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Thanksgiving might be over, but more holidays involving food have yet to come. Remember, with great food comes great responsibilities - to your teeth! Have you been dreading going to the dentist lately? I used to. Until, one day, while I was eating a beloved Fuji apple, I imagined how tough it would be to bite into its juicy goodness with false teeth. Eek. Enough said.

So a couple of years ago I visited my dentist after being gone for 7 years. No, I didn’t spend 7 years in Tibet. But it sure looked like it when my dentist told me what was going on. Although I was flossing and brushing my teeth twice a day, my gums were recessing and would ultimately lead to gingivitis. All those years of soda and coffee drinking have finally caught up with my oral life. He also told me I have a couple of mini-cavities that needed to be taken care of. So after cleaning me up and sealing up a couple of my teeth, he advised that I started using Gel-Kam. I unwillingly forked out $15 for two tubes (I bought it from the dentist office, and later found out that it was more expensive at Target, etc).

The dentist told me to use Gel-Kam once a day (preferably at night), after brushing with my regular toothpaste, but not rinsing it out. Sounds easy enough for me. That night I put a bit of it in my toothbrush, and out came a clear gel with a very runny consistency. Started brushing and owww! For some reason it hurt my gums! Fortunately the dull pain didn’t last very long, and it only happened to sensitive gums. I kept using it daily and the pain soon went away. I figured my teeth was getting back on its healthy track.

On my next visit, the dentist was pleased that I had no more cavities and no deep pockets in my gums. I also noticed that my gums have stopped receding and no longer sensitive. Also I started spending less time in the dentist chair, which is a big plus for me!

Git it! Gel-Kam’s secret ingredient is 0.4% stable stannous fluoride, which helps prevent decalcification and hypersensitivity. It should be available in your local pharmacy (no prescription necessary), but could be quite expensive at $15 a tube. If you can, get it at your dentist (should be cheaper at $15 for 2 tubes).