The Smile Journal

7 min read15 August 2026

How does dental health affect daily life?

Dental problems are often associated with pain. However, their effects on sleep, eating, speech, and social life are broader than most people realize.

7 min read15 August 2026

Diabetes and the gums: a two-way relationship

The link between gum disease and diabetes has the strongest evidence among the relationships between oral and general health. What is more, the relationship is not one-way.

6 min read15 August 2026

Gum disease and sexual health: what does the research say?

An association between gum disease and erectile dysfunction has been reported. Let’s take a closer look at what this finding means and where its limits lie.

8 min read15 August 2026

Does gum health affect the heart? What the evidence says

Cardiovascular disease is more common in people with gum disease. How much of this relationship has been proven, and how much remains uncertain?

Oral Care

9 min read13 August 2026

Can teeth heal themselves? What is possible today and what is not

Does enamel grow back, can a cavity close on its own, is growing a new tooth possible? A look at what is proven, what is still in research, and what circulates online without support.

6 min read13 August 2026

Why does toothache get worse at night?

Pain that is bearable during the day often turns into throbbing at night, and there is a physiological reason for it. What causes it, what different types of pain point to, and when waiting becomes risky.

8 min read13 August 2026

Do root canals make you ill? The science behind the claim

A graphic circulating online lists the bacteria found in a root-canal-treated tooth and presents it as proof of disease. Here is what that finding means, and what it does not.

7 min read13 August 2026

When does root canal treatment fail, and what happens next?

Not every root canal lasts a lifetime. Why treatment fails, which signs matter, and how the choice between retreatment, root-end surgery and extraction is made.

5 min read13 August 2026

A knocked-out tooth: the first 30 minutes decide

A permanent tooth knocked out by trauma can often be put back if it is stored correctly and reaches care quickly. What to do, and just as importantly what not to do.

7 min read13 August 2026

Dental abscess: the signs, and when it becomes an emergency

An abscess is the sign that infection has moved beyond the tooth. The signs, which findings need attention within hours, and why treatment does not end with antibiotics.

7 min read13 August 2026

Cracked tooth: pain that does not show on an X-ray

The hardest part of a cracked tooth is diagnosis; most cracks are invisible on an X-ray. The signs, how they are detected, and how treatment changes with the depth of the crack.

Oral Care

6 min read13 August 2026

Why do teeth become sensitive to cold?

The jolt from a cold sip usually comes down to one mechanism: exposed dentine. What causes it, which situations will not settle on their own, and what actually helps.