By Scott Kirk, Special to the Reporter-News Healthy teeth can mean more than a great smile, they also can mean good grades, according to the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation. More than 51 million school hours are lost each year because of dental disease, according to NCOHF. Because many pediatric oral health issues occur in
You don’t just have teeth in your mouth: You have around 32 fossils that tell a microscopic history of your health. And scientists have found that even the old, discarded, not-so-pearly whites of people that lived hundreds of years ago tell a story about them, too. According to a paper published Monday in The Journal of Archaeological
If you hear blood-curdling screams coming from my house at 7 a.m. or 7 p.m., don’t fret: I’m just brushing my 2-year-old’s teeth. It’s a traumatic endeavor for us both, and I admit that I’ve sometimes wondered: Is this really worth it? Baby teeth are just, like, temporary teeth, right? Then I saw some statistics on
Just like the color of your eyes and hair, the natural tint of your teeth is hereditary. “Some people have very white enamel―the thin coating on the surface of teeth―while other people’s enamel has a more yellow hue,” says Richard Price, a dentist in Newton, Massachusetts, and a spokesperson for the American Dental Association. Environmental
THE BEST 1. Milk. It does a body (and your chompers) good. With loads of calcium and vitamin D, dairy keeps them strong and healthy. Milk also has something called caseins, a type of protein that forms a protective film on the enamel of your teeth to prevent decay. 2. Vodka soda. If you’re ordering a drink
How we prevent cavities is completely changing. Evidence shows that cavity formation has less to do with genetics, candy habits or poor brushing, and more to do with the types of snack foods we give children. Counter-intuitively, dark chocolate is better for teeth than pretzels or crackers. Tooth decay in our country’s young children has
Getting a small child to brush their teeth can feel like hosting a nightly WWE wrestling match in your bathroom. But the new icon-based Octopus watch for kids ages 3 to 8 aims to help with this and other daily habits. The Octopus watch’s Kickstarter campaign has raised more than $231,000 in pledges — more than four
“Go ahead and rinse.” You’re a captive audience in the dental chair, getting a mouthful of good advice as the suction tube gurgles and your teeth get a much-needed cleaning. “Swish and spit.” As the blood from your puffy gums oozes down the mini-sink bowl, the dental hygienist explains how to improve your brushing and flossing routine. By
If you’ve ever had your teeth professionally whitened, you’re probably familiar with the “no coffee, no berries, no red wine for 24 hours” edict. And as with all of those things you’re supposed to do (hit the gym for 30 minutes a day, drink only one glass of wine, floss daily) you really mean to
While your teeth are the hardest substance in your body, they’re not impervious to damage. Your mouth has up to 100 billion bacterial microbes in it every day. Most of them don’t affect your teeth. Some even protect them. But a small percentage of those bacteria combine with sugars to create acid. That acid breaks down the calcium, phosphate
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