Sunday, November 24, 2024

Yearly Archives: 2010

Four New Years Resolutions that Will Improve Your Oral Health

You've probably made a lot of New Year's resolutions in your life — but I'm willing to bet that you've never made a New...

Why Baby Teeth Are Important

Have you ever wondered why we have baby teeth?  It's kind of interesting that we are born with permanent limbs and other body parts,...

Dental School Finals Week

You may have noticed that I didn't write an article last Friday.  Sadly, I won't be writing any this week either. The Fall 2010 semester...

Why Braces Might Have Two Colored Rubber Bands Around Them

A few weeks ago, Emily asked the following question: For some reason I just noticed that one of brackets has two elastic bands on it....

How Wearing Your Seat Belt Affects Your Dental Health

One of the questions we ask every new patient who comes in for a comprehensive dental exam at my dental school is this: Do...

Do Braces Hurt?

Recently, I've gotten quite a few questions about whether or not braces hurt.  A lot of the questions are from young people who will...

Is Water Really Fluoridated With Toxic Waste Fluoride?

Not too long ago I was talking with my mom about water fluoridation.  She said that she isn't a big fan of it.  When...

Tooth Decay: A Serious Disease

Deamonte Driver was a typical twelve year old boy growing up in Maryland.  In January 2007, he complained that he had a headache to...

Can You Get a Cavity Under a Dental Crown?

A reader recently asked me if it was possible to get a cavity on a tooth once it has been crowned.  Although it seems...

The Risks of Tongue Piercing: 10 Ways It Hurts Your Mouth & Teeth

Oral piercing is a practice that seems to be gaining popularity in the United States.  The most common places to get a piercing in...

Water Fluoridation History – How Fluoridation Started

Water fluoridation is a public health measure designed to reduce the amount of dental decay in populations.  In fact, the CDC has praised water...

Eat Dessert First for Healthier Teeth

Remember how your parents always made you eat your vegetables first before you could eat your dessert?  That may not have been the best...

Review: Listerine Agent Cool Blue Doesn’t Show Plaque

A lot of people think that a popular dental health product, Listerine Agent Cool Blue, will show you where the plaque is on your...

Dental Crown Procedure: What is a Dental Crown / Cap?

Have you ever been unable to fall asleep at night, staring at the ceiling and wondering what a dental crown was?  Maybe you've wondered...

How to Drink Soda Pop and Keep Your Teeth Happy

Some dentists might say that in an ideal world, nobody would drink soda pop. In my view, in an ideal world, everyone would drink...

Meth Mouth: The Effects of Methamphetamine On Your Teeth

Methamphetamine, like many other illicit drugs can harm your teeth fairly rapidly.  Back in September, I wrote an article entitled Seven Ways Crystal Methamphetamine...

What are Tartar and Calculus?

Earlier this week, one of my friends told me a joke that made me groan. She asked, "What is a dentist's favorite subject in...

10 Easy Ways to Chip or Crack Your Teeth

Many people end up cracking or chipping their teeth at some point in their lives. A majority of cracked and chipped teeth injuries are...

The Four Ways Your Teeth Get Worn Down

When teeth first come into the mouth, they are in pristine condition and come complete with mamelons, remnants of the tooth's development.  Over time,...

Can Kids Eat Halloween Candy & Have Healthy Teeth?

If you're like most parents, you probably took your kids out trick-or-treating this past weekend. Halloween candy can harm your kids' teeth, but there...

Should Dentists Buy Back Halloween Candy from Kids?

Over the past week, I've heard of a few dental offices around the United States that are offering to buy back Halloween candy from...

Why Teeth Hurt

There are several easy answers to the question, "Why do teeth hurt?"  For example, teeth hurt because you don't take care of them.  But,...

What Happens In Your Mouth Every Time You Eat or Drink

Did you know that you are the life of the party?  Every time you eat fermentable carbohydrates, millions of bacteria in your mouth shout...

Why Is The Water Fluoridation Debate So One-Sided?

I read an opinion piece about water fluoridation this past Wednesday written by Katherine Kelly.  Katherine was one of the people who sponsored Measure...

348 Medications that Cause Dry Mouth (Xerostomia)

Did you know that many prescription and over-the-counter medications we take every day can cause dry mouth? As I mentioned in my previous article about...

Don’t Let Your Teeth Get Hurt This Cold & Flu Season

Three weeks ago I got a cold. I was just getting over it when we went up to Maine, and right when we got...

Power Chains: Why Some Colored Braces are Connected

If you take a look at the young woman to the left, you'll notice that she has blue colored rubber bands that attach the...

When Should Your Baby’s First Tooth Come In?

Many parents wait with anticipation to finally see their baby's first tooth poking through the gums.  A baby getting his or her very first...

Adult Permanent Teeth Coming In Behind Baby Teeth: Shark Teeth

Many parents become alarmed when they look in their child's mouth and see the permanent teeth growing behind the baby teeth.  What went wrong? ...

Six Main Causes of Xerostomia or Dry Mouth

Dry mouth, or xerostomia to medical professionals, occurs in 25% of older adults and has even been reported to occur in 10% of adults...

OA Links: Maine Dental Association and Glamour Magazine

My wife and I traveled up to Maine this past weekend to attend the Maine Dental Association's annual conference.  Since Maine doesn't have very...

Colored Braces: What Colors of Braces Can You Get?

Not too long ago, I spent a week of my dental school career in the orthodontics department, helping the future orthodontists to straighten people's...

Six Common Places Where You Might Get a Cavity

Imagine you are in the dental office and the dentist is showing you on a screen where in your mouth you are most likely...

Is the Blue Dental Curing Light Harmful?

Recently, Christopher, a thirteen-year-old reader from Michigan wanted to know if the blue light that dentists use to cure fillings and sealants can hurt...

6 Reasons Why Biting Your Nails Is Bad For Your Teeth

It's been estimated that about half of all humans bite their nails.  At ten fingernails per human (and maybe some toenails thrown in for...

Will You Still Have Your Teeth When You Get Old?

A couple of weeks ago, Karen, a reader from Colorado Springs emailed me with the following question: "Since our average life expectancy is getting longer,...

Smokers Have Less Teeth Than Non-Smokers

It's common knowledge that smoking has many awful effects on your health.  Since I try to deal with oral health on this blog, I...

Seven Ways Meth Ruins Your Teeth

Before I came to dental school, I worked at a dental clinic that served those with little or no financial resources.  I remember vividly...

How Chewing Ice Cubes Hurts Your Teeth

Have you ever eaten all of your dinner, drank all of your water, and then flirted with the last remaining edible item on the...

How Saliva Protects Your Teeth

A couple of years ago, my wife and I were on a walk near our community's park. A baseball game was taking place on...

Can Fibrous Foods Like Celery and Apples Clean Your Teeth?

The internet is filled with what I like to call "Dental Pollution." There are a lot of half-truths and myths about oral health. One...

16 Delicious Snacks That Your Teeth Will Like

It seems that dentists and dental hygienists have a bad reputation for naming off a bunch of foods that aren't very good for your...

Is Fruit Good or Bad for Your Teeth? It Depends.

Many people have asked me whether or not fruit is bad for your teeth.  The answer is that it depends.  We all know that...

OA Links: Why Is Dental Work So Expensive?

I'm at the beginning of what should be a pretty tough semester! I have nine classes on top of seeing patients four days a...

Tetracycline Tooth Staining: Its Cause, Prevention & Treatment

When I was a little boy, I remember seeing my brother in the bathroom trying to bleach his teeth.  He tried many different formulations...

Double Teeth – Gemination and Fusion

Many parents wait with great excitement and anticipation for the eruption of their baby's first tooth.  Sadly, baby teeth don't always look quite right. ...

50 Names for Sugar that Food Makers Use to Trick You

Did you know that the average American eats nearly 100 pounds of sugar per year?  For teenagers, the number climbs to nearly 150 pounds...

Why You Might Need to Premedicate With Antibiotics Before You See Your Dentist

During my first few weeks as a student-dentist in the clinic at dental school, I had a new patient assigned to me.  She arrived...

OA Links: Do You Lie to Your Dentist?

There are many good dental articles on the Internet, and I would like to share them with you every few weeks in a series...

Are You Causing the Cavities On Your Toddler’s Teeth?

It's sad to see a two year old child with horrible teeth.  At such a young age, children don't really understand oral hygiene.  Many...

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