Bad Advice: Mehmet Oz is not a dentist!

Dr Oz has lots of advice to give people concerning their health. However, when he tries to discuss dentistry he usually completely mucks things up. This is one example of what he flippantly says about bleaching your teeth at home with an "oh so wrong" recipe:


http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/naturally-whiten-teeth-pt-2


There are so many things that are incorrect about what he says about bleaching. Let me list them:

1. Baking soda crystals (yes it looks like a powder, but they are micro-crystals) are very abrasive and will scratch the enamel of your teeth
2. Lemon juice is very acidic, citric acid and phosphoric acid are both present, and will erode your teeth
3. The mixture doesn't actually bleach your teeth chemically like what a dentist would give you. The mixture actually erodes your teeth and in doing so gives them a chalky surface which appears whiter.
4. The acids in the lemon juice have been linked in commercial sodas and waters to be the most erosive and decay causing ingredients in beverages, 4 - 5 as erosive as the acids in Coke or Pepsi
5. The recipe given has no ingredient amounts; toss in a blob of baking soda and put it on your teeth. If it is mixed with too much baking soda, it will be very abrasive, too much juice, it will be very acidic. While there is no optimal ratio, if it actually did work it would be a vital detail for success
6. The length of time that the mixture would have to sit on the teeth is also of importance. The strength of the recipe would make a big difference in time needed on the teeth to make a discernible effect.

So, for bleaching, come see us and get the right ingredients on your teeth which will actually react with the colored stains in the teeth while leaving the structure of the teeth safe and unharmed.


More of what Dr. Oz has to say about dentistry will be the subject of future blogs.