Month: July 2015

You can see it in the number of people flocking to the grocery store or pharmacy to purchase at-home tooth whitening kits. You can also get a sense for it when observing pretty much any orthodontist, who can often fit dozens of patients with braces before 10 a.m. Even still, you can see it in the number of people researching things like dental veneers and implants. All these signs only indicate one thing: more than ever before in history, society is obsessed with having a perfect, pristine set of teeth. Between 1982 and 2008, the number of orthodontic procedures in the U.S. jumped a shocking 99%. Similar rises in demand can be seen for cosmetic dental procedures -- procedures that are exclusively aesthetic in nature and aren't performed for the sake of the patient's dental health. Second o...

A healthy human being is capable of drinking about three gallons (48 cups) of water per day. However, drinking too much water too quickly when doing strenuous exercise can lead to hyponatremia, a potentially fatal condition. Following the deaths of at least 14 deaths of marathon runners, football players, and other athletes, a panel of 17 experts from across the world worked together to publish new guidelines in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine outlining the safest way to consume water without overdoing it. Simply put, they say to drink only when you're thirsty. "Our major goal was to re-educate the public on the hazards of drinking beyond thirst during exercise," Dr. Tamara Hew-Butler, the guideline’s lead author, said in a statement. "Every single [exercise-associated hyp...