Cannabis 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 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 MoreIn my daily practice, I often find infected teeth that the patient is entirely unaware of. Most often, I find asymptomatic infections on radiographs (x-rays). Sometimes, I can see what appears to be a pimple on the gums adjacent to the tooth, usually at the level of the root tip. The pimple is usually on the cheek side (buccal). However, they are occasionally found on the tongue side (known as the palatal on the upper and lingual on the lower). Technically a pimple around a tooth is known as a dentoalveolar fistula. I will talk about what they are, how they form, what to do if you have one, and how to prevent them.
Read MoreI recently took care of a patient who developed two cavities. He was shocked because he was convinced his diet was healthy. I was not convinced that his diet was totally healthy, and I was not shocked.The simple fact is that getting cavities (also known as caries) is very easy in western society. After a bit of an investigation, I found some processed foods in his diet. I don’t think he knew that they were highly processed. I want to draw attention to the stealthy nature of how processed foods can enter the diet, and if enough of them make it in, tooth decay and other problems can arise. Hopefully, after reading this post you will be able to identify them more easily and avoid potential health risks.
Read MoreI have been researching the carnivore diet for the last seven months and have decided to give it a try. The more I learned about it, the more I liked the idea of it as an elimination diet. The one thing I can say with confidence is that it is a very healthy choice when it comes to avoiding tooth decay and gum disease.
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