Adult Pacifiers: What an Orthodontist Thinks
Oral Health & Conditions7 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerAdult pacifiers get marketed for anxiety, for grinding, and as a smoking substitute. From an orthodontic standpoint the problem is straightforward: sustained pressure moves teeth at any age. Hours a night of a pacifier between your front teeth will open a gap over months, the same way thumb sucking does in children,...
Does Laughing Gas Knock You Out? What Nitrous Oxide Actually Does
Oral Health & Conditions7 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerNo. Laughing gas does not knock you out. Nitrous oxide is a mild inhaled sedative that leaves you awake, talking, and aware of what is happening, just considerably less bothered by it. It kicks in within a few minutes, it wears off within about five minutes of breathing pure oxygen at the...
Can You Cure Gum Disease Without a Dentist?
Oral Health & Conditions9 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerPartly, and the honest answer depends entirely on which stage you are at. Gingivitis, the early inflammatory stage, genuinely can be reversed at home with consistent cleaning, and it is one of the few dental problems where that is true. Periodontitis, once the infection has moved below the gum line and started...
Can a Dentist Tell If You Smoke, Vape, or Use Weed?
Oral Health & Conditions8 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerUsually, yes. Not from a single cigarette last weekend, but regular use leaves a pattern in the mouth that is hard to miss: staining, dry tissue, a specific look to the gums, and healing that behaves differently than it should. The more useful question is why we ask. It changes how we...
Gingival Abscess: What That Painful Gum Bump Actually Is
Oral Health & Conditions8 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerA gingival abscess is a pocket of infection sitting in the gum tissue itself, usually because something got pushed under the gum line and stayed there. A popcorn hull, a piece of shell, a toothbrush bristle. It shows up as a shiny red bump that hurts to touch, it comes on fast,...
Bad Breath: What Actually Causes It, and What Fixes It
Oral Health & Conditions9 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerAround 85 to 90 percent of persistent bad breath starts in the mouth, and most of that comes from the back of the tongue rather than the teeth. Bacteria there break down proteins and release sulphur compounds, which is the actual smell. Mouthwash masks it for twenty minutes. What resolves it is...