3 Icky Things You Do at the Dentist

One would think that nothing is making us dental professionals shiver because we see all sorts of things in people’s mouths. But there are a few things that is a bit too much for us as well. Find out what they are.

Putting Your Finger Inside Your Mouth

It always hits me with surprise how clueless people are about transmission of infections. In the middle of the treatment they might show with their finger which tooth feels sensitive. That’s when I say Eew in my mind. Why would you put your finger inside your mouth? And it’s always the index finger which we use to operate our smart (and dirty) phones and push the elevator button (I don’t actually, I use the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) of index finger because of my fear of bacteria – read more about it here) that gazillion people have pushed before you with their dirty index finger. Some even do grosser things with their index finger.

So please, do not put your finger inside your mouth. Your tongue is able to do the job instead.

Carrying Your Toothbrush Without Cover

Some people are obsessed about brushing their teeth prior the dental visit. They might do it at the practice’s toilet just before they come in to the surgery. No problem with that, but when you walk in to the surgery with the toothbrush, your car keys and wallet in your hands and place them on our office desk, that’s when we go Eew again. Especially if the toothbrush doesn’t have any travel case. We don’t wipe all the practice’s surfaces after each patient, so there will be germs on the table surface where you leave your stuff. And where are you going to put it when you get back to your car?

Equally gross thing is to put your toothbrush inside your handbag without travel case. But at least then we are not able to see it.

“Sucking the Sucker”

By far the ickiest thing to my mind are the patients who close their lips around the saliva ejector or the high volume suction. I was horrified for the first time it happened with my patient. To be fair, it’s not their fault. They do this probably because some of the dental professional advise patients to do so. Honestly, fellow dental professionals, do your research and stop advising to close the mouth when the suction is inside the mouth.

Why?

It’s because of the backflow of bacteria and viruses. When patients close their mouth and form a seal around the tip of the saliva ejector, a partial vacuum occurs. That’s when the nasty stuff in the tube of the suction start travelling backwards – blood, viruses, saliva, bacteria, debris. They might travel as far as into the patient’s mouth. If you don’t believe me, read this.

If you are a patient and your dentist or hygienist advises you to close your lips around the suction, don’t do it. You don’t need to. This might of course mean that you need to swallow tiny amount of water, but the water is cleaner (or is it?) than the stuff that comes out from to suction with the backflow.

It is also absolutely your right to ask if they take care of the suction tube cleaning. They should answer you that

Yes, we flush the lines after each patient with clean water (this will take the nasty staff further away) and at the end of the day we flush the tubes with disinfectant. Also once or twice a week we use special cleaner for the suction lines.

Ok, there it was. Three of the ickiest things patients can do at the dentist. Do you know even grosser thing? Feel free to share it on the comment box below. Let’s see if it gets an Eew -reaction.

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