Tag Archive for ‘brushing’
Should You Rinse After Brushing Your Teeth?
Are you supposed to rinse after brushing your teeth? That’s a common question that people have about brushing. At the Maine Dental Association meeting last year, a presenter was talking about the benefits of fluoride and asked his dental audience the following question: “Does anybody here actually rinse out with water after brushing so that [...]
How to Get Better Teeth: Five Things You Can Do Today
Many people think they’re taking great care of their teeth. They brush and floss, but they still end up having problems. I wrote this post with those people in mind: the ones that want to have better, healthier teeth, but don’t know quite where to start. Even if you know that you’ll end up needing [...]
25 Things That Make You More Likely To Get Cavities
Many people come into the dental school and tell us things like, “I just have bad teeth” and “My parents and grandparents all had soft teeth – and my teeth are soft too, so I get lots of cavities.” While it may be true that some people do have teeth that are more susceptible to [...]
Should You Floss Before or After Brushing Your Teeth?
One night, shortly after my wife and I got married, we were getting ready for bed and she noticed that I brush my teeth after I floss. She had always brushed before flossing. We probably would’ve discussed this fascinating subject in more detail if we hadn’t been so tired… Interestingly, we had both been brushing [...]
Top 12 Weapons of Plaque Destruction
About five years ago, I was sitting in the first lecture of an Introduction to Dentistry class. The professor, a local dentist, was talking about how plaque forms on our teeth and how it causes our teeth to decay. Something clicked inside of me that day, and that lecture helped solidify my desire to become [...]
Do You Brush All Sides of Your Teeth?
Not long ago, I did a cleaning on one of my patients and found something very similar to what I find in most of my patients — that this particular patient takes a lot better care of the side of the teeth that he can see in the mirror than the back (tongue) side of [...]
At What Age Can Kids Brush Their Own Teeth?
Have you ever heard any of the following quotes regarding the age that kids should start brushing their teeth by themselves? “My daughter could brush all by herself when she turned two years old!” “Kids can brush alone when they can cut through a thick New York strip steak without any help.” “They can brush [...]
Should You Replace Your Toothbrush After You’ve Been Sick
Have you ever heard that you should replace your toothbrush after you are sick? I had heard that you should, but I never understood why. After you get sick, your body figures out how to fight the illness and then makes you healthy again. Once your body knows how to fight off the illness, you [...]
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, but the first teeth we have are only temporary. You, like many parents, may have even wondered the following: Why should I take care of my child’s baby teeth? They’re just [...]
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 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 [...]
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 high school?” I told her I didn’t know, and then she blurted out “Calculus!” Sorry. So what exactly is calculus? Calculus, commonly known as tartar (as in tartar-control toothpaste) is plaque [...]
How Plaque Disclosing Tablets Can Help You Brush Better
Would you vacuum your carpet if it didn’t look dirty? Probably not. Unfortunately, many people look in the mirror and don’t see anything on their teeth so they assume that their teeth are clean. If only they knew the truth! There are millions of bacteria that live in our mouths and cling to our teeth. [...]
Get Rid of Gingivitis By Using These Four Tips
If you’ve noticed that your gums are red and puffy, or that they bleed whenever you brush your teeth, you may have gingivitis. Gingivitis is defined as an inflammation of the gums without any loss of the attachment to the tooth. When the gums start to recede from the tooth, gingivitis has advanced to a [...]
Hi, I'm Tom. I'm currently a 4th year dental student in the USA. I started this blog to help people take better care of their teeth. You can 
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