Tag Archive for ‘Plaque’
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 [...]
The Risks of Tongue Piercing: 10 Ways It Hurts Your Mouth & Teeth
Oral piercing is a practice that seems to be gaining popularity in the United States. The most common places to get a piercing in your mouth are the lips, tongue, cheek, and the uvula (the “hangy-ball” thing in the back of your throat.) People want to get their tongue pierced for a variety of reasons. [...]
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 Happens In Your Mouth Every Time You Eat or Drink
Did you know that you are the life of the party? Every time you eat fermentable carbohydrates, millions of bacteria in your mouth shout for joy as they snack on the food that you are eating. There’s just one small problem: after they’re done eating, they need to use the restroom. Since there’s no toilet [...]
16 Delicious Snacks That Your Teeth Will Like
It seems that dentists and dental hygienists have a bad reputation for naming off a bunch of foods that aren’t very good for your teeth. Well… to get rid of that reputation, I’ve decided to do the opposite. Here’s a list of 16 snacks that you’ll enjoy almost as much as your teeth will: List [...]
Are You Causing the Cavities On Your Toddler’s Teeth?
It’s sad to see a two year old child with horrible teeth. At such a young age, children don’t really understand oral hygiene. Many times, poor oral hygiene in a toddler is the result of parents who don’t understand oral hygiene. Since most cavities are preventable, this topic fascinates me. With children of my own, [...]
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. [...]
Dental Cleanings: Are Ultrasonic Cleanings Better than Hand Instrument Cleanings?
Recently, an anonymous reader sent me a question asking about the differences between the instruments that dentists can use for cleanings. It reads: For cleanings, my dentist uses a plaque scraper and the rotating buffer thing. Other dentists in the area advertise ultrasonic cleanings. What is an ultrasonic cleaning? Does it provide any additional advantage, [...]
What Fermentable Carbohydrates Are & How They Hurt Your Teeth
Fermentable carbohydrates. You may have heard that phrase before and wondered what it means. In this article, I’ll let you know what fermentable carbohydrates are and how they can hurt your teeth. What Are Fermentable Carbohydrates? Carbohydrates are sugars and starches. They are a major source of energy for humans. When we something with sugar [...]
Sour Patch Kids: Your Teeth’s Worst Enemy
One of my favorite things to eat as a kid was Sour Patch Kids. I remember the first time my mom gave me some; it was love at first taste. I would save up my money and buy them in bulk at the store. That was part of the blissful innocence of childhood. If I [...]
Try To Keep Your Teeth Below Freezing
Inside of your mouth everyday there is a war going on. Tiny bits of your teeth become casualties to the acidic weapons of your plaque. If you take good care of your teeth, the tooth structure that is lost can be replaced and your teeth can remain healthy. If you don’t take care of your [...]
The Five Sugars That Hurt Your Teeth
Did you know that carbohydrates are really sugars? Carbohydrates are just long chains of sugars hooked together. Fortunately, the bacteria in our mouths can’t break down those long chains of carbohydrates. However, the bacteria in our mouths do love to feed on the monosaccharides (simple sugars) and the disaccharides (sugars that are links of two [...]
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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