'SmileLine' Call-In to Field Oral Health Questions

THURSDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Americans will be able to phone in and receive free dental advice and get answers to questions about oral health this Friday, Aug. 4, during the 15th annual SmileLine.

More than 100 dental experts will take part in the nonprofit, toll-free national dental health hotline, offered by the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD). SmileLine takes place on Dental Awareness Day.

Callers can dial 1-800-764-5333 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT to speak one-on-one with a dental expert.

"Each year, a network of our members volunteer their medical expertise to field questions about dental health at all stages of life, and the AGD''s SmileLine has fielded questions from more than 16,500 consumers to date," Julie Ann Barna, AGD Foundation president, said in a prepared statement.

Here are some examples of questions asked in previous years:

• Does kissing cause or spread gum disease?
• I wear dentures. Do I need to see the dentist if nothing bothers me?
• Is it safe to receive dental X-rays if I''m pregnant?
• My tongue turned black after I drank pink medication. Why?
• Could cold medicine cause cavities in my four-year-old?
• I had my tongue pierced and now it looks like I have a second tongue. Why?

More information

If you miss the Aug. 4 phone-in SmileLine, you can go to the AGD''s SmileLine Online, where you can post dental health questions and have them answered by an AGD member dentist.

-- Robert Preidt

SOURCE: Academy of General Denistry, news release, July 31, 2006

Last Updated: Aug. 3, 2006