I had all four of my wisdom teeth plucked from mouth back when I was in high school — not because I was in pain, but simply because my dentist at the time told me to. Had I waited much longer to have them removed, he explained,...
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...
Having braces at any age sucks — they tear up the inside of your mouth, make eating a real pain and, especially for kids, can lead to a whole bunch of bullying. But since 75 percent of people with braces are kids or teens, having them at...
A couple weeks ago, I visited my dentist for a routine cleaning, and he recommended I replace my original silver-colored amalgam fillings with more contemporary tooth-colored ones. I admit, I was almost persuaded (but eventually decided that spending a few hundred bucks so people would stop noticing...
Despite what Hollywood wants you to believe, the American expectation that teeth should be a lustrous white is — quite literally — inhuman. Our chompers are naturally more of a cream color, and only cosmetic treatments can make them a gleaming white. Regardless, our preference for oral...
Bad breath might sound like a superficial problem that can be alleviated with something as simple as a mint. But when you have chronic halitosis — foul-smelling breath that never seems to go away, no matter how diligent your dental hygiene — the impact can be absolutely...
There you are, ending the day with your usual bedtime routine. You slip into your house pants, brush your teeth and scroll through social media for an uncertain amount of time. An undeniable wave of fatigue crashes over your brain as you conclude your nocturnal regimen with several hearty vape hits. Your...
Despite living at a time when science (mostly) trumps tradition, some of us still believe in old home remedies — like, for instance, curing body odor with vinegar or soothing dry skin with olive oil. But do any of these supposed “grooming life hacks” actually hold any...
We’re funny creatures, us humans. We’ll happily lick, slurp and nibble another human all over their body, but the suggestion of using their toothbrush afterwards is, for many of us, a step too far. But is this sudden blech at the thought of your partner’s germs justified?...
We’ve written before about how the average toothbrush is believed to be harboring 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...
I have Austin Powers teeth. Starman-era David Bowie teeth. They’re snaggly and yellow, and when I smile, I look like a Dickensian dog. It’s not necessary for me to speak: If you saw them, you’d immediately know I was British, while wondering what it’s like to carry...
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...