The cavity risk your dentist isn’t asking about

At my annual physical, my doctor asks about my diet, sleep, and stress levels. When most people go to the dentist, they get asked—mostly—if they’re flossing. For forty years, I’ve watched dentists (myself included) focus almost primarily on mechanical cleaning—brushing, flossing, fluoride—while completely ignoring the environment those teeth are sitting in all day! We treated the mouth like a sink that needed scrubbing. But your mouth isn’t a sink. It’s an ecosystem. And just like any ecosystem, it thrives or struggles based on the conditions you create for it. One of the most over