charcoal no-no’s, 4.24.25

there was this girl who wanted to be a dentist in my senior seminar back in college. her presentation was about her journey to where she’s at and what she wanted to do in the future, but one thing she mentioned was that charcoal isn’t good for your teeth because it’s abrasive. i remember that specifically for whatever reason. i didn’t take heed to her advice, because at the time charcoal was a fad for oral hygiene. they said it would whiten your teeth better than regular toothpaste/toothbrushes. i never got charcoal toothpaste, but i always brushed my teeth with charcoal toothbrushes. that was until a few months ago. my oral routine goes as follows:

am - brush with whitening toothpaste
pm - floss, brush with non-whitening toothpaste

when i got the electric toothbrush late last year, i began to move my regular toothbrush to pm only. the issue is my regular toothbrush was made with charcoal bristles which means i used to brush my teeth twice a day with charcoal toothbrushes. i noticed at some point last year, my teeth began to feel sensitive when i would drink even room temperature drinks. i gave up the charcoal toothbrush for a regular toothbrush during my evening routine back in february or so. i also began using enamel protection toothpaste last month and i can tell a difference in sensitivity. i type all of this to say, i should’ve listened to my classmate way back when and because i didn’t, here were are.

i know this is random, but it’s just some thoughts that came across my mind on a chilly april thursday evening.

-ratha, 9:24pm, 4.24.25