All doctors and dentists are nice people to know socially, but going to the doctor's office is nobody's idea of a fun way to spend time or money.

If someone could show you a few things that would help you avoid going to the dentist, would you be interested? Well, here are a few sure-fire ways to do just that...BUT, because of the legal stuff, I must ask that you not take this advice over that of a qualified dentist. If you're in trouble, seek professional help.

Regular readers know that pyorrhea- gum infection- will cause more harm than almost anything else that can happen in your mouth. So, if you are the least bit motivated to avoid going to the dentist- and if you have gums that bleed, itch, are swollen or puffy- here are a few really great inside tips for you to help you keep your gums healthy, WITHOUT HAVING TO GO TO THE DENTIST:

TIP #1- GET ON THE STICK

Go to the drug store and buy a package of STIMUDENTS, little orange wood sticks that come like a pack of matches. Get into the habit of using these little miracle workers after every meal.

Simply tear one stick out of the package, and use it in between each and every tooth. What you are trying to do is, first, to make sure there are no big globs of food stuck there.

After cleaning out all the big stuff, then use the tip of the stick to polish as much of the tooth as you can reach right at the point where the tooth and gum meet- not just between teeth, but every part of the tooth you can see. Do this only for each tooth you want to keep; the teeth you don't want to keep you don't have to polish.

TIP #2- “IF I HAD KNOWN THIS BEFORE, EVERYTHING WOULD BE SO DIFFERENT NOW”!

I hear that remark- or something like it- virtually every day in my office. No, they're not talking about the hottest website on the Internet; they're not talking about protected sex. They're talking about using an electric power toothbrush.

I could give you a long, elaborate explanation about this, but let me off the hook by telling you simply that using an electric brush just makes all the difference in the world.

The one I recommend to everyone in my practice is the SONICARE brush, the one with the two minute timer.

Yes, they make a fancier one; true, you can spend much more money if you buy one of those sleek, hi-tech ultrasonic brushes. But for my money, I'd get the Sonicare. And why get the model with the timer?

Well, someone (who should have had a better way to spend his time) did a study, and discovered that most of us brush our teeth an average of 43 seconds, once time a day. Frankly, that simply is not enough to do the job.

If you get the brush with the timer, it will help you to use the brush longer, virtually automatically, and you will get a much better result.

You don't use it like you do your regular brush. Here's what to do: Put the brush head right at the place where the gums and the teeth meet. Turn the brush on, and move it slowly from tooth to tooth along the gumline. Let it do the work- you don't have to do a thing.

You can use toothpaste if you want, although I don't think that is really important. If you do decide to use toothpaste, be sure NOT TO TURN THE BRUSH ON UNTIL IT IS INSIDE YOUR MOUTH! Otherwise, you will splatter toothpaste all over the bathroom!

The price of the brush varies from store to store, so "let your fingers do the walking". Use the Yellow Pages and call around until you find the store with the best price. Then check with us. We sell the brush at our cost.