When Pro-Fluoridation “Evidence” Falls Apart
Once upon a time – a bit more than a year and a half ago – some scientists published a study in which they looked at the rates of tooth decay in two large Canadian cities: Edmonton, where the water had been consistently fluoridated since 1967, and Calgary, which...
Your Tongue: To Brush or Not to Brush?
You get up in the morning. You brush your teeth (and floss, we hope!). And then this happens: Yes, by the time you get home from work, your mouth is a mess of biofilm, a/k/a plaque. For bacteria are social critters. They learn to work together and protect each other...
Be Kind to Your Gums: Exercise! (Yes, Really)
As we mentioned last week, though diet and hygiene are the foundation for good oral health, other factors have an impact, too – factors most people just don’t think about. Exercise, for instance. Now, a new study in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology offers some...
Why Sleep Apnea Is a Very Big Deal – and How Your Dentist Can Help
Sleep is when your body does its maintenance work. Toxins are swept from your brain. Tissues rebuild. Memories are consolidated. Energy is restored. It should be no surprise, then, that lack of sleep can interfere with your health. This maintenance work can’t be done...
Spinning the Science Sugar Biz Style
As many of us were baking pies and whipping up marshmallow-laden sweet potato casseroles and other carborific dishes for our Thanksgiving feasts, the sugar industry was coming under fire – again – for for operating by Big Tobacco’s playbook. As the New York Times...
Concerned About BPA in Dental Fillings? What You Need to Know
“But I heard that tooth-colored fillings contain BPA,” you’ll hear some folks say – as if that somehow negates all concern about the mercury in amalgam fillings. And yes, it’s true: Most composite resins available today do contain this endocrine-disrupting chemical or...
Mercury-Safe Dentistry Is a Must – Here’s Why
When a patient asks us to remove their mercury fillings and replace them with biocompatible restorations, we follow extensive safety procedures. After all, mercury is extremely toxic – on par with substances such as arsenic and lead. Mercury toxicity has been...
Composite Equal to or Better Than Amalgam, New Study Shows
One of the most common defenses of mercury amalgam fillings you still hear these days is that they last so much longer than tooth-colored composites. This statement from Delta Dental is typical: With more durable resin material available for only a decade, resins...
Taking a Holistic Approach to Oral Health
One of the first things new patients notice about our office is all the greenery. We have about 200 plants in all – an expression of Dr. Wall’s love for seeing life flourish, and not just in plants but people, too. After all, all life is connected. That’s been the...
When It Comes to Dental Implants, Metal-Free Is Your Best Bet. Here’s Why
When you need to replace teeth, you’ve got three options: a bridge, dentures (partial or full), or implants. Bridges look great and work well, but they’re not exactly ideal. Most types require the dentist to cut down perfectly healthy teeth on either side of the gap...
Stress Is Your Friend – Until It Isn’t (with Tips for Managing It Before It Gets Out of Control)
Although you might think of stress as something oppressive and unwanted, it’s actually an important survival mechanism. It’s your body’s automatic response in the face of a threat. All systems go into fight-or-flight mode, marshalling resources to help you either...
Why You Want a Dentist Who Uses Ozone
Keeping your mouth healthy, as we’ve said, is largely a matter of controlling the billions of bacteria that live there. A good many of them are actually helpful, but others aren’t so nice: S. mutans. P. gingivalis, F. nucleatum, Actinomyces…and the list goes on. A...