Most of us have seen them: little boxes on the sides of toothpaste, toothbrushes, and packets of dental floss that have the words “ADA Accepted” on them. ADA stands for the American Dental Associate, but who are they and what does the seal mean?

The American Dental Association is the largest membership organization of dentists in the United States. It has over 160,000 members from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The goal of the non-profit organization is to look after the oral health of the public with a focus on ethics and science.

The ADA is made up of dentists and run by a president, a board of trustees, and a house of delegates. The organization was formed in 1859 when a group of dentists met in Niagara Falls, New York...

A dry mouth is a uniquely uncomfortable feeling and should not be dismissed as a trivial issue for one very important reason: a dry mouth can make it more likely that you’ll get tooth decay! The presence of saliva in your mouth is an important part of keeping your teeth healthy.

Dry mouth, which is called xerostomia by dental professionals, is sometimes just a temporary feeling caused by regular activities such as strenuous exercise of speaking aloud for a long period of time. However, some people experience chronic dry mouth, which can lead to big problems over time: in other words, tooth decay.

The saliva in your mouth helps wash away cavity-causing bacteria as well as the food debris that such bacteria might feed on...

The modern toothbrush has only been around for about 90 years, but it is the latest in a long evolution of tools to fight tooth decay, stretching back thousands of years and involving a whole range of flora and fauna!

Pre-History – Chewing on Sticks

Long before our ancestors used toothbrushes to ward off tooth decay, people chewed on sticks or twigs to clean their teeth. The earliest chew sticks found date back to 3500 B.C. in Mesopotamia and a tomb from 3000 B.C. in Egypt. Archeological finds also indicate that people used bird feather quills and porcupine spines to pick and clean their teeth.

Chew sticks are still around in the Middle East and northern Africa in the form of miswaks (also called siwaak or sewak)...