We know, we know, people use toothpicks all the time. There have been television and movie stars with toothpicks in their mouths. They are easy to reach for. If you get a piece of food stuck in your mouth, between your teeth, why wouldn’t you use it to dislodge food particles from your mouth? We have a few reasons why using toothpicks is not a good thing.
Why Toothpicks are Bad
First, toothpicks are bad because of the material they are made from. Toothpicks are simply pieces of wood, but there is not a piece of wood around without a splinter in it. While you are busy getting the food particles out of your teeth, a piece of the toothpick could get lodged in your gumline, your cheek, your tongue, or between your gum and tooth.
This splinter, if it is not dislodged, could cause pain and infection from the bacteria that are always in your mouth. Infection in your mouth could lead to abscessed teeth, root canals and even tooth loss if the tooth is severely damaged.
Also, toothpicks can cause damage to your gums over time, even if they don’t pierce the gum. Digging with a toothpick around your gums can lead to inflammation, and constant inflammation leads to gum disease, which is harmful to your gums as well as the rest of your body.
Finally, toothpicks could create sores in your mouth if you go poking someplace you shouldn’t. If you scratch or cut your mouth, this leaves your mouth wide open to infection, which means harm for your mouth, and other areas of your body, because infections in the mouth spread quite easily.
If you have questions about why toothpicks are bad for you, why not give us a call? Let us help you find safer alternatives to the toothpick!
