While there’s still a good stretch of summer left to go, it’s not all that long before the kids will be headed back to school - which makes now the perfect time to bring them in for an exam and cleaning. If there’s decay or other problems, you’ll still have plenty...
Not news: Sugar contributes to tooth decay. After all, sugar is the favorite food of harmful bacteria and other microbes that live in your mouth. And it’s not just the white crystal stuff you may be envisioning, but all foods that are digested as sugar, such as...
By Michael G. Rehme, DDS, NMD, CCN During a patient's first visit to our office and at their hygiene appointments, we always use pH test paper to test the saliva. This very simple test provides us with valuable information. It helps us evaluate both an individual's...
By Michael G. Rehme, DDS, NMD, CCN Here's something a lot of people never think about: how their teeth are the only visible part of their skeleton. I think that's a powerful concept. Also powerful is realizing that your teeth and gums not only give clues as to...
Most dentists will tell you that when it comes to candy, plain chocolate is the best choice. It doesn’t get stuck between your teeth and along the gum line like chewy sweets can. It doesn’t expose your teeth to sugar for as long as hard candies do, nor is it acidic...
Healthy eating is simple. Michael Pollan put it most famously: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” Healthy eating can also be hard - at least if it involves pivoting from the standard American diet to real food. After all, the ultra-processed products that...
By Michael Rehme, DDS, NMD, CCN If medical treatment, nutritional support, chiropractic, and the like don't improve your health and wellness, don't forget to look in the mouth. A quick and thorough examination of the oral cavity can easily done by any healthcare...
In our office, we believe the best dentistry is the least dentistry; that prevention is preferable to treatment; and that when treatment is needed, biocompatibility is a must. That’s because biological dentistry respects the complex relationships between oral...
Once upon a time, folks were kind of smitten by the “miracles” of science brought to us by the likes of Monsanto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOOqlUx1lVU It’s practically impossible to be so innocent anymore, as countless synthetic chemicals have been...
Originally posted April 14, 2021 “Avoid nitrates,” we’re told, as if all nitrates were alike. But plenty of perfectly healthy foods contain them naturally: beets, radishes, turnips, leafy green vegetables, onion, garlic, apples, watermelon, grapes, and more. No,...
There are lots of reasons why so much sugar gets added to ultra-processed food products. Adding sweetness is only the most obvious one. Sugar is also used as a preservative and to help fermentation along. It can act as a coloring or bulking agent. It can modify...
About half of all Americans have some degree of periodontal (gum) disease - and over 70% of all seniors. Yet the condition is one that's often easy to ignore. Its symptoms aren’t especially debilitating - at least early on. You may have red, puffy gums that bleed...
Ask a random person how to keep their teeth and gums healthy, and chances are they’ll say little more beyond “brushing and flossing.” Sure, those are important. Yet as with whole body health, it’s good nutrition that really comes first. This was emphasized by a...
Probiotics have an important role to play in your oral health. As a new [2020] paper in the Journal of Functional Foods notes, Recent studies including clinical trials strongly suggest the active role of probiotics in prevention and treatment of oral infections,...
But let’s get back to the subject of real sugar, the favorite food of harmful oral bacteria (as well as something craved by many of the humans who host them!). They love the stuff - and, of course, what goes in must go out. Their metabolic waste is incredibly...
One of the most persistent dental headlines throughout the pandemic has been how dentists have seen an increase of tooth grinding due to stress - one of the most common causes of daytime bruxing. (“Bruxism” is the clinical term for habitual clenching and grinding.)...
Recently, we ran across an Arizona TV station’s troubling investigative report on dental implants. Reports of problems with the devices are up. Way up. Analyzing yearly data, there were less than 13,000 reports of problems in 2018. In 2021, reports skyrocketed to...
While studies linking gum disease with heart disease and cognitive decline are pretty common these days, you don’t hear nearly as much about its link with poor pregnancy outcomes. Yet over the years, science has shown that gum disease indeed raises the risk of low...
The dental benefit you get from eating healthfully isn’t all about avoiding the foods that can lead to decay and gum disease, although that’s a part of it. Nor is it just about giving your teeth, gums, and bone the nutrients they need, although that’s a part of it,...
It’s been known for a while that social isolation may interfere with a person’s health and well-being. Research has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity,...