Dr. Valerie Barba

IN THE MIDDLE AGES, the English didn’t understand much about cavities or gum disease, but they did put a huge emphasis on having fresh breath and discovering different ways of how to get rid of bad breath. Why? Because, not knowing how germs work, they believed the reason for bad breath was disease. The thought […]

AROUND 1 IN 5 children experience some effects of sleep apnea, like a snoring habit. Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes repeated brief interruptions to breathing during sleep. This disorder, as well as being potentially life-threatening, can have serious consequences for oral health.   What Is Obstructive Sleep Apnea Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA for

Do You Remember what it felt like when your adult molars were coming in? Sore, puffy gums and a lot of tenderness when chewing? Well, that is a sign of teething in toddlers too, except that it’s the first time in their lives anything like this has happened, and it can be very upsetting for

THROUGHOUT HISTORY, dental techniques and practices have looked quit different from what we think of as traditional dentistry today. Different cultures have come up with some pretty unusual solutions for dental health problems. Let’s take a look at a few of the weirdest ones.   1. Mice for Pain Management? These days, when we hear

WHAT’S SO BAD about chewing ice? It can actually do a lot of permanent damage to teeth, and yet many people have a habit of chewing ice that can be difficult to quit. Let’s look closer at ice chewing and its effects on dental health.   Compulsive Ice Eating, or Pagophagia The scientific name for

WE ALL KNOW how important daily brushing and flossing are to a growing child’s healthy smile. We know about scheduling regular dental appointments, and hopefully, we know that cutting back on sugar and keeping it to mealtimes instead of snacks throughout the day is also important. But what about the vitamins and minerals that help

HOW MUCH DO you remember from learning about the pH scale in science class? Don’t worry; if you forgot all of it, we’ll give you a little refresher, because acids and bases are pretty important when it comes to the health of our teeth and gums.   A Crash Course in the pH Scale The

LOOKING FOR SOME trivia to impress people once we can safely have parties again? We humbly present a few of our favorite weird mouth facts for your consideration.   We Need Spit to Taste Our Food Most of the ten thousand taste buds in our mouths are located on our tongues, but none of them

IT’S TIME FOR your child’s first loose tooth! A GREAT WAY to make the prospect of losing that first baby tooth less scary is to help kids see it as an exciting rite of passage: losing a first tooth is a major part of being a big kid, just like learning to ride a bike

WE CAN ALL REMEMBER what it was like to put a baby tooth under the pillow and find a shiny quarter there in the morning. The Tooth Fairy is a prominent figure in the magic of childhood, and it’s fun to look at how cultures have approached lost baby teeth differently throughout history.   The