People are spending more and more time online, and that’s the basis of why online advertising is rapidly taking over traditional advertising on television and broadsheets. For dentists and oral health professionals, the idea of online dental marketing may be sound farfetched, but according to Google Trends—a search traffic counter—the amount of online searches for “dentist” has doubled since 2004, while online inquiries for “braces” has risen to approximately 150% in the same duration. Given that trend and both the efficacy and flexibility of advertising costs these days, there’s pretty much no reason not to advertise online, much less have your own website wherein patients can file for an appointment online and get to know who you are.

Of course, some dentists still stick to traditional advertising and word-of-mouth prospects; however, given the density of the dentists in many cities these days, others have resorted efficient methods (e.g. websites for dentists, cross-industry marketing, and dentist ad placements on non-competing websites) to get ahead of the competition. Having consulted many dentists in the area of Boston—Dr. Mehmet Kahveci, DDS—a well-known dentist in the Faneuil Hall District, told us:

“I’ve always considered the internet to be a leeway in building reputation, even at the time when it was not being used extensively by my colleagues. There is no opportunity cost in dental advertising, especially in having your own website to cater to inquiries. Everything has worked out well for me in the last five years of advertising via different web channels. With relatively minimal investments and some understanding how online advertising works, I started seeing results in a matter of weeks. I’ve always asked my patients where they found me and they always reply with ‘Google’.”

City people usually do not have the leisure to conduct physical correspondence with their dentists, and as such, this calls for various modes of communication: sms, instant messaging, email, and at present, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter now offer a non-intrusive (and even entertaining) way for both parties to communicate. Society now has a different take on dentists; instead of avoiding them, they are free to ask as much questions as they want online with a fair guarantee of being replied. Long gone are the days of being afraid to ask for an expert opinion—now everything can be done via the internet, a place where your anonymity is assured. Also, many dentists do not charge a fee on email inquiries.

As for online dental advertising, a 300×300 image with your name, area of expertise and contact information is all you need to get started. There are many website categories where you can place the ad and be noticed immediately, but the best technique is to still put your ad on a place where it’s sure to get the attention it deserves—dental blogs and dentist directories to be specific. People searching for dental information online are serious when they visit websites like BostonDentist.com, and it’s imperative to seize the opportunity to get these people to visit your office.

How to Advertise Online Effectively

Aspirants foraying in the online advertising industry believe it’s easy to get the exposure their clients demand. A few months earlier, they contemplate on resigning, looking for a new industry. Online marketing isn’t easy—especially in the dentistry sector—where so many big names are pouring their money to get their names established (with the intent of driving out the competition). Given that you are working on a minimal budget and limited resources, it is best that you understand how the dentistry sector works and what health topics search for online.

Website – It begins with a website. Advertisements are rendered useless if the dentist himself does not have his own website to cater to redirections. A good dentist website is refreshing to look at, is not too trim, nor should it be too crowded with information. There are the key elements every basic dentist website should have:

• A neat website template that is coherent with dentistry. Several pre-made templates available for purchase, but dentists can still commission a web developer to create a unique template for them.

• A page dedicated to detailing his biography, accolades, awards, certifications, and more importantly, his areas of expertise.

• The location of the clinic with snapshots of the façade. Supplementary information in Google Maps is ideal. Contact information should also be included on the directions page.

• Search engine optimized keywords and other in-page elements that will, slowly-but-surely, boost its rankings on major search engines.

• A FAQ section about the services the dentist renders, as well as a downloadable appointment form linked to it.

Advertisement Design – There are two basic types of ad placements: text-based and image-based. Text ads are good and cheap, but they can be overshadowed by graphical ads. However, many prefer text-based because of inherent search engine optimization value.

Text-based advertisements should contain keywords relevant to the location and services rendered by the dentist (i.e. Doctor Ryan Smith, DDS, is an Ottawa Dentist, specializes in both orthodontics and periodontics. He has been practicing for over 20 years. You can reach his office at XXX-XXX-XXX or email him at info@drryansmithdds.com).

Image-based advertisements are basically JPG/PNG or animated GIFs that come in many dimensions suited to your budget. One thing to remember about image/banner ads is that while they are graphic, doesn’t mean they are easily recognizable. Many online marketers have failed to capture the attention of website visitors due to poor design, positioning and information inscribed on the ad. Effective ad designs incorporate images and words people look for when searching for dentists, as well as a color motif that is inviting to the eyes.

Additionally, video advertisements are also shaking ground due to the fast internet access these days. Video streaming sites are visited by millions of people each day, and it’s no surprise if you find some dental informational videos bearing the watermark of a dental clinic. At present, there is a growing demographic of people who prefer to watch videos with condensed (and persuasive) information instead of reading.

Whichever the case, catchy advertisement design is crucial to getting more people visit your site. The wrong set of words, more so omission of important images, may lead a prospective patient to turn his back on you.

Advertising Budget

Careful consideration should be taken whenever budgeting on where to advertise. But it’s not always “where” that matters, as advertisers have to contemplate on “how” and “why” they should even advertise in the first place.

Advertising on a big website in another industry does not reciprocate to higher clicks, especially if the demographic of that website is not in the working bracket. A lot of times, advertising on smaller websites with higher relevance to your services results in more clicks and lesser recurring costs.

Hiring a proven ad manager (who demands higher remuneration) with an established reputation and a network of friends in the industry is just as good (or even better) as hiring three or more advertising assistants with relatively little to no knowledge of bringing viewership to your website.

There are three essential roles to fill in if you are intent to take dental advertising seriously: a.) a content writer, b.) a graphic designer and c.) an advertising manager. The advertising manager should take reins over the duties done by the writer and the designer.

The dental advertising process starts at a slow pace, but results will be seen within a few months. Unlike in other industries, the dentistry industry requires a few more tricks under the sleeve to make it gain traction. An example of this is reminding patients to leave an online review if they find your services satisfactory. Additionally, the dentist should also list his services on regular and yellow page directories. It’s a tedious process, but one that works well with efficient and wise use of resources, and also some action on the dentist’s part in keeping his reputation secure and growing.

Boston is the place to be if you’re looking for top-notch dentistry services. Reputable dental colleges, especially Boston University produces some of the highest figures of successful board passers in the state of Massachusetts. Boston also attracts top-notch dentists from other cities and countries to set up practice in the well-rounded city.

But Boston – being known to be a top-tier city in terms of consumer spending and income brackets – has undoubtedly docks a higher cost of living from its residents as compared to other cities. And finding a cheap, affordable-yet-quality Boston dentist is a big task. But through the help of the internet, you can accomplish just that.

Below is a compilation of why finding cheap dentists in Boston a painlessly easy task:

1.       The internet – in more ways than a thousand – can help you single out the luxury dentists from cheap dentists.

2.       The competition of dentists here is just the same as in New York and any other populous city. A lot of affordable dentists flock to Boston because: they can service a lot of clients per day; the rates are competitive, yes, but the flow of patients will keep their business stacked; more importantly, Boston is just a great city to live in and start a business.

3.       Cheap Boston dentists, unlike dentists from other cities and towns, are internet-savvy and know practically all types of marketing. Just looking at Google and typing in “Boston Dentist” will return a lot of results – more than enough for you to peruse. Find dentists who sparingly use advertisements — as those are the ones who tend to charge lower fees.

What you’ll need to find affordable dentists in Boston:

1.       Knowledge of properly and intuitively using the key features a search engine provider, such as a Google Maps and Yahoo! Local.

2.       Since Boston is a rather large city, you’ll also need a GPS navigation device if you’re planning to take on new streets.

3.       A phone – most dental websites list down directions and, more importantly, the digits of the clinic. Patiently look for dentist sites and call the offices once you’ve done listing the numbers down.

4.       Common sense and a penchant for being thrifty. Common sense doesn’t work when you choose a costly dentist because he/she “lives right next to you” – that’s slacking.  Common sense works when you use the Internet to find the best deal for your money, especially during rough times like in the economy we have today.

One important tip:

Most dentists who offer cheap services rarely list a toll-free number on their website. Expensive dentists always list toll-free numbers and then offset their large telephone bills to the patient’s bill, regardless of whether they called or not. Remember that affordable dentists are very conservative in financing their advertisements and sparingly use advertising credits. Cheap dentists only advertise on websites that are related to their practice, especially on the internet where any business owner is bound to spend a lot of money trying to advertise his/her business.



Dental associations, just like any other professional organization, are significant for any dentist actively affiliated with them. Dental associations represent dentists, get them clients, award grants, inform and book them to upcoming events/seminars, address civil issues, engage members in volunteers work, and honor outstanding members.

Dental associations are mandated by a reputable board of directors who serve an average term of three years. The calendar of activities throughout the year aims to advance and congregate dentists within the same locality, city, state, or in the case of the American Dental Association, ADA, all of the practicing dentists in the United States. State dental associations and national dental associations usually hold an annual congregation for its members, so if a dentist is affiliated with two or more organizations (both local and national), he’ll likely be invited to a number of gatherings and seminars, all of which aim to improve his area/s of specialization and expand his network of acquaintances.

Every association has its own core principles (and in some cases, a pledge of loyalty). Thousands of members comprise state dental associations, who are usually 80-90% of the entire dentist population in that state. Dental associations are not without their recurring membership fees, though.

The fee structure usually entails payment for these various activities/materials:

1. Monthly publication fees
2. Political action fees
3. Charitable donations
4. Support for sister organizations

Again, beyond the monthly/annual fees, dentists rarely object the practical reasons why dental associations are beneficial to their practice:

1. Discount on dental products/equipment and learning materials, such as books, gazettes, DVD courses, and kits.
2. Exclusive access to association-only activities, seminars, workshops, and congregations.
3. Access to a network of contacts and leads in your locality, as well as patronage from other dentists of different areas of specialization.
4. Preferential rates on income protection and life/non-life insurance for dentists.
5. Dental websites owned by associations usually have a 24/7 compendium of relevant books and study materials ready for on-demand access from member dentists.
6. Training provided dental assistants and teams.

Many dental associations also accept student members in order for latter to be engaged at an early age to all the important facets of dentistry. While student activities widely differ from those of actual dentists, the most beneficial incentive of being affiliated with these groups is that the student gets to be acquainted with a network of professionals and dental businesses at an early age, so he/she won’t have to worry about getting clients once having set up practice.

Other benefits for students include:

1. Access (as well as discounts) to exclusive medical journals, books, and other learning materials for dentists.
2. Higher chance of passing board exams, since practical learning materials are handed out to reviewing students.
3. Online help and expert advice via communities.

We people tend to take our health for granted. In dire situations, like when worsening toothaches or any other dental condition get the best of our productivity, we always turn to our local dentist for help. Being so preoccupied by pain, with focus on the procedure and not on the series of question we should ask our dentist before leaving the clinic.

You can save as much as a thousand dollars on your next visit to the dentist by asking these simple questions:

Can you give me a detailed prognosis on how I got this condition?

Dentists charge a handsome amount for their services; therefore, we should also ask a handsome amount of questions to get our money’s worth. If you got your condition from any traumatic injury, or suddenly experienced unusual throbbing pain while you were on a dietary regimen, tell it in detail to the dentist, so he/she can readily assess what’s going on in your mouth. Dentists are not mind-readers – so tell that we they need to know. There are also cases wherein patients will stray away on a question if he/she had oral sex before the pain or lump in the mouth. There is this what we call “doctor-patient confidentiality” law that will disbar any dentist from practice if he/she leaks out “any” details if your conversation – more so if it is sensitive information. So feel free to tell your dentist anything that may have triggered the onset of your condition.

What areas do you specialize in?

The banner outside of the office or on the website may not always give a clear embodiment of that dentist’s purported ‘specialty’. If you are in any way doubtful, or just making sure that your dentist does well in what he claims, ask him a few questions on his track record and how he earned his reputation as a ‘leading’ cosmetic dentist.

Many a time, dentists fall short of their promises and give their patients substandard services. If you feel that your tooth/teeth did not get any better or if the procedure – and by regard, any procedure (might it be a simple tooth extraction or a root canal) – just worsened the previous condition of your tooth, go back to the dentist and ask for an explanation on why your tooth did not get better. If he declines or reacts prematurely in any way, and does not give even a partial refund if he knows what he did is wrong, you can file a report to your local dentist organization. Be sure to check your dentist’s affiliations before filing a complaint. Sending a complaint directly to his affiliate organization may expedite the process of ruling him out the flock of ‘good’ dentists. Visit the American Dental Association (ADA) website for more details on this matter. There have been many cases of ‘bad’ dentists, meaning you’re not alone in your plight.

Do I need to buy your product?

It’s been said through and through – ask questions. If your dentist forcefully recommends a product to you, ask him/her why you should buy that product. Many patients buy a product the same day their procedure took place. It’s best if you do your internet research about that product first, then come at a later time and date when you are set to buy that product.

If you find cheaper dental products similar to what your dentist is recommending to you, ask for peer advice from internet communities on whether you buy either the product your dentist endorses or a similar, cheaper dental product readily available on the internet.

Can you give me a discount?

Patients should rectify their ideals of not asking a discount from a professional. Indeed, professional work requires professional fees, but dentists are human beings too – able to empathize to your financial needs. Dental discounts can be given by the dentist especially when you come to an agreement of paying in cash than using immediate dental insurance – you’ll still get a refund anyway.

On your next trip to the dentist, don’t forget to ask these questions. You’ll save a lot and learn a lot too.

It’s been asked time and time again, from local gossip to national surveys: “What do you hate most about your dentist?” Some will unanimously agree on the “don’t worry, you’ll be fine” excuses that a dentist passes off as reassurance just to keep a patient pacified.  In fact, there are a lot of things we (subconsciously) hate about going to our local dental clinic. It might be the senile old people who scare us off with their falling dentures or the wails of the five-year old look-alike of Alfred E. Neuman. Our excuses to NOT go to the dental clinic are getting pointless nowadays, since the painful treatments are gradually fading away through the help of more powerful (and less dangerous anesthetics).

If you’re like one of the millions of patients in the United States who rely on user reviews on the internet before buying their next piece of gadgetry, you’ll also be likely to look for reviews about your local dentist: how well he’s performed, what procedures he specializes on, how his staff handles the patients, and more importantly, how much he charges ranging from a simple tooth extraction to full mouth reconstruction. All of these things are the ‘criteria’ by which people grade their dentists.

Here are some of the ‘good criteria’ patients are looking in a dentist. Alternatively, for a dentist, he/she should be well aware of these criteria to lower the turnover of patients visiting the clinic:

Ambience

The ambience of a dental clinic, based on our aggregate reviews, is the fine line that distinguishes a dental office from a government office. Patients are very suspicious about their surroundings, particularly in health establishments like hospitals, testing centers, and clinics. Patients feel susceptible to harm whenever they inside a clinic, so it is a dentist’s utmost priority to ensure that a patient feels safe, secure and has a safe seating distance from another patient, in order to facilitate innocuous vibes towards other patients. Patients prefer a clinic where there is a minimal clutter and lots of magazines to read in order to kill the time in waiting for their turn.

Staff

The staff should always greet patients with unreluctant smiles – and we mean every patient. If you are a dentist running a dental office, you should reconsider hiring a possible grouch as your assistant, as they tend to bring ‘bad luck’ to any establishment. We’ve seen the common denominator of any failing startup business – grouches. And it’s a plus factor if you hire a gorgeous-looking and handsome assistant to take the front desk. A dentist hiring a lousy assistant is a like a budding Hollywood actor with a lousy agent – you’ll never get started on good projects.

Practice

Practice makes perfect. Once the obstacle courses have been cleared, it’s time for the patient to make the final judgement of the dental office – the dentist himself. The dentist should always, and we mean always be good at what he does. A dentist should not put up any accolades and ‘fellow’ plaques to hang on the wall if he can’t even do a single extraction right – it will only hurt his reputation. As a dentist, you should know your capacity and what you need to hone. If your skills don’t look like they can run a sole proprietorship dental clinic, then become an associate first, or better yet, an assistant to a seasoned dentist. When you deem your skills as ready to engage in sole practice, you can now start your own dental office.

Bonus Tip: Pricing

Dentists should always offer competitive rates to their services no matter what. The world today is so densely populated with competition that some dentists even advertise their services on milk cartons. Get the low-down on the hottest deals dentists in your area offer. By doing this, your patient won’t raise her eyes on the dental bill and still return for any follow-up procedures. Do a quick round-up of dentist directories on Google and see if your name is listed along your competitors. If it’s not, sign up for as many accounts as you can so you can get on top of them, ranking-wise. Also, invest in top ranking local or city dental directory websites so you gain the upper hand when a patient searches for a specific city dentist.

If you’ve been making frequent visits to different dentists, you should notice that some equipment and instruments they use look strikingly the same. These dental equipment and instruments are essential for a dentist to complete his dental work. Though some of the equipment your local dentist uses may look old, they function just as well as newer ones. Look for these rudimentary dental equipment and instruments whenever you have the time to browse the treatment room.

Dental Chair

The dental chair is probably the most prominent piece of dental equipment in the treatment room. Dentists either purchase brand new or refurbished dental chairs when they start public practice. Regardless of condition, comfort, stability, and utility are the three key factors that sets a good dental chair from a bad one. The first dental chair was introduced in 1970 and has continued to evolve to suit different dental office aesthetics and to provide more utility, like the ability to purify running water, sport LCD displays, and improved spinal support designed specifically for elderly patients.

Saliva Ejector

You probably recognize a saliva ejector running because of the ambient noise it produces. The saliva ejector makes it easy to vacuum out intrusive saliva while performing an operation by way of the suction tubes. Don’t worry though, as a saliva ejector will not dry out your mouth, only the excess saliva produced by the body during awkward mouth positions is filtered out by the machine.

Examination Instruments

The dentists use examination instruments to peer into the mouth, look for the cause of the pain, and finally work on the damaged or infected tooth.

The mouth mirror is used to peer into hard-to-view areas of the mouth, like the back and gaps of cavities. The mouth mirror is also used by the dentist to thump a tooth to see if it draws pain.

The dental explorer has a hook that services a scraper for minor plaque and tartar buildup. It is also used to sensate the tooth and see if it produces any tingling sensation from the patient. The dental explorer’s primary purpose is to determine if there is any tooth decay building up on the tooth.

The periodontal probe is used to measure pocket depths in-between teeth. This probe is usually used on adult patients, since they are more prone to periodontitis. The probe is also used on patients who wear braces and Invisalign to see any improvements on their bite.

Dental Tweezers/College Tweezers

These pair of tweezers is usually used to hold and push cotton into different portions of the mouth to prevent saliva from gushing into the teeth.

Dental Excavator

Dental excavators come in different ends: a spoon, claw or disk-sized blade. They are used in removing tooth decay. The shapes correspond to different types of teeth.

Dental Drill

After pinpointing the cause of dental pain, and more often than not, a decayed molar, the dentist will need to excavate the tooth by using a dental drill. A dental can be attached to different removable tips/extensions (also called dental burs) and is capable of 400,000 rpm speeds, which is perfectly suited to penetrate the hard calcium surface of a tooth. A dental drill is primarily used in excavating a cavity prior to filling it with composite resin or amalgam.

Upon filling a tooth with composite resin or amalgam, repairing chipped teeth or for purely cosmetic reasons, the use of a dental bur is imperative to smoothen the surface of the tooth.

Dental Syringe

A dental syringe is a unique syringe specifically designed for injecting sufficient and controlled amounts of anesthesia into the gums. It is also used to withdraw liquids (particularly pus) from the gums.

Dental Anesthesia

Dental anesthesia is a specialized form of general anesthesia, whereby lacking the presence of nitrous oxide. Dental anesthesia is commonly called lidocaine by dentist. Its numbing effect usually lasts one two hours, depending on body mass and the nervous system’s tolerance to anesthetics.

Dentists are profoundly some of the most intelligent and well sought after people you’ll meet in your lifetime. Because of their love for their patients’ health and productivity, dentists strive to put their luxuries aside and opt for continuing education to better serve their patients and to instill unto themselves better knowledge of practice and expanded knowledge about new dental procedures and methodologies.

Enrolling in continuing education courses will not only help the dentist grasp new information, but also new patients as well. When a dentist passes the board exam, he/she is still considered a hatchling in the field. Only in practice can a dentist hone his/her skills in general dentistry. A dentist will also be more eligible in becoming in non-practice areas like policy-making and health research.

Dentists also cannot practice other specialized branches of dentistry like orthodontics, periodontal dentistry, TMJ dentistry and restorative dentistry without undergoing additional years of training via full-time post-graduate studies. This is the reason why a lot of seasoned dentists have only set up clinic in their late twenties or early thirties.

There are a lot of universities around the world that admit dentists, oral hygienists and dental technicians who wish to pursue post-graduate and doctorate studies. It is imperative to verify the authenticity of a dental school by verifying its course offerings with its purported affiliates. The usual cost per credit hour ranges from $30-$40, but may still go higher, especially if the course-offer comes from a reputable or Ivy League university.

As an alternative, the dental practitioner may also opt to read medical journals or join non-profit organizations that offer free-but-exclusive articles on specialized dental practice. The internet has been a goldmine for information on specialized areas dentistry. Be warned though, that some sites offer uncited information that may detriment the preferred types of operations and may ruin your credits if you subscribe to the wrong information database.

A few reputable websites that offer authentic and dependable for continuing education course-takers and avid readers alike are:

Journal of the American Dental Association – http://jada.ada.org
Continuing Education from Procter and Gamble – http://www.dentalcare.com/soap/coneduc/index.htm

Foundations in Continuing Education – http://www.fice.com

Journal of Continuing Dental Education – http://www.tambcd.edu

Project Dental by the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine http://sdm.uchc.edu

Medical conditions have often been linked to an ethnicity of the patient suffering from the disease. Like hair color, the possibility of acquiring a medical condition can be attuned to your ancestry and ethnicity as well. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of commonalities between ethnicity and diseases the survival rate between a Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic and Asian who all have Alzheimer’s can turn into heavily-deviating figures. In a 2007 report involving 30,000 Alzheimer’s Disease patients, African-Americans and Hispanics outlived Caucasians and Asians, but while the rate may bring about generic hypotheses on the survival rate for people with similar neural conditions, other psychological and environmental conditions still factor in.

And just like medical conditions, dental conditions are also being studied if certain dental maladies can be pinpointed to ethnicity and race. Dental statisticians believe that pinpointing dental conditions to race, ethnicity, culture will pave the way for dentists in the near future to come up with specialized solutions to both traumatic and non-traumatic dental conditions for individuals who have different or mixed races.

Culture and socio-economic lifestyles mean trouble for third-world countries. Children are the most affected by the daily oral routines practiced and scrumptious-but-life-threatening meals fed by parents who see these as an “instrument” to their child’s sustained growth. Depriving children of a healthy life at such an early and sensitive age will leave them blistered for the years to come. The African and Hispanic community, though outliving Caucasian and Asian races by a foothold by mortality statistics, often live the most burdened life because of disparaging dental conditions caused by parental neglect and below-the-poverty-line living conditions.

Tobacco usage, alcoholic beverage consumption, food variety, water supply are the predominant causes of dental caries, tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontal disease, oral cancer, and other minor and major dental conditions.  Partaking in a healthy diet “may” increase your lifespan, but we cannot deny that religious practices, ancestry, ethnicity and race all play a determining role on the span your life here on earth.

Oral cancer’s most intriguing facet is the origin of the cancerous tissue located in the oral cavity. While knowing that smoking, drinking and oral sex are known causes of oral cancer, much is yet to be known if genetic predisposition and multiracial genes acquired from ethnicity plays a key role in the disease’s development. The early signs of oral health conditions may also appear more apparent to people with different races. Regardless of race however, education plays a key role. Health departments of countries with the highest mortality rates for a particular disease should elevate their concentration on the study of that disease, likewise people who already know that there have been deaths in the family line from a common disease.

Be it known that if you live in a family line that suffers from oral-cancer related deaths, cut down on tobacco and other nicotine-rich products. Know the numbers. Be informed.



Alcohol, though enjoyable in a drunkard or even a connoisseur’s  intoxicated state, is known to not only waste internal organs – but teeth as well. Alcohol is a napalm bomb of sugars, which, when metabolized by the saliva in the mouth, almost turns immediately into plaque. And situation gets worse because almost every drunkard forgets to brush his/her teeth after drinking a bottle full of spirits.

Gin, rummy, wine, vodka, whiskey, brandy and all sorts of alcoholic concoctions (and not to mention beer) have high concentrations of sugar. Sweet wines that have found their way into the mainstream liquor market are also taking center stage in being the primary cause of plaque and tooth decay on binging adolescents and adults. Sugar is the sole catalyst in defining sweet wine from dry wine.

Grapes and apples are two of the primary ingredients used in wine. Both of these fruits, when fermented, convert sugar into alcohol. Some of the fruit will not be fermented, turning some of the extract into residual sugar, which is another danger to teeth, even at a measly 1% to 3% content – meaning not even dry wine is completely free from sugar. Winemakers have also been deliberately adding sugar (sucrose) to wine to boost its alcoholic content.

As mentioned earlier, alcohol gets metabolized into sugar, and then the sugar into plaque faster than you can wake up from a hangover. The basic knowledge that we salivate more during the course of the day than at night gives us the notion that drinking during daylight will likely speed up the deterioration of our teeth, regardless if we brush or not. In addition, the chances of contracting cancer are higher if the person is a day drinker, because the metabolism of the body is highest during the day.

Gum disease is also very rampant on alcohol drinkers. Middle-aged men are prone to periodontal disease, gingivitis and bad breath. The discouraging part is men brush their teeth only for a few minutes without even gargling thoroughly. Overnight liquor stains on teeth can’t be scraped off with just a few brush strokes. If a drinking party can’t be helped, be sure to bring alcohol-free mouthwash to the event. And to secure your dental health better, bring a toothbrush and toothpaste. It won’t hurt to come prepared.

Wine has been an essential part of the lifestyle of many people and generations to come. It’s a sinful treat to bust off a week’s heavy workload. People like it. Women find it refreshing. Men indulge in it. Teenagers try every means to hitch it into a party. Old people enjoy wine-tasting. But beyond the commendation alcohol receives, it still gets no unanimous praise from the medical world – especially from dentists. So be warned.