dentistry

Question for those who have worked with dental x-rays. I know it is possible to have inner cavities that cannot be seen through the tooth enamel. Do those cavities become visible when the x-ray is put on the screen where the dentist looks at it? If not, how does he know there are cavities...

The BBC reports a paper claiming that acupuncture alleviates dental phobia. The actual paper is a case series, not a clinical trial. No control group, no blinding. I have complained to the BBC that the article is biassed, as the paper does not provide rigorous evidence, and they should have...

I've never understood why everyone doesn't simply have all their teeth removed at about age 25 and wear dentures the rest of their lives. I'd think this would be better due to the following: * Much less risk of a serious medical problem from bad teeth * MUCH less long-term cost to maintain...

I remember learning in high school biology that every part of the body has a matching area in the brain, with a size roughly corresponding to the number of sensory nerves in that body part - so the scalp is just a tiny patch, the torso is fairly small, the fingertips are huge, etc. But how does...

My dentist recommended I get an oral irrigation device, and I am considering that. Of course the WaterPik is well-known and of known utility in oral hygiene, but he recommended a device called the Hydro Floss. What set off my Spidey Sense here is their claim that their product is better...

There have been a few threads on here about flouride and water flouridation, but the last one was in (yuk!) Conspiracy Theories, so I wanted to start a new one in order to try and rationally and scientifically get to the bottom of what seems to be a pretty contentious issue. My girlfriend's...