It’s never good to be complacent about any aspect of your healthcare, including your dentist. A lawsuit filed by a man against his dentist over a failure to warn about gum disease reminds us that if you have concerns about your oral health, it’s important to seek a second opinion.
Read Dental StoryIt is one of the most disturbing links with gum disease: increased cancer risk. Unfortunately, it also seems that we’re understanding more and more about how prevalent this link is.
Read Dental StoryIdeally, healthy, straight teeth shouldn’t get food stuck in them very often. But for some people getting food stuck in their teeth is a routine experience, and, what’s worse, it can often hurt. This is usually a sign that you need to see your dentist.
Read Dental StoryIt’s something dentists have recommended for a long time: chewing gum, especially sugar-free gum, after eating. We have always assumed it would have a protective effect, but evidence has been very sparse so far. Now a new study helps us understand not just that chewing gum works to protect your oral health, but gives us insight into a previously neglected mechanism.
Read Dental StoryWe have long suspected that women are at a higher risk for dry sockets than men. Now a new study confirms this is the case, although it’s much higher for women using hormonal birth control. A periodontist can help you manage your increased risk of dry socket and avoid further complications.
Read Dental StoryThere are two parts to the infection that threatens your teeth. First, there’s the invasion of bacteria into your mouth, which injures your teeth, causing cavities, and your gums, resulting in gum disease, detachment of your gums from your teeth, and more. The second part of the infection is when your body responds, creating an immune response that can be as destructive to your teeth or even more so than the bacteria themselves.
Read Dental StoryA bacterium commonly found in gum disease might add a new charge to its rap sheet. Already implicated in a wide range of systemic diseases, Fusobacterium nucleatum, has now been shown to hamper the body’s response to tumor cells.
Read Dental StoryAlthough we understand a lot about gum disease, there are still a number of mysteries that we have had difficulty unraveling. For example, why do some people with relatively poor oral hygiene remain at the gingivitis stage of gum disease without having it ever evolve into periodontitis, while other people seem to suddenly vault into periodontitis without much time for us to prevent it?
Read Dental StoryAccording to a new study, healthcare professionals aren’t doing enough to stop people from smoking, and dentists are the worst. Dentists Missed Opportunities to Help According to the study, released by the Ohio State University College of Public Health in Columbus, doctors, dentists, and others aren’t talking enough to their patients about the risks of smoking and the need to quit, as well as how patients can quit.
Read Dental StoryNobody likes stained teeth. Our teeth are supposed to be white–that’s their healthy color and their youthful color. Stained teeth can make your smile look old or unhealthy. But we have a problem: we enjoy many things that can cause stainings of our teeth, such as coffee or tea. Most of us can’t get our day started without a cup of one of these caffeine-containing beverages. Giving them up to prevent tooth staining seems like a huge sacrifice. The good news is that you don’t have to. Adding milk to your coffee or tea will reduce their tendency to stain your teeth.
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