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...
By Michael G. Rehme, DDS, NMD, CCN, FIAOMT Through recent decades, I've witnessed dramatic changes starting to reshape the dental profession. Although continual improvement occurs in technologies and technical skills, there is a new "old" concept that is slowly...
It’s hard to overemphasize just how much the food you eat affects oral health. A diet that’s 1) centered on whole food with lots of fresh produce, lean meats and fish, and healthy fats, and 2) low added sugars and refined grains (think white bread, pasta, cookies -...
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...
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...
“Without sugars,” say the authors of a 2015 paper on the relationship between diet and tooth decay, the chain of causation is broken, so the disease [dental caries] does not occur (Sheiham 1967). So, it is clear that sugars start the process and set off a causal...
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...
Although dietary fat has been pegged as the bad guy for years, the truth is that your body needs it just like it needs protein and non-refined carbohydrates not just to survive but to thrive. This is no less true for the health of your teeth and gums. For instance,...
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...
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,...
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.)...
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...
Is there anyone - cranky contrarians aside - who wasn’t ready to bid “good riddance” to 2021 this past weekend? Before we close the door on yet another strange and often challenging year, though, we want to take one last look back on what transpired on this blog...
One thing we can all be grateful for this Thanksgiving is the start of a holiday season that’s a little more like what we’re used to. Of course, this one brings its own particular stresses - extra travel hassles, higher prices - but it’s still an improvement over...
You gotta admit, it’s a headline just tempting you to click: Trouble is, the study being reported on doesn’t actually tell you what that headline promises. What it does say is that, when it comes to preventing plaque-induced gum disease, some home hygiene practices...
As any celebrity would, actor Stanley Tucci has been hitting the media circuit to promote his newest projects - in this case, a book and a TV series. But in the course of a recent interview for Virgin America’s inflight magazine, he also spent some time talking...