The (almost) Two and a Half-Foot long Infected Cut in Your Body.

Imagine that on your leg you have an infected, pus-filled gash that is 28-inches long and 1/4 inch deep! I'm sure you would want that treated immediately!

This is what nearly 3/4 of American adults are walking around with in their mouths right now -- and you could be one of them.

How?

You have 32 adult teeth, minus your four wisdom teeth if you had them extracted or they never erupted. That leaves 28 teeth. Imagine wrapping floss like a circle around all 28 teeth and measuring the length of the floss -- it would measure about 1 inch per tooth -- 28 inches. Now imagine the average gum disease pocket depth of 5 millimeters (about 1/4 inch). Voila! Statistically speaking, chances are that you have a 28 inch long infected cut in your mouth right now! (75% of American adults have some form of gum disease.)

Action Steps

Here are two things you can do right now to start fighting gum disease:

1. Start squishing toothpaste between your teeth and then floss this toothpaste foam under your gums and between your teeth. (Colgate Total toothpaste is one of the best anti-gingivitis, anti-inflammatory toothpastes.)
2. Use Crest Pro Health rinse twice a day. Be sure to wash all toothpaste foam out of your mouth before using Crest Pro Health rinse.

For more information, my book -- The Easy Way to Fight Decay -- is filled with supercharged preventive dental methods that get excellent results.

Make NOW the time to start helping yourself to better oral health!

dentistry in the East

Oral Fitness Kit for Tough Economic Times

Simple, Easy Oral Fitness Kit for Tough Times

The Easy Way Oral Fitness Kit to Fight Decay in Tough Economic Times

This is about the least expensive preventive dental kit that really works:

• Fluoride: ACT fluoride or Listerine Smart Rinse with fluoride remineralizes and re-hardens teeth, kills decay and gingivitis germs, lasts a few hours in the mouth especially when you use it before going to sleep.
• Colgate Total toothpaste: Sticks to teeth and gums up to 12 hours per usage even if you eat and drink, kills germs, anti-inflammatory, fights gingivitis germs and decay germs, probably the most widely dentist-recommended toothpaste.
• Crest Pro Health wintergreen mouthrinse: Kills gingivitis and cavity germs, sticks to teeth and gums about 12 hours, but be sure not to use at the same time you use fluoride or else the fluoride and the Crest Pro Health will neutralize each other, also be sure to rinse out all toothpaste foam with water before using Crest Pro Health because toothpaste foam inhibits Crest Pro Health rinse, wintergreen color does not stain teeth but the mint flavor may stain teeth.
• Trident, Orbit, Zellies, Spry, Epic, Globalsweet, or other chewing gum sweetened with xylitol: Xylitol is almost a magic bullet to fight decay and gingivitis, you must look up xylitol to believe it, daily use of 7 grams of xylitol for six months may actually eradicate cavity germs from the mouth for about two years!
• XyliMelts: The only drawback to xylitol is that it dissolves from chewing gum and mints too fast, so my colleagues and I developed a time-release version that lasts from 30 minutes to about 6 hours depending on time of day and manner of use.
• Oral-B Pulsar toothbrush ($7) or Oral-B Cross Action electric ($9 - $12): Just as you can buy an expensive universal gym exercise machine or a set of barbells with a bench and get a similar workout, you can buy a $125 toothbrush or a $7 - $12 toothbrush and get about the same results if you know how to brush correctly. I use both of the above types of brushes. I use them in the shower.
• Glide floss and/or toothpicks, Waterpick: If you don't floss or clean between your teeth in some manner, you might as well just flush all the money you spend on dental prevention down the toilet. I can't imagine why any sane, person would pay someone to do what amounts to going to a hospital to have a nurse or doctor give the person a bath. Failure to clean between teeth is one of the biggest mistakes in oral health.
• Shower Caddy: 3M makes a nice, simple, inexpensive shower caddy that sticks on the shower wall and has a removable basket that can be cleaned in a dishwasher. I put all kinds of stuff in and on my shower caddy so everything is handy in the shower when I need it.
• Spray bottles: I'm so lazy that I don't even want to bother opening a bottle, pouring out a substance, trying to aim it into my mouth, closing the bottle, putting it back, etc. So, I just pour some Crest Pro Health rinse and ACT fluoride in separate spray bottles, and simply spritz my teeth when the time is right.
• Oral Fitness Centers: Throughout your house, car, workplace, gym bag, vacation spot, purse, briefcase, toolbox, or whatever - make up some kits of xylitol chewing gum, toothpicks, XyliMelts™, floss, and whatever else you think might help you take better care of your teeth. Imagine you are a junkie or alcoholic and you need your next "fix" of Oral Fitness. Where would you hide your "stashes" of Oral Fitness stuff? People with vices or habits always keep their stuff nearby so they never run out. You could do the same with gum, toothpicks and XyliMelts™. You can't brush and floss after every meal, snack or drink, but don't let the food and bugs get the upper hand. Dental disease germs attack you without mercy, so you must attack back even harder and more relentlessly. If you would like to shop online for your Oral Fitness needs, check out my Amazon.com-powered shopping page on my website. Some of the above products are featured on my website. I am continuing to add more as time permits. For Oral Fitness to work, it must be easy, simple, automatic, convenient, inexpensive, etc. I am doing my best to help you to better oral health by making things as convenient as possible. Oral hygiene is wasteful and inconvenient because it doesn't deal with the reality that people simply don't do things if they are boring or inconvenient, etc.

Oral Fitness attempts to overcome the stumbling blocks to oral health by identifying the easiest systems that work the most effectively and efficiently. I'll share a true story with you to emphasize what I mean: Back in 1984, while in dental school, I had an idea to make dental floss out of Teflon so people could floss easier. I talked my idea over with a dental professor who shot the idea down saying that most people don't floss and never will and besides, Teflon is too slippery and won't remove plaque well enough to make a difference. So, like an idiot, I forgot about my idea. A few years later, Glide Floss became the world's most popular floss. It is made from Teflon! It turns out that since it is so easy to use, more people choose to use it than other floss. It also turns out that in the big scheme of things, simply doing the act of flossing is more important than whether or not it removes plaque as well as other types of floss. Also, it is so easy to use that you can actually floss toothpaste between your teeth, which is something virtually impossible with other types of floss. Finally, even though fewer than 20% of people floss, 20% of a huge number of Americans is still a huge number and can make a huge profit for the right business, and I missed the boat on that one. Good luck,

Dr. Edwards

Fitmouth's website is: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oH2wIDHtwxmUBblZ7xhtLWVEKFWycjthmdw_lFvyCzg9sfDsQuCu730fZM4JARoeJgT4QY41j3LeO16-gb-TZY-8JqITKg5w0_iQspUF_o4=
Fitmouth Inc
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Updates since December 2007

June 10th, 2008 -- Utility patent issued on Flexible Neck Toothbrush, Patent # US 7,383,603 B2.

June 2008 -- Published book, "The Easy Way to Fight Decay".

• October 2008 -- Office action processed regarding Multiple Grip Dental Handle patent application.
  

October 2008 -- Published book, "Bobiverse The", a 98 page book and game based on dyslexia, puns and various types of wordplay.

October 2008 -- XyliMelts self adherent, time-release, intraoral xylitol discs are getting rave reviews for management of dry mouth.

Patent will issue in December 2007

Flexible Neck Toothbrush

Patent applied for in November 2003. The U.S.P.T.O. just issued us a Notice of Allowability, and we should have a U.S. Utility Patent by December 2007.

This unique brush is able to maintain a constant force on teeth despite increasing force on the handle. The advantage is that tooth abrasion and gum recession are greatly minimized or eliminated. The handle can also be calibrated for specific forces in the event of gum surgery, trauma, rehabilitation, disability, cognition problems, etc.

XyliMelts -- New product launch 9/17/07

Starting 9/17/07 look on Amazon.com for a new product called "XyliMelts" of which I am a co-inventor.

XyliMelts are a small domes of xylitol that stick discretely to a tooth or gum tissue and deliver xylitol in a time-release manner for up to 2 hours.

No chewing requried. No hassle. Works even in your sleep.

For more information about XyliMelts, try these two websites:

my own website: http://www.fitmouth.com/web%20pages/XyliMelts.htm

or my colleague: http://www.orahealth.com/products/XyliMelts.html

Kissability can save your life

Kissability can save your life
To accomplish the feat of promoting better oral health, I had a brainstorm in about 1995 to combine physical fitness principles with oral health to create a new field of dental care called Oral Fitness. I even became a personal trainer for several months at 24 Hour Fitness in 1998. The Oral Fitness concept worked well for my family and for the few patients who were interested enough to try it. But, let's face it, nobody knows what to make of Oral Fitness when they first hear about it. So Oral Fitness bacame like the hidden science behind the scenes. What I needed was a fun and exciting face to put on it -- something that might get people's attention.
Recently, I had another brainstorm that being kissable would be more exciting, interesting and fun than mere Oral Fitness. Plus, I reasoned that being kissable could save your life because recent research reveals that poor oral health is linked to serious medical problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and pneumonia. Therefore, if your mouth is clean, your gums don't bleed, your teeth are not wallowing in a putrid cesspool of slimy plaque and your breath doesn't smell like a rhinoceros butt -- in short -- you are kissable -- and your links to serious medical problems are reduced. Oral Fitness is a great idea, but it isn't quite as exciting as being Kissable 24/7. Also, Oral Fitness needed a motivating goal more exciting than mere health, and that's where the kissability factor comes to play. Plus, people need a fear factor as well as a fun factor, so the dental links to medical problems fits nicely.
Sometimes it seems like trying to help people have better dental health is like pulling teeth, so I created this space to rant and rave about dentistry, answer questions, ask questions, etc. Sometimes I might become a bit graphic or garrulous, like a coach. But remember -- I'm on your side and I want you to win the fight against dental plaque and unecessary dental problems. I think you can do it by being kissable all day.

Dental plaque is like dental toe jam. Think about that the next time you use a toothpick.