Getting rid of bad breath can be difficult. Here are some ways to give yourself and others relief.

How to select and maintain a toothbrush

I often wonder what makes flossing the neglected stepchild of good oral health practices. It’s probably different for everyone, but I’ve come up with a couple of ideas. For one, when you wake up in the morning, the specter of morning breath haunts you until you’ve brushed your teeth. With that job completed, the difference in freshness is so great, the impetus for oral health care has passed. For another, if you haven’t flossed in a while, it doesn’t feel great and can le

Prior to becoming a dentist, I think the majority of my knowledge concerning dental plaque came from a Tarzan-like bottle of Cool Mint Listerine swinging through a computer-generated jungle to the beloved music of the 1980’s new wave band Baltimora. (Do yourself a favor and watch a few minutes of the music video for “Tarzan Boy”, you won’t be disappointed.) My guess is that both my dentist and hygienist mentioned plaque a time or two, but apparently they needed to be swingin

Everybody knows somebody who is a little too concerned with keeping their new purchases looking new…forever. This type of behavior is probably most easily recognized in leaving the plastic shipping covers on your couches for years after delivery. The idea is that by maintaining the plastic cover, you are opening up the possibility that you may never have to purchase another couch again. This is followed closely by the fantasy that you could recoup a lot of money on resale

The pacifier, the binky, the passy, the boo boo, the wonky….let’s be honest, I just made that last one up but it didn’t sound any sillier than the rest. The names for these little devices change with the seasons. When we had our first baby, I referred to it as a pacifier once in mixed company and people were looking at me like my head had been sewn on backwards. During that era if you didn’t call it a binky, it was akin to the social blunder of referring to flip-flop sandal

When you look into the faces of these sweet children, you can’t help but want to do everything you can to keep them healthy and protected. Good oral health is just one part of general health, but it is important and can have an impact on their whole lives. For some, it is not a lack of desire to keep baby healthy but a lack of knowledge of how to do it. Probably the question I get asked the most is, “When do I begin to take care of my baby’s teeth?” The answer is sooner t

What could be more fundamental to good oral health than brushing your teeth? Brushing is something we have done so many times that we often go through the motions without even thinking. Brushing your teeth may not be rocket science, but there are some basic concepts that should be remembered. If you are going to take the time and effort to do it, why not do it right?!? When I discuss brushing habits and techniques with patients, I get a variety of responses. My favorite re