Dental hygiene is a Struggle Care issue that elicits very strong feelings, as evidenced by the number of responses I receive to any social media post on this topic. Why do so many people feel strongly about brushing their teeth? Let’s talk about it with today’s guest!
Taylor McFarland is a pediatric dentist, wife, and mother who creates content on social media about dental care. She and I follow each other on TikTok, and I knew she was the perfect person to help us dive into the problem of why brushing teeth is a big Struggle Care topic for many people.
Show Highlights:
How Dr. Taylor, as a pediatric dentist, came to the unique viewpoint of understanding why mental health issues cause people to struggle with teeth brushing
Why everyone who experiences this struggle thinks they are THE ONLY ONE
Helpful tips on how to find a dentist who will most likely be more understanding
Why it helps to be honest about your specific barriers to brushing
The purpose behind brushing—and why it’s OK to skip the toothpaste!
How to “pick the pain” that will increase your functioning
The purpose of toothpaste–(Fluoride is the key!)
Why sodium lauryl sulfate is usually the ingredient that bothers most people who have toothpaste sensitivity
Dr. Taylor’s tips for people bothered by toothpaste, and toothbrush bristles
How apps can make brushing more tolerable, especially with electric toothbrushes
Why it sometimes helps to brush your teeth in a different place, like in the shower or the kitchen
Why charcoal toothpaste is NOT the best option for daily use
Resources:
Connect with Dr. Taylor: TikTok, Instagram, and Website
Connect with KC: TikTok, Instagram, and Website (Click the “Hygiene” tab under “Resources” for more information about teeth brushing!)
Get KC’s book, How to Keep House While Drowning
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KC Davis 0:00
Oh, hello you sentient balls of stardust. I am KC Davis. And this is Struggle Care, the mental health podcast that will soon have a tagline that is really just unforgettable. Today, we are talking about a huge struggle care topic. I have a really cool guest today. Taylor McFarland, hello, Taylor, and I follow each other on tic toc. And she makes content about dental care. She's a dentist, and I reached out to her and I wanted to bring her on. And so Taylor just start with I mean, first of all, I love your channel, because you talk about some of the mental health aspects about when it's hard to brush your teeth. And so tell me how you kind of came to that unique sort of viewpoint because I don't hear a lot of dentists talking about that, oh, gosh,
Dr. Taylor McFarland 1:19
It was really totally by accident. So I'm a pediatric dentist. By trade. I'm not a general dentist. So I generally don't treat adults. And so sometimes we'll have mental health discussions with like teen patients, but primarily I focus on like 10 and under. A lot of my patient population, they're younger. And so for me just in making content for Tiktok, just trying to be relatable. I was like man, like this is something that I really struggle with postpartum, I had the depression and anxiety. And I just shooting off the hip as we're doing here, made a random Tiktok just about how hard it was, for me, even as a dentist taking care of my teeth, when your life is just rocked by everything that is new routine and a child and it was our third child, especially that one really threw me for the biggest loop. And it blew up. As you said, the things that blow up honestly, a lot of times are not the ones that we expect. But that one just blew up. And I feel like everyone then had all these questions, and I encountered so many barriers to dental hygiene that I could help with if people were sensitive to mint, or they didn't like the foam Enos and I was like, oh, man, this is like right up my alley. With pediatric dentistry we do a lot of children with just sensory issues, any number of things that is kind of my lane. And it actually related to that area, you know, dental hygiene for folks with mental health struggles that I had no idea of that it would apply. So it was just cool. Kind of serendipitous that I happen to make this post and my knowledge happened to be beneficial. And so that's I've just been going from there answering people's questions. And it's been really fun and exciting.
KC Davis 2:42
It actually makes a ton of sense to me, because I feel like with adults, if somebody says I'm having trouble brushing my teeth, most people kind of default to we'll just try harder, like why would you ever have trouble with that. But if you're dealing with kids, you can't just tell a kid to try harder, like you actually have to like brainstorm ways around there. Even if it is just pure unwillingness, you still have to like get creative. And so it's like you had the right mindset for that. Because you've worked with kids, that's really cool.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 3:13
It was definitely meant to be and not at all, where I would have envisioned Tik Tok ever going since I started in May. But it's been beautiful. And I love it. And I'm learning a lot and I'm loving just the people I'm getting engaged with. And so many of them are like CO followers like tagging me on all your dental stuff. I'm like, I know, she's so cool. We're really good friends. But it's great. I love the message you're putting out there and I love that I can amplify it and give it credence as a dentist who be like, No, this is totally legit. Like if you can only brush your teeth with nothing but water like that's legitimate and that's okay, and just giving people permission to be good enough and not be perfect. has been so wonderful. And just like people telling me they're in tears and coming to my life just to brush their teeth with me and just small steps that makes such a big difference has been amazing.
KC Davis 3:57
So I usually do this at the end but I'm gonna do it now just in case somebody maybe doesn't make it to the end we you plug how people can find you if they want to join you for those lives.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 4:05
Oh sure. So I'm on Tik Tok. Mostly I tried to be on Instagram, but I'm not pretty enough. The mama dentists.com or the mama dennis.com is my website where you can find a distant kind of everywhere that I would be would show you where I will be but generally tik tok and at the mama dentist Ma Ma. Dentist. Nice.
KC Davis 4:23
So I want to start with this question that yeah, I want to get into kind of like the workarounds with sensory issues and taste issues. But I want to start with this one. Because one of the big feedbacks I get like you said like your tik tok that blew up. I've done several about struggling to brush teeth and they always blow up and the comments are always the same. I had no idea I wasn't alone.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 4:45
Everyone thinks they're gross. They're like I don't want to talk about I'm like girl like we are all sitting in our home with fuzzy teeth, and we're all tired. Our babies are crying.
KC Davis 4:57
One of the comments I get the most is I know that I need to see a dentist but I am too embarrassed about the state of my dental care. I don't want to be shamed. And unfortunately people also saying that they have been shamed by.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 5:10
Yeah. And that's valid. It's so valid, you know, and it's like, I don't want to be sexist or classist or whatever, ageist or what I've kind of said in the comments. In the beginning, I was like, well try to find like a younger female dentist, because that's me. And in general, that dentists that I engage with, who are young and female tend to treat their patients and engage them on this topic. Similarly, to me, and a lot of people in the comments when they're talking about their traumatic experiences or shame, it's often with an older dentist, and often male. And that's not always going to be the case. But I think in general, if you're trying to find somewhere in Granta, yeah, there's exceptions to everything, folks will be like, Well, no, my hygienist was the one and she was young and, and you know, female. And so you never know what I think when you're trying to find somewhere to look generally younger, and generally female, we just tend to, you know, be sweeter and have a gentler touch, sometimes not always. But just I think the best thing for folks to do is ask around the community groups. That's what I've tried to encourage people to do. And I know it's hard, you know that that's the last thing you want to do when you are feeling down and isolated to go and like have to hunt around and look for information about dentists in the community. So that's where I've struggled and where I hope at an amateur, even just chit chatting with you about how best to guide and help people to finding a provider. I know cost is a big barrier for so many people with dentistry, dental insurance is awful. And so those are the two number one things that I hear they're embarrassed. And so I say, Hey, you, it's not on you to make your dentist be nice. You just deserve good care. And if they shame you that hygienists shamed you leave, like before they build out your insurance, leave and try again, try a different place. But that takes a lot of effort. And a lot of, you know, putting themselves out there. And so I get that that's hard and you want to hit a homerun the first time, right? You want to find the nice kind, then there's so many people that are like, we're gonna come find you. I'm like, I drink kids.
KC Davis 6:56
I'm so sorry. i So besides my own sort of struggles with postpartum and with depression and ADHD, I also have like, severe dentist phobia, I had a bunch of work done when I was like a young child that was really traumatic, including like some anesthesia wearing off in the middle of a procedure. I mean, just awful. And so I cannot go to the dentist unless I'm like heavily. A few years ago, before we knew we wanted to start getting pregnant, and I knew like, Okay, I've been in the dentist and so long. And so like, I need to do that before I get pregnant. And I ended up I can't remember if I Googled or if I like to ask on a Facebook group. But I asked around, like, does anybody have a dentist that works with people that have like a dental phobia like dentists phobia? And somebody said, Yes, I have a doctor, that's great for that. And I contacted him. And he actually had me come in for an office visit first where I just sat in his office with the desk and the chairs and talked about, you know, what is it that what is my phobia? Like? How does it affect me? What could we GamePlan for me to be comfortable and calm? And what kind of hit me with that was, you know, there's maybe the not a lot of dentists that advertises I work with people that have mental health struggles, like, but someone who advertises or maybe is known in the community, as someone that works with those that are afraid of dentists would probably be more sensitive. I also think about, you know, asking, If anyone knows of a dentist that works with perhaps people who are on the autistic spectrum, I was just sort of trying to brainstorm, you know, looking for like other almost like key words that aren't exactly like I'm depressed?
Dr. Taylor McFarland 8:43
Well, I think a great one that I will do when I call my own providers when I because we just moved to where we live, right, two and a half years ago, and then the pandemic hits. So still, I haven't made a lot of my appointments that I really should have made. But the way I find providers, I'll ask around on Facebook or next door, and I will call the offices that people have mentioned, just like you, I'll be like, I have a dental phobia, where would you go? I call them and I asked the front desk staff. Do you see this dentist? And do you bring your family here? And I think that tells you a lot. Because some don't, they'll say no, I actually go down the street or whatever, you know, and especially if it's their kids, because when you work for a general dentist, they will see children often, especially if they're over age three, but if they the staff person has a five year old, but they're not bringing them to the dentist or rather take them somewhere else that's like that might tell you something, too, is you want someone that's going to be I don't know that the staff wants to go there. And sometimes they don't and I think they will be honest with you. A lot of times too, if you tell them your story and I know it's hard to tell anyone your story you have to tell people who are safe, but just opening up about I have a severe dental phobia. I have anxiety I have, you know, whatever it is abuse history, a lot of people that such a triggering position to be laying back and so vulnerable. And so it's very scary for a lot of people and having past traumatic dental experiences like you, that's why I went in the beads. So many people, our age group and a little bit older, have really dramatic pediatric dental experiences, and they hate dentistry for the rest of their life. And so that is a big, I think goal of pediatric dentists is to remove that psychological traumatic factor and make them patients for life. That's a lot of my goal. And when I'm talking to parents walking them through treatment of their child, I'd be like, Okay, let's stop, pre K, pause as Mr. Williams. Let's talk about the long term effects.
KC Davis 10:30
Can you ask like, so that was the first time when I went to that dentist, that was the first time anyone had ever offered to meet with me before just like popping me down in the chair and getting in my mouth. And so I don't know that a lot of people know that that's an option to ask for an office visit, and maybe not with the dentist but with the dental hygienist or that there's an option to go and say, I need to come in and talk to somebody about my needs.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 10:53
Absolutely. I think that would be a good indicator, if they allow that. If they're not like, What are you talking about, if they allow that or even familiar or offering that type of service, that's a good sign, that would be a place that would be a good place to go. That's really pretty common in pediatric dentistry, because we work with children with all sorts of needs sensory things. So especially with kiddos on the autistic spectrum with the social story, so they'll come in early and get like pictures. And this is a room you're gonna go to this is a person you're gonna see. And so that helps. So we were familiar with, and we call them happy visits for kiddos, where they're just coming in or like meeting staff seeing the room getting a prize, going home. But to basically do the same thing for adult patients is wonderful. And I love that you have a dentist that did that. Honestly, I'm pretty surprised. I can't imagine that many general dentists do that. And I think if you find a place that is open to doing that, as a great sign, that it will be a good place, it's going to take good care of you.
KC Davis 11:46
So if you're listening and you're thinking I need to reach out to a dentist, I need to find one that is hopefully going to give me the best chance of someone who's understanding. Just as a recap, finding someone in the asking your community, asking your Facebook groups, maybe looking for someone who specializes in those who are phobic those on the spectrum. Even if you don't have those issues, that's just going to indicate to you that someone maybe has a little more bedside manner is more flexible is more approachable and understanding and people's different needs. And also calling and asking about desk staff. If they go to that dentist, yes. Like do you see this?
Dr. Taylor McFarland 12:24
If they're like no Suzy down the street, you're like, what, let me have her number.
KC Davis 12:29
And then maybe asking if you can meet beforehand with that. And honestly, I think that if I were to be embarrassed to go to the dentist, I don't necessarily feel embarrassment to the dentist. It's just a phobia. For me, I probably also I would lie and say I have a phobia. And I need to go, I would like to come and either meet with the hygienist and ask them questions about dental health, like that, to me would be less intimidating over the phone and being like I'm depressed, and I haven't brushed my teeth in 10 years, and I think you're gonna judge me. I just lie.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 12:59
That's such a good suggestion. If Yep, absolutely. And then more likely to be understanding too, because dental phobia is so common. It's like, oh, yeah, of course.
KC Davis 13:07
And then when I get there, I would tell the truth. Like I would say, hey, like, in addition to this, or, you know, the some other things that are going on with me is that I've been struggling with my mental health for this amount of time. And I always recommend just being honest, saying, I'm really it's taken me a lot to come here today, because I'm really frightened that I'm you're going to shame me and embarrass me because I have been struggling to take care of my teeth.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 13:36
Yes. And to tell the hygienist that. Yes.
KC Davis 13:39
And listen, I know that not everyone has the same comfort level with like setting firm boundaries. But this is sort of tangential, but I tend to get impacted ears. So I get like the ear wax like it's down, I have to go to an end and they have to suction the wax out. And then they always ask me if I were use Q tips. And I always say yes. And then they always lecture me. And then I never go back to them. Never go back. I continue to use Q tips. A year later, they'll it'll impact again and I will call a new end. Finally this last time because I'm like I'm running out of an end and on the list. I went in and I this lady came in and I had my toddler. And I had the newborn who was literally breastfeeding as I was sitting in the chair, oh my goodness. And she said what's going on today, and for the first time I said, My ear is impacted. It happens because I use Q tips. I don't want the Q tip lecture. If you'd lecture me about the Q tips, I will never come back. I just want someone to help me with my concern today. And this woman came in and I think it helps that I look like a hot man.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 14:48
Don't mess with a woman breastfeeding her newborn at the doctor.
KC Davis 14:53
The toddler cry and so she did not have my ear looked at me smiled and said Just call me when You need me? Oh, that's awesome. I was like, you will be my auntie for life. And I feel like if that's something that you can sort of like, sack up enough to do a Ha, like, sometimes that direct result of just saying, I understand my dental health is not good. But I need you to understand that if I get a lecture about it, I'm never coming back. And I care about my dental health and I want to come back. I can't imagine any dentist not hearing that. And if they do, like you said, that's on them. And you should just, you didn't leave.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 15:30
. Exactly not on you. That's a sign like this is not the place, keep looking.
KC Davis 15:37
Let's ask about some specific. So when I think about sort of barriers to brushing teeth, one of the big ones of course, we talk about executive functioning for people with ADHD, depression, whether it's remembering sometimes, for me, it's like the amount of steps. Yeah, like, yeah, go to the and I talked about this today, actually, on one of my channels where I never really had this issue until I had kids because the routine of like waking up in the morning going to your vanity and then like doing the things to get ready. Coupled with like, I'm about to leave the house and people are gonna smell my stinky breath. It was like, the routine and the motivation, like came together. And I was just like, yeah, yeah, yeah, every day you do this, and this is the motivation. And then I had a baby. And it was like, Okay, I don't have a morning routine anymore.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 16:23
Right? What routine, you're not even in your room half the time when you
KC Davis 16:28
were awakened by a screaming child who I'm running to feed and then I'm in my living room, and I'm not leaving the house. And so even if I think of it, I'm going well, who cares? And I tried lots of things, but I finally just ordered myself 144 disposable pre pasted toothbrushes.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 16:46
Yes, I love those and put them everywhere. Like put them in your van, put them on your TV.
KC Davis 16:51
It's the first thing I tried was just putting a toothbrush, like in all of my sinks. So there's actually discretion toothpaste in every bathroom and at the kitchen sink. Yeah. But the genius for me with the prepasted ones is it's one step. It's not go to the sink, open the toothpaste, put it on, put it in your mouth, but it's literally a whole pick it up paper off, stick it in your mouth. And you know, for a season, it's working for me. So I'm just that's what I'm gonna do for the season. Anyways, that's my story.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 17:22
I think that's a great tip.
KC Davis 17:24
When people talk about, you know, okay, the issue for me is that there are so many steps Yes,
Dr. Taylor McFarland 17:29
Or so many rules. I think that's what a lot of people say, too. Because it's like, well, technically, you shouldn't brush for 30 minutes after you eat, but you want to actually do it like 20 minutes before this and 30 minutes after that, and like there's this perfect ideal time to do it. And I think everyone's like, well screw that. Like, I'm just not going to do it because I'm not going to wait 30 minutes to do whatever or I can't rinse after it like they get caught up in so many little rules that would be the ideal. And so they just don't do it at all. And so I'm just like, it doesn't matter. Like if you want to use no toothpaste, use no toothpaste if you want to brush right after you eat the brush right after you eat the keep it in your kitchen like whatever is going to be easy to perform that you will do it it's better to brush right after you eat than not brush at all if you're trying to wait the 30 minutes or whatever. So people I think the devils in the details like we as dentists nerds to get really, we're like, you know, the enamel won't remineralizing unless you wait, ideally 20 minutes, right and looks like it doesn't matter. It matters, but it doesn't that much in the grand scheme of things. And so giving people permission to do it at not the perfect time. But the time that works for them when they remember, you know, too many steps don't use mouthrinse you know, a lot of people like oh, I don't want to do mouthrinse and toothpaste and brushing. I'm like, forget the mouthrinse you don't need the mouthrinse you don't even need the toothpaste, you know, you can just dip it in mouthwash. Some people I think really have an aversion to the texture of toothpaste. And there are some better ones. You know, I have a lot of recommendations for smoother toothpaste. A lot of them are pediatric ones, but texture wise and some people just hate the texture that grittiness. And so just dipping into mouthwash or just using water is okay, too.
KC Davis 18:57
So let me ask some questions. I feel like it helps me some time to like understand the whys. And then I can like give myself permission to do whatever I don't think I think we're taught about teeth brushing or tooth brushing. No one ever really explains all the whys. And so first one, what is the purpose of the brush? Like Like what are we doing here? Right, like just the actual brush itself? Why is that important?
Dr. Taylor McFarland 19:20
So first, let's talk about your teeth and what leads to cavities, right because that's the thing most of us are worrying about. We're either worrying about like gingivitis, so inflamed gums from bacteria, or worrying about cavities where the bacteria produce milk through their metabolism. So eating carbs, like sugars and whatever, they make acid that erodes the enamel away, and that leads to cavities. So you're either getting inflammation from bacteria for the gum tissue, so like gingivitis, periodontitis or you're getting cavities from the bacteria, just from them chillin on your tooth and then eventually eating whatever foods that you're eating in and make an acid. And so the primary role of tooth brushing is to remove those bacteria. It's called a biofilm is what plaque is and so you just want that McCain nickel cleansing. And I think that's what a lot of people get hung up on is like, but I don't like toothpaste. I don't like mouthrinse I'm like, the most important thing is brushing. And there are a lot of folks that say, Well, what if you know the texture or whatever they don't like it. I'm like chew gum, like chewing gum, and there's a big viral and I forget the name. It's like smile maker, something that a big viral series of like, eat a carrot and like clean your teeth with that. But there's a some legitimacy to that of just the mechanical cleansing of eating something crunchy. Like if you have an apple along with chips, that's going to be something stuck in your teeth, eat something that's going to help clean it out. Chew gum, that can help too. So a lot of folks are like, can I just use mouthrinse? I'm like, Well, you get a little fluoride, like maybe some antiseptic actually killing bacteria. But I'd love if you chew gum, and then rinse, you know something to get you some mechanical cleansing to
KC Davis 20:43
What about like, so I remember when my daughter's first got teeth, the dentist was like, just take a washcloth. Yeah, that's
Dr. Taylor McFarland 20:50
More I'd say to like desensitize them to you being in their mouth. So you want to start that like early before they even get teeth to use a washcloth. That's what I do. They're like two weeks old in the bathtub, and everyone else is like what is she doing? I'm like I'm getting her used to me cleaning her mouth. Like those baby toothbrushes also, like silicone ones, they don't really clean the teeth. It's more like getting them used to it and wants to come in, you're using like bristled brush or whatever.
KC Davis 21:11
So if somebody remembers to brush their teeth at 2pm, and they just dip it in water. That's still better than nothing. That's still actually a lot.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 21:21
That's still a win. Absolutely, absolutely. Yep. And I think so many folks I've had quite a few comments are just like that, we'll talk about Waterpik. Sometimes I'm like, you know, it's not as good to string floss, but it's still getting in there stimulating. You know, the plaque biofilm. It's disrupting stuff, it's not going to get old. Because the older it gets, the more gnarly it gets, the more acid it produces, the more dangerous it is, to your teeth more harmful. So just disrupting it and causing issues, even if it's not cleaning it off completely is good. And several have had hygienists, often that are just like, oh, well, I guess it's better than nothing kind of attitude. And they're like, so I just did nothing. And I'm like, no, no, no, like when I say it's better than nothing like, that's great. Like, I want you to do something. And it's just momentum, when you start, even if it's just mouthrinse, even if it's just you know that I'm like, Oh, it made me do some gum for me. They're like now, like I would for now just do mouthrinse while you hey, you're thinking about your oral health, you're trying to do something and it's on your mind. And just knowing that I'd like you to do something more if you think you could. And let's think of ways that maybe we could introduce that, like, what are things? What are the barriers? And then what can we come up with that we can maybe do instead? But to be like, Yeah, you know, Perfection is the enemy of good, right? So
KC Davis 22:25
Well, and you know, as a therapist, I would always say, it's better to do less with self compassion than to try to do more with self loathing.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 22:36
And isn't that so much of this, I feel like and so many of the folks that I feel like are in tears, about their health care and talking about how they feel gross or disgusting, like just these, what they're telling themselves when they're looking at their teeth, is you're disgusting, like no one would ever want to be with you. Like no one wants to see your smile. It's horrendous, like just the horrible, horrible self talk. And the things that we say to ourselves. And I even said to myself, and it's just you're in this really dark, it's a difficult place and that our smile is something that is just so important. It's how we meet the world, and they just have so much shame, I think around it and so much embarrassment, that's a lot of people, they just feel so embarrassed to go and admit, uh, you know, I've been taking care of my kids for five years, and they haven't take care of myself, and my teeth, you know, have tartar buildup all over them and whatever. And I just hope folks know that there are dentists out there and hygienists out there that really just want the best for them. And that we are not judging. We have seen it all. And though there are mean dentists that will say mean things like well just stop being sad. You know, I can't tell you how many people have commented that the dentist told them when they opened up about their depression, the dentist said, well just stop being sad. Like, wouldn't that be nice?
KC Davis 23:39
I know. Well, it kind of reminds me of when people ask about like, Hey, I'd really like to hire like a cleaning service. But I don't want to be judged by the cleaner. And you know, it's a similar approach of Okay, so let's look at our options. Like one option is like you're getting help for your oral health, or someone's judging you. And the other one is like your oral health is suffering because you're but you're protected from the judgement. It's like, at the end of the day, like we have to pick the one that is most functional for us. Yes, it stinks to have someone judge us but there's gonna be a painful component to this either way, like either through the judging or through the actual pain and the embarrassment and all of this. And so let's pick the pain that's going to increase our functioning,
Dr. Taylor McFarland 24:25
Right. Yeah. Well, I think for me, too, like with my own anxiety, so often what I fear, like the judgment, I would fear is so much harsher than the judgment I experienced in reality. And so that's so often me talking to my internal voices, like what you are imagining is probably way worse than what it will be in actuality. And that's just what I say to myself so often, and that's what I hope people will find true most of the time is that what they fear hearing from the dentist or hygienist so often will not be nearly as harsh as what they imagine if not the total opposite very compassionate and wanting to help them.
KC Davis 24:57
So you've explained what brushing does so then what is the point to have toothpaste.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 25:00
So toothpaste really and like I've tried to dive deep into the ingredients of toothpaste and I'll be honest, this is not something they really cover in dental school. My latest thing is on mouthrinse I've been going in and mouthrinse and learning stuff I didn't even learn about mouthrinse 10 years ago in school. And similar with like toothpaste, what are these ingredients for? What do they do? The most important one for cavity fighting is fluoride. And so you have a mineral in your enamel called hydroxy apatite. And that mineral when acid touches it, and you have acid from bacteria products, but also from food, your saliva whenever you eat, even if it's not something that's acidic or sugary, your pH in your mouth still drops it becomes acidic. And so your enamel leeches out some of that hydroxyapatite what fluoride does, or the primary act of fluoride is it remineralizes that enamel with a new combination of that minerals called flora, appetite. And Flora appetite is more resistant to acid breakdown. So it's literally strengthening your your enamel it's putting a different mineral in it. It also has some antibacterial kind of properties, it makes them not as sticky and whatever. But that's a primary role. There are some toothpastes that have Hydroxyapatite in them are like nano hydroxyapatite, I think is technically what it is now, but it's just putting back what was already in in there. It doesn't really do anything. As far as I can tell, and the research is coming. Nothing too amazing. And otherwise, it's just like abrasives to help clean off surface stain. You know, foaming agents like that's a big one for a lot of people we can go into later with sensitivity stuff sodium lauryl sulfate, the foaming agent, makes a lot of people feel a burning sensation, they get mouth ulcers. Um, if there's one thing people hate about toothpaste, it's often that and if they change that they can help a lot to get one that's SLS free. But yeah, it really doesn't do much. It just has flavor. It's just the fluoride. And so there are a lot of people who are like, I don't like for it. I don't want to use it. I'm like, Whoa, yeah, I mean, there's really I mean, you can just have tasty toothpaste, there's not much else that you really need from it. That's like kids and training pace I talk about a lot. Do you need to use a training toothpaste? I say no, like just once you're comfortable getting a toothpaste that has fluoride in it. Xylitol is a nice middle ground thing you see Xylitol and a lot of things. Now dental products the research is like neither here nor there really like a lot of it's kind of biased. But there are some studies that show especially with like pregnant women and showing transmission of the bacteria that cause cavities to babies. So to their babies, if they chew like Xylitol gum, or they use electron Melbournes is that the bacteria are less what's called virulent are like less likely to be mean and cause cavities in their kiddos. But it's really high concentrations really frequent exposures. And so it's just my your once a day twice a day toothpaste was at all is it really going to have that benefit? We don't know. But gum, I think is the most promising, but it's hard to tease out. Is it the mechanical cleansing of gum or is it that Xylitol and that gum, or both? And so, I don't know we get real nerdy about it. But I think if someone doesn't want fluoride, I'm cool with xylitol, after
KC Davis 27:40
Is fluoride in mouthwash, also?
Dr. Taylor McFarland 27:42
It can be it'll usually say like anticavity and that's how you'll know it has fluoride. And in the US, there's two kind of grades I guess or levels of it. It's point zero 2% or point zero 5% that are over the counter. And so I usually recommend if you want the cavity fighting effect to get the point oh five, if you can find it. An Act is the one that most often you can find it in different flavors, alcohol free. The kids mouthrinses often have point zero 5% whereas adult ones often are the point 02 You have to really check the labels.
KC Davis 28:12
So if somebody's having like a really strong issue with taste, theoretically, they can brush with water and get a kid's mouthwash that has fluoride in it.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 28:25
Mm hmm. Yep. And they'll get so the only difference is a lot of people will. There's a whole big thing on Tik Tok. I don't know how deep you are into dentists tick tock if I forced you to go very far, but there's a big thing with the dentist Tiktok about not rinsing after brushing that ideally you want to rinse or you want to brush your teeth, spit and then walk away because you want to leave that fluoride on your teeth. You're spitting out the big pieces of gunk, but you're leaving that little film of toothpaste which most people they're like, Oh, I can't stand that it feels awful. But when you look at levels of fluoride, you've got about 1000 in the US in Florida 1000 parts per million or ppm is how they measure fluoride in mouthrinse. It's more like 100 to 200 So you're dropping by an order of magnitude. And then in fluoride water it's like point seven PPM so it's very, very small. You know, again, it's like if is you rinsing with or dipping your toothbrush and mouthwash better than water? Yep. And is using a toothpaste that you can tolerate a taste which I've got five bazillion different ones kid ones that have fluoride in them. That's SLS free, you know, good taste doesn't have that burning. Um, is that better than a mouth rinse? Yes, but if you want to brush with just water and then use mouthrinse or I have a lot of kiddos with sensory things with like either texture or taste that they can't tolerate a flavor toothpaste but for whatever reason, they can tolerate a flavored mouthrinse better and they'll dip their brush in that mouth rinse and brush that way. And that can help just get a little bit of fluoride in there with the brushing.
KC Davis 29:42
One of the things I noticed with my prepasted toothbrushes, there's not a lot on there.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 29:47
Yeah, and that's a big part. I think people see the commercials and they think I need to cover my brush with it and especially if it has sodium lauryl sulfate they're gonna be like rabid right and so they're like I can't stand his business so foamy. I'm like you're using too much So a pea size, we never need more than that from age three anon up pea size under age three, you know, as soon as they get teeth like six months, a grain of rice size, and then at three p size until 103. That was kind of my little catchphrase from three to 103. A pea size amount, that's all you need. And that will help sometimes with that for me,
KC Davis 30:18
Someone even asked me on my tech talk today, like, do you rinse afterwards? And I was like, No, I don't like there's literally like so little like foaming there's so little extra in my mouth, like I just swallow and go about my day. Like I've literally broken it down to one step. Do it now. So what are some toothpastes that people can look into? Because the biggest one that I hear is they can't stand mint
Dr. Taylor McFarland 30:43
Yes, so many people are they're like allergic to men, so they they're allergic to mint and or can't stand it. I would tell folks, if they think they're allergic to it, they get like ulcers or have mouth sores, to try eliminating sodium lauryl sulfate that I think is the key ingredient for a lot of people are sensitive to teeth, they feel burning, and I think it's from the mint. It's actually from sodium lauryl sulfate or SLS. And that's becoming something that more and more companies are aware of. Now, people that get frequent mouth ulcers and feel that burning that will often be from SLS. Usually SLS is in toothpaste, not so much in mouth rinse, but in the toothpaste, but still check your mouth rinse label because some of them do have sort of lauryl sulfate, but getting rid of that often helps people so much, even if it's a mint flavor, but many kids toothpaste are SLS free. Hello is a great band brand. They haven't been Walmart, Target and they have fluoride but they're SLS free and the helo kind has like unicorn sparkle, bubblegum blue raspberry, strawberry, like so many different flavors. My favorite ones in terms of texture and taste, are Tanner's tasty paste. And it's actually a pediatric dentist who developed them I do not know her. I just they're amazing. It tastes so good that they've got three chocolate one of vanilla one that tastes like cake icing, and an orange one that takes like a Dreamsicle. And so I have not met many kiddos that do not like those toothpaste and look forward to brushing. So those are good. And they're also flavorless ones. A lot of people don't know that. But if it's a flavor thing, or a nurse is one that's completely flavored list. And then there's one called Dr. Bob, invented by another pediatric dentist that is unflavored, but sweetened it has xylitol in it. And so those two often help folks as well with the sensory kind of taste issues. And all SLS free.
KC Davis 32:19
What about people that struggle with like the bristles? Like what are we looking at there?
Dr. Taylor McFarland 32:25
So I looked into that some because I had people telling me that just talking about kind of the texture of the bristles, I think a triple sided brush sometimes helps people is going to try and see if I had mine around, but it's the one that has like the two sides in the middle. And that for whatever reason, the angulation can sometimes help it feel different. So that works for some folks. And then I have I actually bought the one I looked on your website like Silko or something. I had the one from Amazon, but I got yours too. And they're pretty similar. They're just like a bunch of really tiny bristles. And I think that might help somebody because it feels very different. The only thing with those is it's hard to get it to dry. I find it might get like smelly over time, but if they're drying it on a towel or something after I think it can work well and I did I'd like did this disclosing tablets where you dye your plaque purple, and I brushed with it and it cleans just fine. So I think they clean fine. Cool. So that might be a good solution for folks.
KC Davis 33:16
And they are really different. So I actually got one because I thought oh, maybe this will help I dislike it.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 33:21
Yeah, no, I thought it was weird. It almost felt like styrofoam. Like, you know just it was kind of strange feeling rubbing.
KC Davis 33:28
It was like brushing my teeth with fur. Yes. Yes. Like a carpet. I don't know. But that being said, if you're someone that doesn't like the rigidity, or like the pokiness, like my point is that it's completely different.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 33:44
Yes, it is very different. And you can try different ones. A lot of people want to get a firmer toothbrush, but just so that you do not wear enamel away, it's actually preferred that you get a soft bristle brush always. And then they have extra soft too. So you can try extra soft as well and see if that's just enough. Many of them also have little like protruding plastic pieces, like a lot of manual toothbrushes do and even the electric brush heads now try and avoid those if you're really sensitive don't get the ones that are gonna like poke you and that yeah, that's not good. Just get like plain old bristles the soft or ultra soft or extra soft rather. And then if nothing else, try the feather light or what I forget what they're called, but the super soft ones might help because they do feel totally different.
KC Davis 34:24
So speaking of electric toothbrushes, I have had some people talk about and I can't remember now this is probably I probably should have prepared better for this but like the ones that are like Buzz to let you know like when to move and they just have like some other little little dopamine incentives in there like connect your phone like so sometimes. For me, if I wanted to get motivated to do something, I need it to be less steps but sometimes actually get like geeking out about something a Ha is like it's kind of going in the opposite like this. What I do with my hair like I got really into like a very complicated hair routine and I'm like motivated to do it. So I'm like little ritual of it. So do you have any that you recommend or that?
Dr. Taylor McFarland 35:03
Yeah, at least for me, so I like speaking more from like tweens and teens when they're trying to motivate a lot of like, apps are really fun. The most popular one that most people really like, is Pokeyman smile. But that's a fun one. Um, you can also get an app that plays music for you for two minutes, brush DJ, it'll pick like random music. There's a bunch of different ones like Disney has one Oral B, that are like educational. It's like a monster and you're playing brushing around brush up is another one. Um, so a lot of apps that make it fun, but those are more like Kid oriented. But whatever. Like I'm all about using kid stuff. As an adult. There's no shame in that. But toothbrushes too. I know Oral B and Sonicare. Like the high end ones have little buzzers and they'll show you for brushing too hard. And they'll tell you how long to brush each area. I think quip and hum are both like middle grade ones like 4050 ish dollar range, I want to say and have apps that you can link to and they'll give you like rewards. And you know, it's kind of like a Fitbit for your teeth. Get likes for completing X number of days and X number of minutes. And that's really fun. I think motivating for folks too.
KC Davis 36:04
The purpose of the two minutes, I don't think let me tell you that in my entire life. I don't think I've ever brushed my teeth for two...
Dr. Taylor McFarland 36:10
I hear it. So a truth be told, I honestly don't either. And I think a lot of it is we feel like I don't know, I think as a mom, there's so many things that I'm questioning now I'm like, Why do we say that? I think we say two minutes because we're hoping we'll get like 45 seconds out of someone like if I told them 45 seconds they do like 10 seconds, right? So long, and bless the poor people who think they have to brush their kids for two minutes, that I'm like, Okay, let's break down the math like most adults have 28 teeth. So two minutes comes down to like five seconds a tooth. And this is in no way, like endorsed by the AAPD is just me thinking and doing math. But I was like if your kid has four teeth, that's 20 seconds, that's as long as you need to be brushing their teeth maximum. That was a lot of my pediatric dentistry message in the beginning of like, stop brushing your 12 month old for two minutes. Like no one's having a good time.
Believe it or not there. One of the big barriers is people say it's boring. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, for some people, it's not a big deal to do something boring. But if you're already struggling with depression, or anxiety or executive dysfunction, getting yourself the task initiation, to do something that's boring for a prolonged period can really be almost impossible. For sure. And that's I would say just like brush as long as you can, you know if you can do 10 seconds, great. And if you get in there for 10 seconds, and you're like oh man, like I'm getting a lot of credit off like maybe that alone is like rewarding your let's keep going. So I'd say do what you can and don't stress about the two minutes and get something that will help it be fun or like the you know, the brush that's gonna buzz for you or track points for you, the brush DJ, where you get to listen to the full, you know, two minutes of a song Pokeyman smile, are you I don't even know what Pokeyman smile I need to download. I probably should because so many of the kids really liked it must give you something.
KC Davis 37:54
Another reason why I'm having my current love affair with my prepasted toothbrushes is because I actually keep them in my kitchen. That's the best Yeah, and it's in this spot where like you would either turn to go into my kitchen or you would turn to go out the door. And so if I'm going into my kitchen, I can be like oh, let me do this right now. And if I'm going out the door but oh toothbrush and there's something about not being in the bathroom where I'm usually grabbing it as I walk by even if I'm just walking around in my living room. Or I'm you know, then checking my email I'm doing like I'm doing other things kind of at the same time. And I find that I can go so much longer that way than staring at myself in the bathroom mirror just like standing there.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 38:34
Yeah, I hadn't even thought about that is one of the big reasons why because so postpartum for me two places that I would brush that I never would have before but I most often got it done with a shower in the kitchen. I think it's because you have to eat most of the time, you know, or you're at least getting up going to eat unless you're really having a tough time and you're in bed. But if you're at least up and functioning getting around with your kiddos, if you have other kids have to feed them and so I'd see my toothbrush and be like brushing in a while I'm getting their breakfast ready and you're exactly right. It's like I'm distracted, so I'm brushing longer. So that's yeah, great point.
KC Davis 39:02
I do have my toothbrush and some toothpaste in my shower and I always brush when I'm in the shower and that's super helpful
Dr. Taylor McFarland 39:08
Combines hygiene tasks. You know,
KC Davis 39:11
I'm already here like I'm not using them right here. If I showered every day that would be the ultimate solution but I don't so.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 39:20
Girls, look at my hair they have three
KC Davis 39:24
Here's my last question about tooth brushing charcoal toothbrush. What is this fad? What does this do?
Unknown Speaker 39:30
So charcoal everything like that's kind of the fad it was oil pulling and now we've switched to charcoal. Charcoal at least is a paste is really abrasive and so you can get some enamelware whitening toothpaste in general are abrasive but charcoal probably the most so and so folks will see some whitening initially because they're removing surface stains, but if they continue to use those more abrasive toothpaste on the regular, they're going to end up actually getting more yellow teeth as they wear their enamel away and you start to see the inner part of the tooth. On dentin that's yellow. So you can get sensitivity that arises you actually see the opposite of what you want to see not tooth whitening. So charcoal now you see it in everything it's like you know charcoal shampoo, charcoal toothbrush or whatever. But the main one is charcoal toothpaste being abrasive. I question whether charcoal is like actually itself in a bristle of a toothbrush, although I've seen it, but I'd be most hesitant about the pace, just the abrasiveness.
KC Davis 40:24
If somebody did use a charcoal toothpaste, how often would be,
Dr. Taylor McFarland 40:28
Maybe do it like once a week or more, you know, if you've got sensitive teeth, I wasn't I wouldn't use it at all. But if you don't have any sensitivity issues, maybe once a week and see, but for whitening really, I think the best thing you can do is go on to the dentist, let them get the Tartar like the actual stain buildup off for you. And then you could do a maintenance kind of whitening mouthwash that has a really low level of hydrogen peroxide and like use that daily or every few days. So it's going to help keep stain from building up a new once you get like a fresh start. And then you could do something like an in office whitening that has hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, those are the two I don't know medicines that would whiten your teeth with those little trays, or I love Crest White Strips, like they're just easy. They're pretty cheap, relatively. And that's what I use.
KC Davis 41:10
Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Taylor. This has really been helpful. And if anybody wants to look at more resources for tooth brushing, I have some on my websites if you go to struggle care.com Click on Resources and go to the hygiene tab. There all of this stuff is laid out there with options for non mint toothpaste options for different kinds of toothbrushes. What if it's boring What if it's a sensory thing? So you can check those out there too. Thank you Taylor.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 41:35
I checked it out. I agree with them all. Did you yes or no I really liked it. I was like oh so good. We're so Jarvan
KC Davis 41:42
Dentist approved on it now.
Dr. Taylor McFarland 41:44
Yes dentists do for pediatric dentists.
KC Davis 41:47
Will you have a wonderful night
Dr. Taylor McFarland 41:49
You too. Thanks so much.