Daniel Sula DDS

As if you needed another reason to eat cheese: The US Academy of General Dentistry conducted a study that concluded consuming cheese helps reduce the risk of cavities. The cheese raises the pH level on the surface of teeth, which helps to protect the enamel against erosion.

Do you feel uncomfortable with dental instruments in your mouth? Do you gag easily? One answer is oral sedation, which can be administered by pill or liquid and can achieve a mild to moderate level of sedation. In many cases, patients don’t remember their dental visit.

There are a variety of sedatives that a dentist can use, but the most common kind of drugs are benzodiazepines, such as diazepam, lorazepam, and triazolam. These were first developed in the 1960s, and modern versions are extremely safe and have little risk.