Scott

"The sores causes by the herpes simplex virus are often confused with aphthous ulcers/canker sores, but the two appear in different locations. The simplex virus is most often know as the cold sores people get on the lips, though it can occasionally present in the mouth, but only on attached gum tissues near the teeth and not the movable tissues where canker sores show up. You are right about HS2 being able to show up in spots where HS1 can appear, but since the viruses are designed to infect different areas the transposition isn't very common." - Scott

"Thanks for sharing Nancy! Healthy gums definitely require a team effort with your dentist. I posted a great way for people to keep track of the health of their gums in between dental visits: http://www.freysmiles.com/blog..." - Scott

"There are tons of other tips we are going to cover in the future. Diet is an extremely important factor early on for determining oral health. One of the biggest things parents can do is to avoid introducing sugary items like juices until their children are old enough to drink from a cup and then limiting the frequency of juices. Juices should never be used in a bottle; this is too early to start." - Scott

"That was in the next week's post my friend :) http://www.freysmiles.com/blog..." - Scott

"Don't let the people in tin foil hats out there fool you, topical fluoride application still is one of the best things to do for your teeth. You would think that fluoride would be pretty uncontroversial because it's remineralizing and protective capacity is just basic chemistry and solubility quotients, but it seems that there are a lot of websites out there with some spooky theories. I don't have enough space to post all of the studies showing fluoride's protective effect against dental caries (tooth decay), but here is one recent one that you can look over if you want: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com... If you are interested in the rest of the medical and dental research out there, I would go to Google Scholar and perform a search. Here is a list of terms that you can include: dental caries, prevention, cariostatic, remineralization, fluoride, cavities, topical. You also mentioned that you read fluoride causing staining. The only way fluoride can cause any discoloration of teeth at..." - Scott

"My wife had the same thing happen to her not too long ago and sometimes that happens with some of the higher percentage hydrogen peroxide/carbamide peroxide gels. If you already have the bleaching trays, there is no harm in using them instead of Crest WhiteStrips. The active whitening period with tray whitening is usually quicker and your teeth retain their new white color longer, which are both good things. Crest WhiteStrips are usually less expensive, so I'll leave the choice up to you. The ADA recommends 10% carbamide peroxide concentration for whitening gels, so if you want to try the tray whitening I would start there (your previous gel was probably a much higher concentration). Make sure that your old bleaching trays fit well and don't extend up over your gums, since your gums don't need bleaching. Also add only enough bleaching gel to coat very thinly the parts of the teeth you want to whiten; adding extra bleaching don't get teeth whiter." - Scott

"Hi Jennifer. I am going to answer this question in depth in a future post, but as far as low cost options go Crest WhiteStrips are the best option. They have good color stability (your teeth stay about as white as they are after the whitening cycle for at least 2-6 months), the cycle is only 2 weeks it works fairly quickly and you can get through the active whitening period fast, and they aren't too terribly harsh on teeth. The steps I described in the post on how to soothe sensitive teeth - http://www.freysmiles.com/blog... work hand in hand with keeping your teeth healthy while bleaching so I would go follow them minus the desensitizing gel. If you have a lot of external stains from coffee and you think your teeth could be whiter after going through one cycle of the WhiteStrips, rest your teeth for 1 month (the initial color change will stay) and do another cycle. If you still think you need additional whitening, the discoloration is likely due to the internal shade of your teeth..." - Scott

"No I haven't, but I will now. Thanks." - Scott

"Prepare to be blown away...I love water flossers! I don't recommend the Hydro Floss brand specifically, but water flossers are absolutely a necessary component of one's oral hygiene routine. I am a bit partial to the Waterpik though, simply because of the availability of literature on their specific models and I also prefer their psi settings." - Scott

"Absolutely! Get the word out on this test to your friends." - Scott

"That's great!" - Scott

"No problem. I am glad you found the post helpful!" - Scott

"Awesome! I am glad you found the post useful." - Scott

"Thanks!" - Scott

"Every area is different. The best place to find xylitol locally is at a vitamin or health food store; otherwise, you can always order it online." - Scott

"Are what real?" - Scott

"The other tips are correct too ;)" - Scott

"Thanks!" - Scott

"Thank you Heather! I'll pass along your compliments to my Father and the rest of the team; I know how much they'll appreciate it. It is easy to love you job as much as they do when you are caring for such wonderful people, and I look forward to finally graduating my residency and joining the team." - Scott

"Thanks Sandy! If you have any suggestions for topics you want to see in future posts let me know." - Scott

"Thanks!" - Scott

"Thanks I appreciate it. The reason Sensodyne is labeled as a toothpaste for sensitive teeth is that it contains Potassium Nitrate, which is designed to help specifically with hypersensitivity of the dentin. The Potassium Nitrate works by supplying high concentrations of potassium ions, which are thought to depolarize the nerve endings in the pores on your tooth roots and thus relieve the sensitivity. It usually takes 2-4 weeks for it to take full effect if it is going to be effective for you. It is really tough to tell what product is going to be best for your particular teeth, if the available research has told me anything is that sometimes with dentin hypersensitivity things that work done and sometimes things that shouldn't do. I am right in the middle of a series of blog posts on dentin hypersensitivity so you caught me at a great time. I am going to get into all the things you can do (if you want to throw the kitchen sink at things) to help with sensitive teeth in much greater..." - Scott

"Thanks Derek!" - Scott

"A great steakhouse. Not a big mystery." - Scott

"Thanks!" - Scott

"Thanks Edmund!" - Scott

"Thanks Adjeel, spread the word!" - Scott