When You'll Need a Crown For whatever reason, your tooth needs reinforcement and restoration. Perhaps it’s an unsightly color. Maybe you cracked it on a popcorn kernel—or it’s been weakened by several fillings. Maybe you've had root canal therapy. You're [...]
Your mouth is an early warning system. Changes in tissue color, persistent sores, chipped and eroded teeth, and excessive tartar buildup are certainly unattractive. But, more important, these variations from the norm can also be vital evidence of serious ill health. What [...]
Sorry to say, it can. In fact, anything involving contact with saliva—a kiss, parents tasting their babies’ food, sharing of tableware and toothbrushes—can transmit decay-causing bacteria. Soon after birth, infants start to get those bacteria that inhabit the mouth and [...]
Back and forth goes the argument—what toothbrush is best? Gadgeteers can spend $150 for an electric brush designed to rotate and oscillate, with angled neck, sure-grip handle, dual speed control, and even a timer. Researchers say that rotation-oscillation electric brushes [...]
Not So Private Anymore If you recognize yourself or someone in your family in this piece, you share a problem with over 500,000 other people. Bulimia. Do you worry about how much you eat—all the time? Do you start a [...]
Say you've spent the time and effort to get your mouth and teeth in shape. You’re dentally hale and hearty. And you smoke. As if there isn't enough reason to give up smoking, your dental health suffers too. Dramatically. Aside from the tobacco stains [...]
For those of you who feel a mouth full of silver or gold fillings is cosmetically appealing, you need not read any further. However, if you’re like me, and prefer your fillings to look like natural teeth, then I have [...]
What is bonding? The application of a tooth-like substance to change tooth shape or color, increase size, or repair a defect. Bonding is a multi-layered process in which durable, enamel-like composite plastic is applied to the tooth, then exposed to a [...]
What is fluoride, and why is it good for my teeth? Fluoride is a compound of the element fluorine, which is found universally throughout nature in water, soil, air, and in most foods. Fluoride is absorbed easily into tooth enamel, [...]
There’s a lot we can learn from looking into your mouth. Not only is the oral cavity a mirror of your overall health—it’s a sort of early warning system that helps diagnose everything from malnutrition to diabetes to cancer. If [...]