Real Health Podcast: The dos and don’ts of white teeth with Ireland’s Tooth Fairy Dr Bronagh Keane

I was delighted to talk about everything: smiles, dental hygiene and healthy teeth this week and bust all the myths associated with oral care.

This week on The Real Health podcast, I was joined by dentist, Dr Bronagh Keane, AKA Ireland’s Tooth Fairy.

First of all, Dr Keane told me about mouthwash and when to use it: “mouthwash is something that a lot of people like to use after brushing their teeth. Often because that's what mouthwash adverts tell you to do and the movies tell you to do, but they are not supported by literature. So, if you're using mouthwash, use it at a different time of the day to when you are brushing.”

She added that alcohol-based mouthwash should be avoided.

I then asked the dentist about teeth whitening, she told me about over the counter teeth whiteners, “I kind of regard them as like stain removers, because they're only scrubbing off the top layer of your tooth and they are not penetrating the tooth to be effective, and when they scrub off the top layer of your teeth with these abrasive particles, they're causing thinning of that white layer on your tooth, which is the outer layer, the enamel.”

On brushing before and after meals, Bronagh said, “when brushing your teeth before food you remove the protein layer on your teeth, which is protective, and you're supposed to wait like two hours for that to rebuild. So, the brushing before and after thing, you kind of want to wait just half an hour either side of it, regardless.”

You can listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.