Nancy O’Dell on Making Oral Hygiene Fun for Kids

Nancy O'Dell on Making Oral Hygiene Fun for Kids

When Entertainment Tonight host Nancy O’Dell set out to teach her young daughter Ashby how to brush her teeth, she knew the surest path to success would be to make it fun for the toddler. “The best thing with kids is you have to make everything a game,” Nancy recently said in an interview with Dear Doctor TV. She bought Ashby a timer in the shape of a tooth that ticks for two minutes — the recommended amount of time that should be spent on brushing — and the little girl loved it. “She thought that was super fun, that … Continue reading

Metal Dental Amalgam: Still a Safe and Effective Tooth Filling

Metal Dental Amalgam Still a Safe and Effective Tooth Filling

With all the new tooth-colored fillings for cavities, it’s easy to overlook metal amalgam. While this mainstay of dental care for over a century might not be as attractive as composite resins or glass and resin ionomers, it still has the advantage of strength and durability. Amalgam is a stable metal alloy usually made up of silver, tin, copper and mercury. The metals are proportioned and mixed precisely to guard against “free” mercury molecules, which could pose a health hazard. The mixture is pliable at first, but then sets hard once molded into the prepared area of the tooth. Besides … Continue reading

Master Illusionist Benefits from the Magic of Orthodontics

Master Illusionist Benefits from the Magic of Orthodontics

Magician Michael Grandinetti mystifies and astonishes audiences with his sleight of hand and mastery of illusion. But when he initially steps onto the stage, it’s his smile that grabs the attention. “The first thing… that an audience notices is your smile; it’s what really connects you as a person to them,” Michael told an interviewer. He attributes his audience-pleasing smile to several years of orthodontic treatment as a teenager to straighten misaligned teeth, plus a lifetime of good oral care. “I’m so thankful that I did it,” he said about wearing orthodontic braces. “It was so beneficial. And… looking at … Continue reading

Make Sure Your Dentist Knows You’re Taking Daily Aspirin

Make Sure Your Dentist Knows You're Taking Daily Aspirin

Aspirin has been a popular pain reliever and fever reducer for over a century. Its effect on the clotting mechanism of blood, however, has led to its widespread and often daily use in low dose form (81 mg) to help reduce the chances of heart attack or stroke in cardiovascular patients. While this has proven effective for many at risk for these conditions, it can complicate dental work. Aspirin relieves pain by blocking the formation of prostaglandins; these chemicals stimulate inflammation, the body’s protective response to trauma or disease. Aspirin reduces this inflammatory response, which in turn eases the pain … Continue reading

Life Is Sometimes a Grind for Brooke Shields

Life Is Sometimes a Grind for Brooke Shields

Ever since childhood, when her career as a model and actress took off, Brooke Shields has enjoyed worldwide recognition — through advertisements for designer jeans, appearances on The Muppet Show, and starring roles in big-screen films. But not long ago, that familiar face was spotted in an unusual place: wearing a nasal anesthesia mask at the dentist’s office. In fact, Shields posted the photo to her own Instagram account, with the caption “More dental surgery! I grind my teeth!” And judging by the number of comments the post received, she’s far from alone. In fact, researchers estimate that around one … Continue reading

Lasers Beginning to Change Some Root Canal Procedures

Lasers Beginning to Change Some Root Canal Procedures

As in other parts of medicine, lasers are beginning to change the way we provide dental care. More and more dentists are using lasers to make earlier diagnoses of dental disease or provide surgical treatment. One area prime for change is the treatment of teeth with deep decay and in danger of being lost. For decades now, the best way to save teeth in this condition is with root canal treatment. In this common procedure we access the pulp, remove the infected tissue with specialized hand instruments, and then fill and seal the pulp chamber and root canals with a … Continue reading

Know Your Toothpaste: How to Simplify Your Purchasing Decision

Know Your Toothpaste

Confused about which toothpaste to buy? You’re not alone — we’re all regularly confronted with multiple choices when we shop. But you can simplify your decision-making process by first remembering that toothpaste has one main objective: helping to break down and remove dental plaque when you brush. Plaque is a thin film of bacteria and food particles that if you don’t remove through brushing and flossing could trigger tooth decay or periodontal (gum) disease. Toothpastes contain abrasives and detergents to help make this possible. Abrasives like hydrated silica are gritty substances that work with the mechanical brushing action to loosen … Continue reading

Kathy Bates Plays It Smart With Professional Teeth Whitening

Kathy Bates Plays It Smart With Professional Teeth Whitening

Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates knows how important it is to present your best face to the world — and one of the most important features of that face is a beaming smile. But there came a point when she noticed something was a little off. “I’ve always had good teeth, but it seemed to me as I was getting older that they weren’t looking as good,” Kathy explained in a recent interview with Dear Doctor magazine. That’s when she decided it was time to take action. Kathy had orthodontic treatment when she was in her fifties, and she keeps … Continue reading

Johnny’s Teeth Aren’t Rotten Any More

Johnny's Teeth Aren't Rotten Any More

Everyone has to face the music at some time — even John Lydon, former lead singer of The Sex Pistols, arguably England’s best known punk rock band. The 59-year old musician was once better known by his stage name, Johnny Rotten — a brash reference to the visibly degraded state of his teeth. But in the decades since his band broke up, Lydon’s lifelong deficiency in dental hygiene had begun to cause him serious problems. In recent years, Lydon has had several dental surgeries — including one to resolve two serious abscesses in his mouth, which left him with stitches … Continue reading

Jimmy Fallon Can’t Catch a Break – Except in His Tooth

Jimmy Fallon Can’t Catch a Break

Want to know the exact wrong way to pry open a stubborn lid? Just ask Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC-TV’s popular “Tonight Show.” When the 40-year-old funnyman had trouble opening a tube of scar tissue repair gel with his hands, he decided to try using his teeth. What happened next wasn’t funny: Attempting to remove the cap, Fallon chipped his front tooth, adding another medical problem to the serious finger injury he suffered a few weeks before (the same wound he was trying to take care of with the gel). If there’s a moral to this story, it might be … Continue reading