approached by dental brands which I find crazy). The battery life on this mighty machine is unbelievable, it beats all others by a country mile. You won’t have to recharge for at least a month which is insane. Also, its eco credentials are amazing which is so important, an estimated 3.5-4 BILLION plastic toothbrushes are thrown away each year. Suri uses recyclable aluminium which makes it long standing and the heads are again recyclable (for free). They’re also a fully B Corp brand so you know they care. They also just look really good in your bathroom. The only thing that I really didnt like about them was the lack of pressure sensor which could mean that you could over brush. the 2.0 now has a pressure sensor. So really, they’re pretty ruddy great. I have the green but there are some beautiful colours.

Highly recommend this version as it comes with a UV cleaning case which basically means that you can sterilise your toothbrush. There is also 25% of in the prime day sale which lasts until 26th June.

And if you don’t fancy a leccy TB you can always stick to a manual.
Curaprox Ultra Soft Toothbrushes.

Of course you can go and buy a multipack of cheap toothbrushes at Home Bargains and honestly, if it’s that or nothing then please do that. But If you want the elite level toothbrush then I love a Curaprox. They are Swiss built (and they do good chocolate right) and they are ridiculously gentle, If you’re an over brusher or you have sensitive gums then these will change your life. They have an octagonal handle which aids better positioning for a 45 degree angle to your gemlike (essential) and I also find they just last loads longer too. I would also really recommend these if you have braces on. They aren’t the cheapest but you really will love them and I’ve found another prime day deal on the 3 pack linked above.

Plaque disclosing tablets

OK, these are only a few quid and I recommend that any of you that have teeth (I suspect that’s 99% of you) all go and buy a pack. These really aren’t just for kids although we all remember chewing those tablets when we were at school right? I guarantee that most of you are missing spots in your mouth, and if you continue in ignorant bliss, it’s going to become a problem for your teeth and your gums. Keep a pack of these in your bathroom and have a little chew every now and then, it’ll keep you on your toes. Sand if you have kids, you absolutely need to spring these on them every now and then. Its such a great way to actually visualise where you’re missing.

Water flosser.

Ok, so I’m recommending this because flossing is really bloody hard. even with full dexterity and ALL the knowledge about what and where I should be flossing, I find it a royal PITA. It’s fiddly, it’s messy and it’s wasteful. But it needs to be done. I used to tell my patients who didn’t floss to go ahead and do it and then smell the floss. It’s RANK, because brushing your teeth anime misses out around 30% of all surface, a brush simply cannot get in-between teeth, and those tight areas are mostly the areas where decay and gum disease start. A water flosser, although big and can be a bit cumbersome, is easier to use than floss if you don’t know what you’re doing. Floss can actually be pretty dangerous if you’re just moving it up and down.

I like this water flosser from USmile

Tepe Brushes.

No bathroom should be without tape brushes. In fact, I carry them around in my bag. Another one for interdental cleaning and just much easier to use than floss. there are various different sizes depending on how big the gaps are in-between your teeth. But the blue ones are a good place to start and you can work up or down from there.

So there you have it, I could go on (and on) tbh. Because genuinely, I don’t want you to have to spend a fortune on your teeth. Dentists aren’t relying on you to need treatment, in fact, our favourite patients are the ones that come in regularly with a really healthy mouth. And you know what, writing this has made me really miss my job. Either I need to write about it more, or go back to my old job, what do you think?
If like me, dental care really is your thang then I’ve expanded this in my amazon storefront. You can find that here