30 September 2025 : Cavities can be a real pain, both literally and figuratively. If you wish to take proactive steps to understand why you’re getting them so you can reduce your risk of cavities and maintain a healthy, happy smile, you have come to the right place.
Dr Mark Burhenne, a California-based dentist, has highlighted the common culprits for a host of dental issues, including cavities.
How to prevent cavities, bad breath
He took to Instagram on July 3 to share a post titled: ‘Advice I would give you as a dentist of 41 years if I wasn’t afraid of hurting your feelings’. He also shared the best ‘science-backed way to prevent cavities’ and spoke about the real reason that might be behind your bad breath. Dr Burhenne also shared which popular drinks are ‘terrible for your teeth’.
8 tips on maintaining good oral health
According to him, when it comes to dental health and hygiene, it’s important that you know the following:
1. Stop buying goldfish crackers, cheddar bunnies, and gummy vitamins.
2. Drool on your pillow, twisted bedsheets, or snoring at any age (infant, child, adult) means intervention is needed by an airway dentist + myofunctional therapist (yes, it’s that serious).
3. Using crest white strips is making you more prone to cavities, gum recession, sensitivity. A mich safer way to whiten is with 10 percent Opalescence gel and custom trays.
4. Your bad breath is caused by oral microbiome imbalance.
5. Poppi soda is more acidic than Coke Zero (and both are terrible for your teeth).
6. Chewing xylitol gum is an excellent and science backed way to prevent cavities.
7. The number one cause of cavities is mouth breathing, not sugar.
8. You need to floss if you want to reduce Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and stroke risk.
Want to enhance your oral health? In an April 2025 interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Shruthi, MDS, a dentist and periodontist at Apollo Dental in Chennai, discussed nine dental care tips you must know to improve your oral hygiene routine.
Summary:
A California dentist with 41 years of experience shared that poor oral hygiene remains the number one cause of cavities, also explaining the key reasons behind persistent bad breath.