First, something to consider: White teeth aren’t necessarily healthy teeth. Us British, for example, who are apparently well-known for our “popcorn mouths”, generally have healthier teeth than Americans, who are obsessed with blinding white smiles. Still, there’s normally no harm in whitening your teeth for vanity’s sake,...
Bad breath is the worst: It ends dates, ruins job interviews and makes it virtually impossible for anyone to focus on the actual words coming out of your mouth. What’s extra annoying is that it’s really tough to tell whether or not you have it — if...
There are two types of people in the world: Those who smile with their mouth open, and those who smile with their mouth closed. The former presumably have better teeth than the latter, and are likely more confident as a result (which explains why they happily show...
I once believed that vigorously brushing my teeth for long periods of time kept them extra-clean: I was wrong, and my dentist was furious. Overly-thorough brushing, it turns out, isn’t only unnecessary—gentle scrubbing for two or three minutes at a time is more than enough to remove...
We’ve written before about how the average toothbrush is believed to be harbouring more than 10 million bacteria, including particularly nasty stuff like Staph and E. coli. This is partly due to the number of bacteria that live in your mouth—anywhere between 100 to 200 different species—but...
We’re all pretty set in our own oral care routines. Some of us brush our teeth before breakfast; others would argue that brushing after is the way to go. In the scramble to just get ourselves together and out the front door, most of us don’t think...
Many of us grew up thinking that our tongue was like a four-piece band: Each section tuned to hit a single flavour note that, when combined, creates the sweet (and salty, sour and bitter) music of taste. That concept, while a fun idea, is inaccurate, because it’s...
Provided we don’t end up in a Mad Max-style post-apocalypse, where water is hoarded by barbarian warlords, the future looks pretty good for the average bathroom. Here are just some of the upgrades we’re likely to see become standard in the next couple of decades. The Bathroom...
Electric toothbrushes are better than manual toothbrushes: Fact. An analysis of 56 different studies published in 2014 found that not only do electric toothbrushes reduce dental plaque by 21 percent more than manual toothbrushes, they reduce gingivitis by 11 percent more, too. There’s one downside of electric...
You’ve shovelled all sorts of stuff into your mouth over the years, but why—of all consistencies and chemicals—do ice cold drinks hurt your teeth the most? We spoke to Dr. Matt Messina of the American Dental Association to find out. Why Teeth Are Sensitive to Cold First...
What a glorious feeling it is to wake up after a great night’s sleep on a beautiful morning: The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, your muscles are invigorated, then you open your mouth into a barbaric yawp to start the day and the foulest of stenches...
The human body is capable of expelling various offensive aromas (something we’re all unfortunately extremely familiar with). But which of the two most prevalent stenches is the most unpleasant: Body odour or bad breath? Let’s take a scientific look to crown the officially nose-wrinkling king of stink....
