Why This Dentist Gives Out Halloween Candy
Can a Sinus Infection Be Caused by a Tooth?
Why Dental Anesthetic Has Epinephrine (Adrenaline) In It
Can Dental Anesthetic Really Make Your Heart Beat Faster?
Colored Fillings
How Your Dentist Knows You’re Not Flossing
Eruption Cyst: Photos of a Purple Bump on the Gums
Five Reasons to Go to the Dentist This Year
Craze Lines: Hairline Cracks In Your Front Teeth
Ten Interesting Facts About the Dentist’s Drill
A New Way to Get Your Dental Work Done While Traveling
5 Reasons to Be Thankful for Your Teeth
What’s the Best Mouthwash for Bad Breath?
Amalgam Fillings»
What’s In an Amalgam Filling? (11)
Have you ever wondered what an amalgam filling looks like inside? Many people question how a metal can be soft enough to be shaped into a tooth yet hard enough to endure the force of chewing and other abuse that occurs during its ten or more years in your mouth. Other people are curious about […]
Anatomy»
Is a Labial Frenectomy Necessary After Braces? (45)
A couple of months ago, my sister called to ask my opinion about a frenectomy that the orthodontist had suggested for my nephew. After discussing it with the orthodontist, my sister decided to postpone the frenectomy for the time being. Since then, it seems that I’ve had more than a few questions about the necessity […]
Bad Breath & Halitosis»
How To Know If You Have Bad Breath: 5 Easy Ways (2)
Imagine driving down a country road on a beautiful afternoon. All of the sudden, you see an accident ahead. You pull your car over and run to the scene. You notice that a man that isn’t breathing and doesn’t have a pulse. You decide to begin CPR. After 30 chest pushes, you lean down to […]
Composite Fillings»
Is the Blue Dental Curing Light Harmful? (53)
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 your teeth when used for a long period of time. He told me that when he was at the dentist’s office getting sealants placed on his back teeth, they shined a […]
Dental Emergencies»
How to Make Your Own Dental First Aid Kit (2)
An Oral Answers reader, Rebecca recently asked the following question: “In the wake of the earthquake in Japan, my friends and I have been checking/building our disaster kits. One thing that’s come up has been what should be packed in a dental first aid kit. None of our first aid kits contain dental first aid […]
Dental Impressions»
Dental Gingival Retraction Cord: What It Is and Why We Use It (30)
An Oral Answers reader, Austin emailed me last week with the following question: “I had 3 temp crowns that were put in on my right side lower and 2 on my left side lower. Today when I was using my water pic I was cleaning my lower right and something started to feel like it […]
Dental Malpractice»
How to Really Win a Dental Malpractice Lawsuit (123)
A few months ago, a dental malpractice insurance company came to my dental school and shared many different dental malpractice cases with us. One that stuck out to me was of a young woman who went to the dentist to have a routine procedure performed. After she left the dentist’s office, her tongue was permanently […]
Dental Pain»
Don’t Wait Until Your Tooth Hurts to Go to the Dentist (1)
This morning I saw a patient who had been in extreme pain for the last couple of weeks. What started as a small cavity grew into a large cavity that eventually made its way to the tooth’s pulp. We were able to take her out of pain by starting a root canal today. If we […]
Fluoride»
Fluoride Supplement Dosage Chart (4)
In the 1940′s, water fluoridation officially started in the United States. While it is believed that water fluoridation does reduce tooth decay, there are many areas of the United States that don’t have fluoride added to their water. In the same decade that water fluoridation commenced, people in non-fluoridated areas wondered how their children could reap […]
Food & Drink»
Oral Cancer and Nutrition: Can Plant-Based Diets Prevent Cancer? (1)
37,000 people are diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer every year. That’s more than 100 people per day. Only an estimated half of those diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer will be alive in five years. Guess how many people die from oral cancer every single day. 24 (Source: American Cancer Foundation.) Guess how many […]
Mouthguards»
How to Take Care of Your Custom Athletic Mouthguard (5)
There are many reasons to have the protection of an athletic mouthguard. A mouthguard protects your teeth when you participate in physical activities that are potentially dangerous to your teeth and mouth. But, have you ever thought about what you are doing to protect your mouthguard? Your protective athletic mouthguard is always doing one of […]
Pediatric Dentistry»
Colored Fillings (2)
“Your child has a cavity.” Not many parents want to hear those words, especially if their child has dental anxiety. Last summer, I saw a three year old child who needed to have a filling on one of his upper molars. The only reason he sat still in the chair long enough for us to […]
Plaque»
Review: Listerine Agent Cool Blue Doesn’t Show Plaque (2)
A lot of people think that a popular dental health product, Listerine Agent Cool Blue, will show you where the plaque is on your teeth as plaque disclosing tablets do. I was under the same impression myself. I got a bottle so that my son could try it. Unfortunately, I realized after testing it that Agent […]
Sensitive Teeth»
Why Teeth Hurt (4)
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, that’s not what I want to talk about in this article. I want to talk about why it is that teeth hurt so much. They’re so small, yet if you’ve ever […]
Teeth Whitening»
Is Your Teeth Whitening System Making Your Teeth Whiter? (2)
Commercial teeth whitening products have grown exponentially over the last 20 years. The market has grown so much that even toothpastes want a piece of the action. If you’d walked down the toothpaste aisle at Wal-Mart 20 years ago, you’d have noticed that “Tartar Control” were the two big buzzwords. Nowadays, “Whitening” seems to be […]
Hi, I'm Tom. I recently graduated from dental school and am now a dentist in Bridgewater, Virginia. I started this blog to help people take better care of their teeth. You can 
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