The Science of Dentistry

1 – There are two main types of dental drills: the high-speed and the slow-speed.  The high-speed drill rotates around 250,000 RPM.  That means it spins around more than 4,000 times each second!

Ryan Lochte Grill

U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte made a dental fashion statement by wearing diamond-encrusted grill in his mouth after winning a gold medal.

Dental Patient

Heading to the dentist in the near future? Arm yourself with knowledge by reading through these tips from Dr. Todd Welch in Jackson, Tennessee.

Dental Anxiety

Dental anxiety, or fear of going to the dentist, isn’t rare. However, being afraid to have a dental check-up or much needed surgery on your teeth can result in you missing appointments and delaying fixing problems which then escalate.

Pretty Smile

Want a better smile and cavity-free teeth? Brushing and flossing are merely the beginning. Turns out there are a host of incredible edibles that fight bacteria, attack plaque and build enamel with every bite.

When you’re browsing through travel Web sites, dental care probably isn’t the first thing on your mind. It will be, though, if you end up with tooth pain that keeps you from enjoying the vacation you spent all that time and money arranging. A painful toothache or other dental emergency far from home and your regular dentist can be a traveler’s nightmare.

Prickly Pufferfish

Prickly pufferfish could hold the key to why humans do not continually replace their teeth and may lead to advances in dental therapies.

Patients Bill of Rights

I have quickly learned during my 8 years in private practice, that while I might be the expert on matters of clinical periodontics and dental implants, my patients were the experts on themselves. I could not get that distinction confused.

MythBusters: Dentistry

Horror stories and dental related myths are among the leading reasons for which people avoid going to the dentist.

Dental Shots

Local anesthetics come in two varieties: topical and injectable. Topical anesthetics are used to numb just the top surface of the gum or oral lining surfaces of the mouth, and are usually applied with a Q-tip®, cotton swab, adhesive patch or even a spray. Topical anesthetics are frequently used for surface comfort during superficial teeth cleaning. A more common reason for their use is to prevent the minor prick of a needle when receiving the injectable form of local anesthesia. Injectable anesthetics work by temporarily blocking sensation to prevent pain from teeth, gums and bone. They accomplish this by briefly blocking the conduction of electrical impulses along the nerves that supply the teeth or gums with feeling so that you can be treated comfortably and pain-free.

Latex Glove Allergies

Latex allergies is a concern particularly for health care workers who are constantly exposed to latex surgical/examination gloves and other latex-based health care products. While most people come into safe contact with latex-containing products every day, some susceptible individuals have developed hypersensitivity to proteins derived from natural rubber latex, which can cause allergic reactions.

Taste Buds

Have you ever wondered why your favorite foods taste so good? Well, you can thank your taste buds for letting you appreciate the saltiness of pretzels and the sweetness of ice cream.

Theodent Toothpaste

A company called Theodent is marketing a chocolate-based toothpaste sold online and at Whole Foods.

Dental Facts

Dental history and trivia is quite intriguing. There are plenty of myths around that we blindly believe and follow.  Here are some interesting facts that most people do not know about dentistry.  Enjoy !!!

For some reason, most people get an unpleasant feeling at the thought of visiting their dentist.  But staying on top of your dental health can save you from even worse unpleasantness later.

Breakfast Dental Floss

So you just had waffles for breakfast, and are now flossing with some Bacon Floss. You might want to savor the taste of those waffles a bit more instead by flossing with the waffle floss that you can find in the Breakfast Dental Floss set. And don’t worry, because it also has twelve whole yards of bacon floss, too, in case you run out. You can also wash down all that flossing with the Coffee Floss. It doesn’t get any more complete than this.

Dental Specialties

Thanks to some creative marketing schemes and weekend education courses, consumers are often mislead about the credentials of some dental practitioners.

Dentist Taking Blood Pressure

Dental professionals can play an important role in screening for diseases that can affect not only your general health, but also your dental health — and treatment.

Phobias are the most common psychiatric problems, ranging from fear of flying and heights to needles and spiders. Traditional treatment consists of psychotherapy, specifically exposure to the stimulus with attempts to control the response. Now, a new offering from Self-Study Apps purports a similar approach in the comfort of your own home.

Happy New Year

You’ve probably made a lot of New Year’s resolutions in your life — but I’m willing to bet that you’ve never made a New Year’s resolution for your teeth!  Here are a few goals that will improve your dental health, as well as your overall health:

Dental Plasma Brush

A team of researchers from University of Missouri, University of Tennessee, and Nanova, Inc (Columbia, MO) have been working on a new dental “plasma brush” for cleaning out cavities and preparing teeth for fillings. The device uses “cool” plasma to affect chemical reactions while remaining painless to the patient.

Ancient Teeth

Toothaches, and attempts to cure them, have no doubt been around as long as we have. In fact, researchers discovered evidence of tooth drilling that took place more than 9,000 years ago. It seems some enterprising dentist-in-training put down his spear and picked up a crude dental drill to fix cavity-ridden molars in his fellow Neolithic man. The good news is that the process was unbelievably precise and took about minute. The bad news? No anesthesia!

Cranberry's Cavities

A team led by oral biologist Hyun (Michel) Koo, D.D.S., Ph.D., at the University of Rochester Medical Center has discovered that the same traits that make cranberry juice a powerful weapon against bladder infections also hold promise for protecting teeth against cavities.

GERD, Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease, is a disease in which acid from the stomach, or occasionally bile, refluxes or flows back into the esophagus (gullet). It’s the same problem that has been plaguing people for eons, and is the major cause of heartburn.

Dental Anxiety

We hear on a daily basis, “I hate going to the dentist”.  Many patients do not enjoy their visit to the dentist for various reasons.