Nothing But the Tooth

July 3, 2023
Dentist Yang debuts with a pragmatic overview of how patients can navigate the dental care system. To find a good dentist, Yang recommends asking friends for referrals or contacting a local branch of the American Dental Association. She suggests that dental work is expensive primarily because dentists have to recoup student loan debt and the cost of new equipment, but she notes that patients can receive less costly care by seeing a dentist-in-training. Yang walks through common procedures, explaining that root canals are performed by drilling a small opening in the tooth, cleaning the canals that run the length of the tooth, and filling the cavity with a material called gutta percha. Elsewhere, she covers how to get “that perfect smile on Instagram” by bleaching or getting veneers and how often to visit the dentist—once per year is enough for most, though people who are pregnant or have diabetes may want to go more frequently. The guidance is practical, and patients will appreciate the insight into what it’s like on the other end of the drill (“treating your cell phone as a body part” and “chronic lateness” number among dentists’ pet peeves). This will make readers’ next trip to the dentist a little less intimidating.

August 1, 2023
This guide to dental health combines information about fluoride and insurance (or lack thereof) with such fascinating historical nuggets as the ancient use of horsehair to floss and how, more than 4,000 years ago, Egyptians used twigs to make toothbrushes and whitened their teeth with a paste of pumice stone and white wine vinegar. Yang, a dentist for more than three decades, reminds readers of just how essential teeth are along with the medical professionals who take care of them. She gives plenty of tips, including to brush twice a day for two minutes, and to look for the American Dental Association seal of approval on toothpastes. For the record, her favorite product is floss, which has been manufactured commercially since 1882. Yang shares buyer-beware advice about heading abroad for cheaper dental work, etiquette advice about dental appointments, parental advice about not sending kids to school with sugary Fruit Roll-Ups, and general guidance about choosing brushes with soft bristles to avoid injuring gums. "Dentistry is about so much more than drill and fill," she writes. Indeed.

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December 1, 2023

With more than 30 years of private-practice dental experience, Yang takes a practical approach to smile care in this book sharing general knowledge of dental health topics. Early chapters address insurance, pricing, finding the right dentist, and brushing and flossing at home. Additional chapters give step-by-step expectations for procedures (like root-canal treatment and implant placement) and discuss dental innovations of the future. Chapters conclude with an FAQ section; an index adds ease of use. VERDICT Finding a trusted dentist and preventing and addressing tooth and gum disease add greatly to quality of life, so this is a useful resource for every library.

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