New oral health information program from American Dental Association

Oral health information presented in entertaining Webisodes

The American Dental Association (ADA) is launching "Straight from the Mouth," a new video podcast series for the public, to provide oral health information in amusing three to five-minute Webisodes.

Posted monthly, the podcasts are a new resource for people seeking health information online and will be available on iTunes and the ADA Web site ADA.org. The podcasts feature such dental health topics as tooth whitening, overcoming dental anxiety, dental care for children and dental care while traveling to other countries.

"We're having a lot of fun with these, but at the heart of each episode is sound clinical and scientific information to help people maintain their oral health," said Ruchi Nijjar Sahota, D.D.S., a practicing dentist in Freemont, Calif., who co-hosts the show with Eric Grove, D.D.S, who graduated from Loma Linda University School of Dentistry just this year.

The first episode of "Straight from the Mouth" focuses on overcoming dental anxiety.

"Movies and TV shows make fun of dental anxiety," said Dr. Grove. "But people who suffer from it also can suffer the consequences of neglecting their teeth and gums, and that's no joke. In our podcast, we joke around a little, but we also offer practical tips to help people overcome anxiety. Regular dental care is important, and dentists want to make their patients' visits as comfortable as possible."