“SWIMMER’S CALCULUS” SOUNDS more like advanced mathematics than anything to do with teeth, but it’s actually the term for yellow or brown stains a swimmer can develop on their teeth after prolonged exposure to acidic …
Dental Health in Ancient Cultures
WE TEND TO ASSUME that people from earlier eras (especially the pre-industrial ones) must have had terrible dental health, but that’s not always true. While we get to benefit from modern dental care, braces, and …
Never Forget That Teeth Are Not Tools
TEETH HAVE MANY different uses, from chewing our food to helping us speak clearly to forming the structure of our faces. They also give us our smiles! These are the uses our teeth are for, …
How to Get Ready for the First Dental Visit
PARENTS CAN DO a lot to help their child come into the dentist’s office feeling relaxed and positive. (We’ll take things from there.) 1. Start early. As soon as a child has teeth, they can …
A Parent’s Guide to Teaching Dental Habits
PARENTING CAN BE such a wild time that you might struggle to find a moment to brush your own teeth, let alone brush theirs and teach them how to do it themselves. We have a …
Time for a Lesson in Dental Anatomy!
THERE WON’T BE a pop-quiz later, but we still want our patients to be familiar with the anatomy of their teeth, starting with the crown and going down to the roots. Everything visible above the …
Medieval England Versus Bad Breath
NOT MUCH WAS understood in Medieval England about cavities or gum disease, but they did care very much about keeping their breath fresh. They didn’t know about germs, and they believed that bad smells were infectious …
What Can Parents Do About Teething?
SOME OF US remember the soreness and discomfort of our incoming adult molars, not to mention how hard it was to chew. It’s the same for teething toddlers, but there’s a lot parents can do …
Snoring, Sleep Apnea, and Teeth
SLEEP APNEA AFFECTS over 18 million adults and up to 20% of habitually snoring children in the United States alone. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by brief, repeated interruptions to normal breathing during …
Chewing Ice Is Bad for Our Teeth
WE HEAR A LOT that it’s bad to chew ice. It’s because ice can do a lot of damage to our teeth and gums. Extreme Temperature Changes Versus Enamel Tooth enamel might be the strongest …