When I was little I shared a room with my brother. In addition to an occasional stuffed animal sacrifice, thievery upon my Halloween candy and a game or two of “Say Uncle,” we also shared a difference in some basic oral hygiene.

Now, I hated brushing my teeth just like any other kid, but I always did for fear the cavity creeps would stage a war in my mouth.

My brother, on the other hand, made every effort to avoid brushing. His personal favorite was simply wetting his toothbrush.

Being the little sister (okay, “Tattletale”), I often tried to rat him out. He’d reply, “If you don’t believe me, go feel my toothbrush” and actually get away with it!

He was notorious for brushing his teeth on the way to our dental checkups. Without fail, the DDS gave him kudos for his regular brushing. Unfortunately, I often did the walk of shame after the DDS notified my mom of my new cavities. Even worse, I endured the ride home with him smirking at me and saying, “Ha ha!” Oh, the horror …

Bottom line is no matter how well we take care of our teeth, we may still encounter dental issues. Accept that as the truth and there will be no more walks of shame. The important thing is to go regularly to your dentist to maintain a healthy smile. Memories of my lucky brother will be with me forever and if I’m lucky, so will my teeth!

When I think of protecting my teeth, my thoughts immediately jump to brushing, flossing and fluoride. I never think of night guards. At least, I never thought of them until now.

I’ve been gently informed that I grind my teeth at night.

That alarms me. Because bruxism (or teeth grinding) can cause temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), cracked teeth and just plain worn out teeth. Trust me, my teeth are too young to be worn out and so are my jaws! That’s the story I’m telling people, anyway.

But the truth is, no matter how old or young I am, I want to keep my teeth until I’m at least 95. And so that means I’ll have to ask my dentist about fitting me with a night guard.

Oh, I know I can get one at the store for a lot less money. But I’m afraid the plastic will irritate my gums. And since it won’t be custom-fitted to me, I’m also afraid the store brands will slip out of place and provide little protection in the long run. So off to the dentist I go …

Except that driving anywhere in Los Angeles causes me to grind my teeth. No matter - with my new night guard I’ll be able to keep my choppers for a while longer. And I’ll just have to remember to not let traffic set my teeth on edge during the day.

It’s no secret that in your teenage to young adult years you make a lot of impulsive decisions that would make your parents cringe. I had a pretty conservative father, but still pushed the envelope when it came to my hair. It was all colors of the rainbow in my rebellious punk rock years. 

Other young adults may get wild piercings or tattoos to express themselves. Oftentimes we don’t think about how we will feel down the line with that permanent scar from that piercing or that tattoo of that great guy or girl we just started dating. Now that oral piercings have been around for a while, dentists are starting to see how these metal ornaments - even worn for short periods of time - are seriously affecting people’s smiles.

My close friend, who has 13 piercings on her face and ears, called me one day to ask if I had a good dentist. She saw my dentist and he let her know that she had a lot of minor tooth fractures and her gums on the bottom were receding due to 3 piercings she had under her lower lip.

Dentists are finding that the gentle back and forth motion of the metal button is enough to cause receding gums or even worse. It can cause significant deformities to gingival tissue that might not respond to gum surgery. This could even lead to tooth loss. Also, people could experience nerve damage or inflammation at the piercing site, fractured or chipped teeth or periodontal disease.

If you do choose to express yourself with metal in your mouth, make sure to visit your dentist regularly to prevent dental problems before they start. No one should want metal to outlast their own teeth.

I’ve got some sad news for all the hopeless romantics who are regular readers of the Dentist Love Blog. If you’re like me, you’re a big believer in lifetime commitments. It’s disheartening to learn that the average American marriage lasts only about half as long as the average ceramic dental filling.

Surprised? Me too! I always believed that a tooth filling was meant to last “forever.”

It turns out that the typical life span of a ceramic tooth filling is about 15 years. This isn’t bad when you consider most marriages throw in the towel within a mere seven years. Still, I hoped for more.

Growing up I assumed that once a dentist filled your cavities that was it. The tooth filling and I were going to live together happily ever after. What I didn’t realize was that the wear and tear of everyday life - eating, chewing gum, grinning and bearing it - takes its toll on dental fillings. It’s even worse if you have bruxism. Your dental filling is likely to wear out even faster.

Fortunately, good oral hygiene helps make your tooth fillings last. Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and daily flossing are important, as are regular dental checkups. If you have lots of fillings or particularly large ones ask your dentist about prescribing a fluoride gel to strengthen your teeth.

Don’t be surprised if one day during a checkup your dentist tells you that a tooth filling needs to be replaced because it’s worn, cracked or leaking. This is completely natural and happens to the best of us … even hopeless romantics in long-term relationships!