Why You Really Shouldn’t Use Toothpicks on Your Smile

Toothpicks are thin, pointy, and made from a soft wood – so that makes them the perfect tools for getting food out from between your teeth, right?

Wrong! In fact, your dentist would strongly recommend against using a toothpick on your smile. These seemingly convenient splinters can cause serious damage or even lead to a dental emergency. Here’s why you’re better off relying on alternative tools.

The Dangers of Using Toothpicks for Your Teeth

Since toothpicks are pretty easy to snap in half, they probably don’t seem very threatening, especially when you consider the fact that your teeth are the strongest substance in your body. Danger, though, isn’t always about raw strength. When you stick a toothpick between your teeth, you risk:

• Injuring your gums – if your grip slips or you get jostled, you could accidentally cut your soft oral tissue.
• Damaging dental restorations – toothpicks can scrape bonding off your teeth, loosen crowns, or widen the gap between the restoration and a neighboring pearly white.
• Splintering the wood – as previously mentioned, toothpicks are fragile, and if one breaks while you’re using it, it could get stuck between your teeth.
• Making irritation worse – pushing against food trapped in your smile could shove debris deeper into your gumline, causing more discomfort.

Safer, Dentist-Approved Solutions

If toothpicks are such a problem, what should you do instead? After all, it’s also not a good idea to leave food particles and other debris between your teeth. Here’s what your dentist would recommend:

• Use your tongue to wiggle the debris. This can often loosen the trapped object and pull it free.
• Take some dental floss and carefully glide it back and forth between your teeth until the debris comes out.
• If there’s one available, use a water flosser. Sometimes the force behind a stream of water is better at dislodging debris than traditional threaded floss.

With some work, you should be able to safely remove most things that become stuck between your teeth. However, in the event stubborn debris refuses to come out, you can rightly consider the situation to be a dental emergency. Call your emergency dentist, and they’ll take care of you quickly so you can go about the rest of your day in peace!

About the Author

Dr. Steven E. Amburgey has been practicing dentistry for over 15 years. He’s pretty much seen it all, and if you need help getting debris out from between your teeth, Dr. Amburgey won’t judge. He’ll simply provide the prompt and effective care you need and make sure your oral health is in good shape! To contact his office for an emergency dental appointment, call 276-258-5568.