On average, people spend about 60 to 90 minutes each day eating, which translates to approximately 15 to 30 minutes with food in their mouths. While this might seem like a small portion of the day, the impact of the food we consume on our oral health can be significant. But what happens once we swallow our food? The consequences extend far beyond the mouth, affecting our entire body in ways that are often devastating. I will explore the profound effects of diet on both oral and overall health and highlight the importance of a whole-food diet devoid of processed carbohydrates and vegetable oils.
Read MoreA recent legal victory in the battle over fluoridation of public water supplies has brought attention to a long-debated public health issue. In a case initiated by Food & Water Watch and other advocacy groups, a federal court ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must revisit its stance on the addition of fluoride to drinking water. Historically seen as a safe and effective measure to combat dental decay, the fluoridation of water has now raised concerns about its potential long-term effects on human health. Recent studies indicate that fluoride, particularly in high concentrations, could be harmful, especially to children and vulnerable populations. This blog post explores the court ruling, the health risks associated with fluoride, and what this development means for future public health policies.
Read MoreAs a dentist, I encounter a variety of oral health issues, some of which can be quite alarming to patients. One such condition is "hairy tongue," a benign but often distressing condition that can affect the appearance and texture of the tongue. Despite its dramatic appearance, hairy tongue is usually harmless and can be effectively managed with proper oral hygiene and care. In this post, we will explore what hairy tongue is, its causes, symptoms, treatment options, and prevention strategies.
Read MoreWhen it comes to dental cavities, most of us instinctively point fingers at sugar. We've all heard the warnings about candy, soda, and sweets being the main culprits behind those pesky cavities. But what if I told you that sugar isn't the only player in this game? Enter salivary amylase, a digestive enzyme found in our saliva, plays a significant role in the development of dental caries, particularly through its interaction with starches like those found in bread, pasta, crackers, etc.
Read MoreThis post will discuss six dental care basics that your dentist may not be aware of but you should know about. I want to start by saying that if it was just about brushing twice daily, flossing, having two cleanings per year, and adding fluoride, why do so many patients suffer from cavities, gum disease, crooked teeth, no room for wisdom teeth, breathing problems, obesity, high blood pressure, and GERD? This post will explain it all.
Read MoreIn today’s post, I will discuss how the mouth plays a significant role in the production of nitric oxide (NO) through a process called the enterosalivary cycle of nitrate. This process involves friendly nitrate-reducing bacteria in the oral cavity, predominantly on the tongue, which reduce dietary nitrate (NO3) from vegetables, meat, and drinking water to nitrite (NO2). The nitrite is then further reduced to NO, which helps regulate systemic blood pressure. This pathway highlights how important oral health is to cardiovascular health. But can mouthwash damage this process?
Read MoreMost people alive today would probably agree that organic, pesticide-free, whole wheat, grain-based diets, low in animal-based foods, richer in plant proteins from lentils and beans, and consisting mainly of vegetables are ideal diets. The ancient Egyptians ate this way. To repeat, it was organic, pesticide-free, and whole-grain. Ask the folks who made the food pyramid (My Plate) and the Eat Lancet Diet, and they will love it. Does it sound amazing to you? Well, not to me. My Plate has adult men eating around ten slices of bread per day, or the equivalent of 47 teaspoons of table sugar! I wrote about how the Eat Lancet Diet causes malnutrition on January 1, which is a similar diet to My Plate. If you are interested in their recommendations—the Lancet's diet causes protein deficiency, among other things. Let’s see how the ancient Egyptians who ate the same way fared.
Read MoreBrushing twice and flossing once daily is a smart idea if your diet contains processed carbohydrates. Toothpaste always comes along for the ride on our brushes. Did you ever stop and wonder how necessary it is? I have. I say no. I will explain my rationale in this post.
Read MoreCannabis smoking has become much more common (and acceptable) in recent years. Recreational marijuana is legal in twenty states, and medical marijuana is legal in thirty-six. According to the CDC, 18 percent of Americans used marijuana in 2019. 1 It is estimated that about 90 % of users smoke it. 2 Smoking may negatively affect the mouth, teeth, and gums. Negative effects include periodontitis (gum disease), caries (tooth decay), xerostomia (dry mouth), a decreased salivary pH (increased acidity), and an increase in the density of Candida albicans (yeast infection, thrush). 3 This post will only discuss dental problems associated with the legal smoking of marijuana by adults; I will not touch upon other routes of ingestion of marijuana or its effects on any other part of the body other than the mouth.
Read MoreIt may surprise you, but I would not wish a denture on my worst enemy. This may seem hyperbolic, but it is accurate-I wish good health over less-than-perfect treatment for everyone. I make them, but I warn patients that as much as they can replace teeth and improve appearances and chewing, they have many pitfalls. I warn patients that they may appreciate appearing as if they have all of their teeth, but there will be a host of problems with them. In short, the best dentures in the world will still have numerous problems; they may marginally function as natural teeth. This post covers the good, bad, and ugly of dentures.
Read MoreWelcome to part five. The use of toothpicks is uniquely human. The famous dental anthropologist Peter Unger discovered tiny striations in teeth that could not be caused by chewing. He concluded that the marks could only have been caused by the overuse of toothpicks made of hard materials like bone. He also drew a parallel between tool use and the introduction of meat to humans' diets. Ungar said toothpick use is one of the first lines of evidence from the hominid fossil record that shows our genus consuming significant amounts of meat in the ancient past. Tooth picking likely served to remove food, especially meat, but it caused visible damage. To quote him, "Teeth are not well designed for eating meat, so our early ancestors had to use toothpicks." This post will cover the evidence and discuss the proper use of toothpicks.
Read MoreA strange phenomenon can happen to patients when tooth structure disappears without decay present. The roots of teeth are the most common area affected. The term resorption is used in such instances. There are two main types of resorption; internal and external. Because internal resorption occurs inside the teeth and external resorption happens mostly on roots, detection without radiographs (x-rays) is difficult. Surprisingly, the process often happens without pain, and most patients are unaware it is happening. The process can result in tooth loss, so early diagnosis and treatment are critical. This post will cover how tooth and root resorption are diagnosed and treated.
Read MoreThis post contains the slides for my presentation at The Southwestern Society of Pediatric Dentistry. It is intended for the attendees, but all are welcome to view it and share it. Enjoy.
Read MoreEvolution takes place because we successfully adapt to changes in our environments over vast amounts of time, leading to the false belief that evolution occurs only when the environmental change is stable over time so that the adaptive changes can take hold and the species can flourish. After all, if the adaptative pressure goes in one direction and then reverses course, the adaptive changes might never happen or become maladaptive and cause extinction. But the climatic record during human evolution has been extremely variable, especially in the recent past, so it does not support the idea that environmental stability produced our adaptation. This post will discuss the accepted definition of ice ages, glaciations, interglacials, and their effect on human evolution.
Read MorePeople with properly developed faces will always have straight teeth, room for wisdom teeth, and superior beauty. Sadly, most of us have some level of crowding and lack of jaw space for wisdom teeth today, meaning almost all of us to have deficient jaws. Since most of us have underdeveloped faces, this epidemic has gone primarily unnoticed by us, including most physicians and dentists. This needs to change because it is one of the major contributing factors to many, if not most, of our modern health problems; most of which originate in poor breathing from small airways.
I am writing this post as I fly back home from an amazing conference called Airway Palooza. I want to share some pearls of wisdom that can help you recognize if you have an airway problem and ways it can be addressed.
Read MoreReplacement of lost teeth with dental implants has been around for many years. Believe it or not, dental implants have been found that are 4000 years old! These were made of bamboo. The first metal implant was found in a two-thousand-year-old Egyptian King. Experiments with different materials continued until the 1950s, when Dr. Brånemark discovered that titanium implants could let bone fuse to it, causing it to be strong and durable. As a result, most dental implants are made of titanium today, and they are just as durable as natural teeth. Zirconia implants are now in use, but their popularity is limited. Local surgeons who place them are more difficult to find. This post will discuss implants and the difference between titanium and zirconia.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I was interviewed on The Carnivore Cast, which is a podcast focused on the carnivore diet and lifestyle with practical advice from successful carnivores, citizen scientists, and top researchers answering your burning questions and meaty topics. The episode is now out. On it, we talk about my previous health problems, how I got into Paleo, functional medicine and dentistry, and finally, the carnivore diet. I also talk about why we don’t really need toothpaste and why we all have crooked teeth.
The site is the brainchild of Scott Myslinski, a really cool guy promoting optimal health through proper movement and, of course, the carnivore diet. He has tons of really good podcast guests, so check them out. Enjoy!
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On August 19th, I was fortunate to participate in an expert panel discussing how the modern world is distorting our faces, breathing, and metabolism. The panel was moderated by the incomparable author and speaker James Nestor who wrote the New York Times best seller Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. We were allowed a few minutes to present our area of expertise. First up was Siobhán Cooke, followed by Kevin Boyd, me, Robert Lustig, then Mike Mew. We discussed some of the causes, then discussed some fixes. Here is the presentation. Please like and share it so we can help stop our faces from distorting and improve our breathing and metabolism.
Read MoreI spend lots of time trying to relieve patients from painful teeth. Of course, there are numerous causes of tooth pain, but today, I want to focus on a prevalent and typically easy-to-treat one that has to do with the forces we place on our teeth called hyperocclusion. Hyperocclusion is when we generate forces that exceed the ability of our teeth and supporting structures. As I always say, teeth should glide together, not collide together. This post will discuss how it happens and what your dentist can do about it.
Read MoreI enjoyed talking to Cavin Balaster on his Adventures In Brain Injury Podcast. Cavin is a survivor of a terrible traumatic brain injury who has a book called How to Feed a Brain: Nutrition for Optimal Brain Function and Repair and a podcast about all things health related, especially how to have a healthy brain. We met in Austin at a charity for the Farm To Consumer Legal Defense Fund and immediately hit it off. When He asked me to do it, I was skeptical that I could contribute much to the subject of brain injury, but after speaking with Cavin for a few minutes, I was convinced I had something to offer. Cavin and I understand that good health has more to do with things like breathing, nutrients, sunshine, and connecting with one another, not pharmaceuticals and surgeries. Although the latter two items have their place, they should be rare, whereas lifestyle practices should be constant. We had a blast and could have spent all day talking about health.
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