WE DENTAL HEALTH professionals tend to be big fans of the Tooth Fairy. We can remember leaving a baby tooth under the pillow and looking forward to finding a nice reward the next morning. Other parts of the world have their own fascinating traditions with baby teeth too. How About a Tooth Mouse? Many European and Latin-American countries have a Tooth Mouse instead of a Tooth Fairy. She’s called La Petite Souris (“the little mouse”) in France, and “Raton Perez” in Spanish-speaking countries, and the Tooth Mouse swaps teeth under pillows for little gifts or money. Toss Teeth for Luck In China a ..read more

WOMEN FACED AN uphill battle establishing themselves in many career fields, dentistry included. That’s why, for Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating three pioneers for women in dentistry. Lucy Hobbs Taylor Lucy Hobbs Taylor, born 1833, was the world’s first female dental school graduate. Many dental schools refused to admit her, but the Ohio College of Dental Surgery finally let her in. She married a Civil War veteran who was also a dentist and they opened a practice together in Lawrence, Kansas. Emeline Roberts Jones Emeline Roberts Jones, born 1836, came from the apprenticeship traditio ..read more

ON THE LONG list of things parents need to teach their kids in childhood is proper flossing, but plenty of adults don’t know the best techniques themselves! We’re here to help. Daily flossing should be a priority for anyone with two teeth that touch each other because brushing alone cannot remove the plaque and food debris in those spaces. The longer it remains and builds up, the more it contributes to gum disease, cavities, and worse. Helping Your Child Floss Parents should floss their child’s teeth for them until they have the dexterity to do it themselves. Make it part of the daily routine ..read more

BEING TONGUE-TIED isn’t just an expression; for many people, it’s an actual medical condition, and a similar one is being lip-tied. We all have thin, stretchy pieces of tissue that connect our tongues to the floor of our mouths and our lips to our gums. Sometimes those pieces of tissue are unusually thick or tight, which restricts the movement of the lip or tongue. Effects of Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Someone with a tongue tie might not be able to touch the roof of their mouth with their tongue, making it hard to chew, swallow, or pronounce words effectively. Someone with a lip tie might have a ..read more

1 IN EVERY 8 Americans (including kids) has sensitive teeth. To understand why, we’ll need to take a look at dental anatomy. Erosion and the Layers of a Tooth Every tooth has nerves at the center. When the tooth is healthy, the nerve is protected by the outer layers. If the tooth enamel erodes enough, it can expose the porous dentin layer and subject the nerves to much more input than they’re supposed to get. That tends to make temperature changes or even a sudden burst of sour or sweet flavor very uncomfortable or even painful. Other Causes of Tooth Sensitivity Erosion is the main cause of t ..read more

WE HEAR A LOT of the same questions from patients and parents of patients, so let’s wrap up the year by answering three of them. #1: My tooth doesn’t hurt, so why do I need a filling? Cavities aren’t always painful. They form when tooth enamel is eroded away until a hole forms. As the hole gets deeper, it can reach the dentin and even the pulp chamber at the center of the tooth, but in the early stages, they usually don’t hurt. While the best option is preventing a cavity from forming at all, it’s much better to treat a cavity before it hurts than allow it to reach that point. By then, a fill ..read more

WE HEAR A LOT of the same questions from patients and parents of patients, so let’s wrap up the year by answering three of them. #1: My tooth doesn’t hurt, so why do I need a filling? Cavities aren’t always painful. They form when tooth enamel is eroded away until a hole forms. As the hole gets deeper, it can reach the dentin and even the pulp chamber at the center of the tooth, but in the early stages, they usually don’t hurt. While the best option is preventing a cavity from forming at all, it’s much better to treat a cavity before it hurts than allow it to reach that point. By then, a fil ..read more

WE’VE BEEN HEARING for decades how dangerous smoking is to many aspects of our health. As dental professionals, our focus is particularly on the dangers to oral health, including unsightly stains on teeth at the less serious end of the spectrum, to a massively increased risk of tooth decay and gum disease, to life-threatening oral cancer. More recently, vaping and e-cigarettes have emerged as an alternative, but are they any better? The Data Is Starting to Come In, and It Isn’t Good Because these particular nicotine delivery mechanisms are so new, there isn’t as much data about their effects ..read more

WE’VE ALL HEARD of the active ingredient in toothpaste: fluoride. It supplies tooth enamel with important minerals to keep it strong and it protects against tooth decay. It’s the one ingredient toothpaste must contain to earn the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance. But what else is in toothpaste? Other Active Ingredients 1. Mild abrasive ingredients help scrub the surfaces of our teeth clean as we brush (and it doesn’t take more than a soft-bristled toothbrush and gentle brushing to get the job done). 2. Foaming detergents help the toothpaste reach every tooth. (Fun fact: the fo ..read more

OUR JAWS GET a pretty constant workout between all the talking, chewing, and yawning we do, but those simple activities become more complicated for those with temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD or TMJ). There’s a small, fibrous disk that serves as a cushion between the ball and socket of the joint. If it shifts out of place or erodes, that leads to jaw trouble. TMJ Disorder Symptoms and Remedies Typical symptoms of a TMJ problem include tenderness or pain in the jaw, difficulty chewing, pain around the face or in the ear, and even locking of the jaw joint. There are a few things to try for ..read more