Changing our behavior, habits, attitude, or any aspect of our lives can be a difficult thing to do. I am not writing as an expert on this subject as I have the same struggles as everyone else with change. However, repeated awareness of changes we want to make is one strategy to move us closer to making that change.

A good example is Mary, a patient of mine. Mary is an adult who has had issues with decay (bacterial disease that breaks down tooth structure), dental erosion (chemical breakdown of tooth structure), and gum recession (loss of the supporting structures of the teeth). When people like Mary present with these problems, we dentists present treatment… (Read More)

Do you pay much attention to those cards in a hotel room asking you to reuse your towels? Many people don’t. But one researcher, Robert Cialdini, a University of Phoenix professor and the author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, found a way to get guests to cooperate. He created a card saying that most guests who stayed “in this room” reused their towels. The response beat the typical compliance rate by 33 percent.

Cialdini calls this the “Social Proof Effect,” and it is a powerful force in our increasingly connected culture. It’s not about peer pressure. It’s about peer information, and how we behave and make decisions based on the standards, expectations, and recommendations… (Read More)

I have had a few patients ask recently about the order of oral hygiene activities. Does it matter if you brush or floss first, and should this be done before or after breakfast? Based on available research, it seems opinion matters as much as scientific facts.

A spokesman for the American Dental Association and a professor of restorative dentistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, recommends flossing first. His rationale? Get the unpleasant task out of the way to avoid the temptation to not do it. “Let’s face human nature, if you’re going to skip one, which one will you skip?”

By contrast, a professor of oral health sciences at the University of Washington… (Read More)

I have had a few patients ask recently about the order of oral hygiene activities. Does it matter if you brush or floss first, and should this be done before or after breakfast? Based on available research, it seems opinion matters as much as scientific facts.

A spokesman for the American Dental Association and a professor of restorative dentistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, recommends flossing first. His rationale? Get the unpleasant task out of the way to avoid the temptation to not do it. “Let’s face human nature, if you’re going to skip one, which one will you skip?”

By contrast, a professor of oral health sciences at the University of Washington… (Read More)

Dental hygienists love it when they make suggestions to patients about home care and their dreams are answered when the patient returns 6 months later with noticeable improvement. It might be as simple as adding a good electric toothbrush or waterpik to the patient’s regimen. I would like to say that we are amazed daily by the fruits of our counseling, but that isn’t the case. For whatever reasons there are, changing routines is often difficult.

Over 10 years ago I wrote a column about an article I saw in a magazine, which is apparently also a book, entitled “Change or Die”. What if you were given that choice? What if the doctor said you… (Read More)

In an online report I recently read in a journal that was forwarded to me by a patient, they listed 9 “healthy” habits that they claim are a waste of time. Three of them had to do with oral health. Let’s take a look.

The first on the waste of time list was to see your dentist twice per year. I have seen this reported somewhere else in the media recently. According to the authors, close to 30 studies have apparently found no conclusive evidence supporting a need to see a dentist every 6 months. They went on to say, “If your teeth and gums are healthy, once per year is enough to catch developing… (Read More)

It’s one of those things like Kleenex® or Ziploc®…..you know…when you think of a tissue or a resealable bag you think of these. The same goes for Waterpik®. There are different oral irrigators on the market. There are the ones made by Waterpik® and many others; even ones that attach to your sink or showerhead.

I had never really recommended oral irrigators to my patients. The clinical research that I have seen never showed that these things were any more effective than flossing and brushing. I recently noticed that the packaging on the Waterpik® brand said that oral irrigation was 3X more effective than floss. So, I went back to the literature.

The claims made… (Read More)

I remember seeing a commercial for a cholesterol medication in which the person playing the doctor says, “I wish my patients could see what I see.” I think there are two ways to look at that statement.

The commercial showed an image of animated artery walls clogging with particles of plaque clinging to one another, making the opening of the artery smaller and smaller. This is a visual that is easy to understand.

The second, and more subtle way to take this statement, is the doctor wishing that patients could see what happens to people over time, with and without compliance to taking medication or changing their diet. If patients could only understand and use… (Read More)

I had a reader e-mail me an insurance related question this past week. This is an answer to that question, as well as a couple of other insurance related questions we come across frequently.

Patients will sometimes balk at treatment not covered by their dental insurance. Dentists will often hear, “Just do what my insurance covers. I don’t want anything extra.” In fact, a recent ADA poll showed that a lack of dental insurance was the #1 reason most patients gave for not visiting a dentist. So, here are some frequent questions patients often ask about dental insurance.

Why doesn’t my insurance cover all of the costs for my dental treatment?

Dental insurance isn’t really… (Read More)

Are you stressed out? It seems that stress levels in people are high these days. We worry about school, work, finances, illness, children, relationships, and more. Some of us even worry about how much we worry. Not to add to your stress, but you should be aware that all that worrying could have a negative impact on not only your general health, but also your oral health.

According to an article published in the Journal of Periodontology, there is a strong relationship between stress and periodontal disease (gum disease). In addition to stress, other psychological factors such as anxiety, depression, and loneliness are linked to an increased likelihood of periodontal disease.

So how does stressing… (Read More)