FOR AS LONG AS there have been people, there has been tooth decay, but people in past civilizations didn’t have as many answers about what caused their tooth problems as we do now. That led to some very strange beliefs about dental health. One of the most common was the “tooth worm.” Ancient Well-Intentioned Errors As …
“MOUTH-BREATHER” HAS made the rounds as an insult in recent years, but breathing primarily through the mouth instead of the nose can actually have some pretty negative effects on health, including oral health. Mouth-breathing should only be done as an emergency backup, not the main way to breathe. The Nose Is a Built-In Air Filter The …
WE CAN SEE a hint of the state of dental health in Shakespeare’s England from a sonnet in which he describes his lady love’s reeking breath. The lines “black contagious breath” and “his breath stinks with eating toasted cheese” make it into two of the history plays. This was likely because dental health in England was …
BY THEIR ELEVENTH birthday, 2 in 5 kids will have at least one cavity, but parents can do a lot to keep their child’s teeth healthy. One major cavity culprit is sugary drinks, and that includes fruit juice. The worst way to drink it is by sipping it throughout the day, which can cause extensive tooth …
WE TEND TO IMAGINE that people from earlier eras must’ve had worse teeth than we do because they didn’t have things like modern dentistry, orthodontics, and root canal treatment, but what dental problems were they dealing with and how did they protect their teeth? Gum Disease Through History We have evidence that ancient Native Americans — …
ANYONE WHO REGULARLY swims might have noticed that your teeth are more sensitive after climbing out of the pool. That’s not just your imagination. Doing a lot of swimming actually can take a toll on our teeth if we aren’t careful. Pool Chlorine Can Cause “Swimmer’s Calculus” To most people, the word “calculus” calls forth scary …
IT ISN’T ALWAYS easy to teach a young child important life skills. They have boundless energy and short attention spans, so a session of sitting still with a toothbrush isn’t always going to go as planned. Following these tips might help when imparting these essential skills: 1. Show them that brushing is a priority. If brushing …
MOST OF US can remember the scraped knees and other bumps and bruises we got as we were growing up and discovering the world around us. As parents, we want our kids to get the most out of childhood while hopefully avoiding some of the downsides — especially preventable tooth injuries. Here are a few …
THE NEXT TIME you need an ice-breaker, why not toss out a few weird mouth facts? We’re confident you’ll be able to impress your friends. Fact #1: We Need our Spit to Taste Our Food Our saliva plays a crucial role in facilitating our sense of taste. Without it, the ten thousand taste buds on our …
LOSING BABY TEETH is a perfectly normal part of growing up, but it can still be a scary new experience for little kids, particularly the first time. Parents can make it easier by encouraging the right mindset. Emphasize that losing a tooth is part of being a big kid! Help them focus on what an …
