Dental Health

Mayo Clinic has a slideshow that explains, with diagrams, the role of the tongue, teeth, gums and salivary glands.

The Academy of General Dentistry defines a number of dental terms for reference during your research.

The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse explains why managing diabetes is so important for good dental health. Like other parts of the body, such as the eyes, heart and feet, diabetes can also affect the gums.

Simple Steps To Better Dental Health , a Web site of Aetna Inc., has a series of articles that describe how the mouth’s health can affect the rest of the body, and vice versa. Pregnancy, heart disease, diabetes, sexually transmitted infections and diseases and some cancers can affect your mouth.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a 2005 article about braces and why people may choose to have them. Straight teeth are easier to keep clean, which can prevent decay and more serious problems.

The American Dental Association explains how to brush and floss teeth, with pictures. Also get suggestions for healthy foods, such as yogurt and raw vegetables that are better for your teeth than breads, cookies and chips.

KidsHealth briefly takes kids through the history of dental care, including some of the concoctions, such as ground chalk, people used to clean their teeth before modern toothpaste was invented. Scroll down for tips kids can use for good dental health.

The American Dental Association produced a series of 30-second animated public service announcements for kids. This one is about brushing and flossing. Listen to other announcements about losing baby teeth and eating healthy snacks. The announcements are available for a dial-up connection, or in Spanish. A game, "To Tell the Tooth," quizzes second and third graders on the importance of teeth and oral health.

Simple Steps To Better Dental Health urges everyone, especially children, to wear the proper safety equipment when playing sports. It’s apparently not uncommon for kids to snag their front teeth on the net while dunking a basketball.

Simple Steps To Better Dental Health describes differences between being uneasy about a dentist’s visit and having a dental phobia. Don’t avoid care; talk to your dentist about your fears, according to this article.

The American Dental Association has a short (less than a minute) video about the ways dentists are trying to make nervous patients more comfortable during treatments, including hand signals and sedation.

The American Dental Association has a short, interactive, online story to prepare children from preschool to second grade for a trip to the dentist. Kids follow Marty to the dentist and can click on tools around the office to hear what they sound like.

ClinicalTrials.gov is a clearinghouse operated by the U.S. National Institutes of Health that lists clinical trials currently underway to research oral health. To learn more about clinical trials, speak to your dentist, and read the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's guide.

The American Dental Association says consistent bad breath is often a sign of periodontal disease. It can also be caused by tobacco use, dry mouth or another medical problem, such as diabetes or sinusitis.

Mayo Clinic says teeth grinding is usually a common but temporary childhood condition, though adults may also grind their teeth. The causes aren’t known but stress is thought to be a factor in adults.

The American Dental Association has a page with advice for dealing with different emergencies, such as having a tooth cracked, broken or knocked out.

The Academy of General Dentistry describes how to handle a tooth that’s been knocked out in this PDF fact sheet, and lists items you can assemble in advance for a dental emergency kit.

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research describes dry mouth, its causes and treatments. Saliva helps protect teeth from decay, so dry mouth could lead to cavities and infections.

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research has an extensive site on the gum diseases gingivitis and periodontitis. Learn what these diseases are, their causes, symptoms, how they can affect the body and treatment options.

The American Cancer Society has a guide to oral and oropharyngeal cancers that covers what the cancers are, their risk factors and how they are detected and treated.

The American Dental Association briefly explains what a root canal is, why someone may need it, and how the procedure is performed. Click on the “Root Canal Treatment” tab on the top right to access the slideshow.

The Academy of General Dentistry has a fact sheet on sensitive teeth. This one-page PDF explains that acidic foods, drinks and brushing too hard are among the causes of tooth sensitivity. There’s also advice for when to see your dentist, and what treatments are available.

Mayo Clinic explains that TMJ disorders are problems with the place where your jawbone meets your skull. Face pain, headaches and being unable to close your mouth completely are signs there may be a problem.

Simple Steps To Better Dental Health has named the occasion of burning the roof of your mouth while eating, “pizza palate,” because the burns are usually caused by hot pizza. Burns normally heal in five to ten days.

The American Dental Association has a page with advice for choosing a dentist. It includes a “Frequently Asked Questions” section on dental insurance.

The American Dental Association has a searchable database of its members that can be narrowed by specialty, such as pediatric dentistry or orthodontics.

The Academy of General Dentistry has a searchable database of its members who practice general dentistry, not specialties.

The Health Resources and Services Administration helps fund medical and dental clinics throughout the country. These centers are open to anyone, regardless of ability to pay, but often accept private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid, too. Search for centers by state and county. Be aware that not every county has a federal health center, and not every center offers dental care, but this list is a place to start.

The American Association of Orthodontists allows searches by a practitioner’s name or your location.

The American Dental Association links to and summarizes oral health-related news articles and studies on its “Science in the News” page.

ScienceDaily has a page devoted to dentistry news, though it isn’t updated every day. This site rewrites information provided by the organizations that conduct the research, so there may not be opposing viewpoints found in standard news.

EurekAlert , a service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, posts press releases about research by topic. While informative, these releases may not present different viewpoints found in traditional news.

PubMed Central , a service of the National Library of Medicine and the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is a repository of biomedical and life sciences journal articles. Search “oral health” in the search field along the top of the page to read articles or their abstracts. Use a tab under the display options to read the articles that are free to access. Register with the site to create customized updates that are e-mailed to you.