Do you get nervous when you go to the dentist?

From the bright lamp spotlighting you to the fear of cavities, it’s not unusual to have a little apprehension. One thing you’re likely trying to avoid is a root canal.

The dental procedure is performed to remove an infection or damaged tissue inside a tooth. Nearly 15 million root canals are performed in the United States each year.

Although there are several factors that may lead to a root canal, there are also ways to minimize your risk — with a few lifestyle changes.

For instance, hydration is more important than you think. That’s because saliva is crucial in protecting your teeth and washing away food and bacteria. When your mouth lacks saliva, bacteria can flourish and cause decay inside your mouth.

Sugary and acidic foods and drinks are one of the leading causes of tooth decay, too. This includes natural sugars from fruit and juices. Snacks like raisins and dried berries can attach to your teeth and cause trouble. Similarly, carbonated beverages, beer, wine and coffee will coat your teeth with acid — something the enamel on your teeth would rather avoid.

Your habits have a lasting impact as well. Smoking and vaping will not only increase your risk of gum disease but also allow chemicals to break down the enamel of your teeth. The same is true for those who work near toxic fumes and chemicals; the exposure will compromise your oral health and potentially lead to a root canal.

In some cases, a root canal is unavoidable. Until then, there are plenty of small steps you can take to decrease your chance of a long afternoon in the dental chair.

Your child’s favorite plastic toy might be more than just a plaything — it could be a hidden health risk. Now a new study from researchers in New York reveals that childhood exposure to plastics can cause serious issues down the road, including hormone disruption, chronic inflammation and a lower IQ.

It’s not just toys that are causing these issues. Many common household items, cosmetics, food packaging and even paper receipts can hide dangerous chemicals used in plastic manufacturing. The chemicals are included for a variety of purposes, like making plastics more flexible or more rigid and more heat-resistant.

The findings demonstrate how early childhood exposure to these chemicals is associated with a number of chronic conditions that carry into adolescence and adulthood, including heart disease, obesity, infertility and asthma.

According to the study, this is because when plastics are heated, or even just used, small plastic particles are released and unknowingly ingested.

The researchers recommend taking certain steps to help reduce exposure to the harmful chemicals, such as replacing plastic containers with glass or stainless steel. They also suggest trying to avoid microwaving plastic or to refrain from putting it in the dishwasher when possible.

The group is also calling for more regulation to help reduce the use of non-essential plastic items.

While it may seem impossible to completely avoid plastic, even simply reducing your plastic exposure today can protect your child for a lifetime. Small swaps in daily routines may seem minor, but they can add up to a safer, healthier start in life.

From the waterfall screensaver to the dripping office sink, plenty of things can affect your bladder — and make you realize you need to go. But have you ever felt like your bladder is full, yet nature won’t take its course?

The problem could be urinary retention. For many, it manifests as a full bladder that just won’t let you go, or feeling like you need to pee but come up empty.

Think of your bladder like a balloon located in your lower abdomen. The bladder “neck” resembles the opening where you blow air into a balloon. For urine to empty, your bladder muscles contract while the bladder neck and urethra relax. If your bladder muscles are weak or you’re experiencing poor nerve signals, you may have issues.

And, as you age, health conditions and medications play a role. Research shows men can experience trouble because of an enlarged prostate blocking the flow of urine. Women, on the other hand, might have difficulty due to nerve issues or a cystocele (sih-stuh-seel), also known as a dropped bladder.

Pills for allergies or a cold, such as decongestants and antihistamines, can also contribute to slowing — or even stopping — urine.

So, what can you do? Stay in tune with your body and pay attention to subtle changes, like a weaker stream, straining or frequent nighttime walks to the bathroom. And, of course, staying hydrated is important.

Ultimately, while uncomfortable, these aren’t usually a major health concern. But if you find you can’t urinate at all, or your bladder’s fullness frequently reaches the point of pain, head to the nearest doctor — assuming you don’t need a bathroom first.

Sometimes, it’s an emergency because you’re not about to pee.

Whether it’s a cross-country trek to a national park or a regional trip across a single state, a road trip is an American tradition. Less tradition than torture is something else that accompanies many to their destination — motion sickness.

A new study in Frontiers of Human Neuroscience, however, might show a good prescription for feeling better in the form of music.

Researchers found that listening to soft, gentle or upbeat, joyful music significantly alleviated motion sickness by an average of 57%. That hints at a new tool to battle that awful feeling.

Sad songs, however, didn’t help much and were less effective for relieving symptoms than simply pulling into a rest stop and taking a break from driving.

The study did not provide specific examples of music played to test subjects, beyond broad categories like “sad,” “soft” and “joyful.”

Scientists who wrote the study had 30 volunteers use a driving simulator to trigger motion sickness. They asked the drivers to self-report how they felt as music played. Researchers also monitored the subjects’ brain activity.

Once participants began to feel ill, investigators played music.

The study suggested that music interacts with the brain and body. Soft music, for example, might calm the nervous system. By contrast, joyful music might be distracting as a piece stimulates the brain’s reward centers.

Study authors admit their analysis is limited since so few test subjects participated. Still, it provides a reminder of the transcendent power of music.

Keep an appropriate playlist handy on your next excursion and end the trip on a high note. But avoid sad songs like drivers avoid construction zones.

Learning you have cancer can be shocking. Sensory overload follows.

Fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, depression, helplessness and guilt can all be in the mix.

Making that initial onslaught worse, a new University of Florida study found, is that most people newly diagnosed with cancer are met with a flood of misinformation.

Ninety-three percent of such patients in the Florida study said they had seen or heard spurious claims about cancer cures.

Even if you don’t have a cancer diagnosis, you have likely seen it yourself. Wear crystals next to your body, one touts. Follow an alkaline diet, a friend suggests. A Facebook posts says aromatherapy will cure you. Or enemas. Or vitamin C. Or polarity therapy.

The list is as lengthy as it is ridiculous. And patients are vulnerable to such claims because most of us want to live as long as we can.

One takeaway from the study is that doctors should assume a new cancer patient has seen or heard misinformation ¾ rather than hope they haven’t. Bad health information can prevent people from getting treatment that has been studied for safety and effectiveness.

The researchers said they are working to pilot an “information prescription” to steer patients to sources of evidence-based information about cancer, like the American Cancer Society.

Notably, the study found that patients were most often exposed to misinformation secondhand, rather than looking for it. Our online algorithms know us and dictate much of what we see.

So, if you’re trying to understand how to deal with cancer, take everything you read with a grain of salt. And if something seems too good to be true, ask your doctor.

There is nothing better than catching up with a group of old friends.

You know — those moments when everyone can escape from taking the kids to practice, forget about work responsibilities, relax and get together.

As everyone goes around the table talking about this trip or that embarrassing moment in college, you realize some details are cloudy. Others, however, you remember clearly.

That begs the question: Why does the brain remember certain things over others?

Research says it’s because our brains pick and choose which memories are important. The brain uses a sliding scale to decide the memories to preserve, which explains why certain memories, like those associated with particular life events and unforgettable experiences, live on so vividly.

Meanwhile, life’s mundane, more run-of-the-mill tasks are considered “fragile.” Our brain realizes these events are mostly insignificant.

However, there is one caveat: Timing is everything.

Researchers found that people were more likely to remember “fragile” events that happened just before an emotional experience. You can think of an emotional event as one where you felt exhilaration, or one that left you stunned. Emotional intensity is key. Maybe you remember what sports drink you were guzzling before you crushed a home run, or the pajamas you were wearing when you found out the Tooth Fairy was the same person reminding you to brush.

Ultimately, the brain processes an infinite amount of information and decides what to remember and what to forget. It prioritizes experiences that are distinctive and emotionally important.

Now, if only your chemistry class could have been as exciting as the day you got your license…

Mangoes are a sweet snack lauded by fruit lovers everywhere. But for those who might be missing out on the tropical treat to avoid spiking their blood sugar levels, there’s good news. New research shows that mangoes might actually help adults with prediabetes improve blood sugar regulation and reduce body fat.

In the study, participants were split into two groups: One group ate a fresh mango on a daily basis, while the other group received a low-sugar granola bar. Researchers focused on the two groups’ blood glucose levels, body fat and responses to insulin.

The results showed that the group who consumed mangoes, which typically contain about 32 grams of sugar, fared better in all areas than the group who ate granola bars, which had about 11 grams of sugar.

The researchers said this study helps illustrate how a food containing less sugar is not automatically the healthier choice. It’s not just about the sugar content, researchers explained — consumers should consider the food in its entirety. Fiber, vitamins and other nutrients are all factors at play that offer additional health benefits.

In fact, breakfast cereals with added sugar and even certain low-sugar snacks can actually increase the risk of diabetes for the 100 million adults in the U.S. with prediabetes.

Researchers explained that although this study focused on mangoes, the findings are consistent with studies involving other whole fruits. Other whole fruits might offer similar benefits.

So, if you are prediabetic, or simply health-conscious, reaching for a mango could be a step toward better blood sugar and body composition.

Sometimes good things come in small — and sweet — packages.

Saturated fat, present in delectable dishes like cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes, boasts an ever-increasing nutritional rap sheet. Notably, it can negatively impact your cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease.

Now, according to research from the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine, the infamous lipid is tacking on another offense: meddling with your memory.

The study, published in Neuron, shows that a group of brain cells in the hippocampus, referred to as CCK interneurons, tip into overdrive after following a high-fat diet in mice. Saturated fat impairs the brain’s ability to receive sugar. After even a few days of this kind of eating, the hippocampus and its memory processing are disrupted.

Scientists were surprised by the speed at which the cells shifted their activity in response to a dip in glucose availability — and how this small change was enough to weaken memory.

Importantly, the study suggests junk food high in fat can quickly impact the brain, long before you notice weight gain or a doctor doles out a diabetes diagnosis. Longterm negative effects could include a higher risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like dementia or Alzheimer’s.

In contrast, when brain glucose levels were restored, the overactive CCK neurons calmed down and memory problems began to subside. Dietary interventions like intermittent fasting just after a high-fat diet were enough to help the brain return to better memory functioning, scientists said.

Although in the long run, it might be easier to just decrease the amount of saturated fat we consume to begin with.

Perhaps it’s time for yoga to undergo a little bit of a cooldown — especially the sweltering hot variety.

If your goal is to improve your cardiovascular health, there are other types of exercise that outdo yoga in that department. High-intensity interval training is one. Strength training, Pilates and aerobic exercise are others. And hang onto your loose-fitting togs, because even Tai Chi, with its ever so slow, graceful movements and controlled breathing, works better to strengthen the heart.

A new study from researchers in India and the United Arab Emirates analyzed 10 studies of several types of physical activities and heart health in sedentary adults.

In one of the studies that delved into hot yoga, the researchers directly compared Bikram yoga practiced at 105 degrees Fahrenheit to the same routine performed in a 73-degree room. After 12 weeks, 54 sedentary adults, ranging in age from 40 to 60, saw similar outcomes regardless of temperature.

Neither group showed big changes in tests that measure how fast blood pressure waves travel through arteries.

One study found that Bikram [bi-kruhm] yoga offered some vascular improvements, but changes in participants’ blood vessel widening didn’t lead to less arterial stiffness, a key marker of heart health that occurs as we age.

The researchers note that their study is not meant to keep people away from yoga. Middle-aged and older people may see modest vascular benefits. And yoga offers advantages in other areas, like better balance, flexibility and stress relief.

But if you’re trying to exercise your way to better cardiovascular health, there are better ways to get there than posing like a cobra.

Here’s a nutritional treat you don’t have to go to the supermarket to buy. Just stroll through your yard.

It’s got six legs, hops and it’s more challenging to catch than a hamburger.

We are talking, of course, about grasshoppers.

A study recently published in the journal Food Science of Animal Products suggests that the common insect could improve sleep quality and hair health, and even lead to an improved love life.

This isn’t avant-garde scientific experimentation. With an ever-increasing world population, food shortages are a significant concern for the future. Grasshoppers are already a food source in some regions, including Africa and South America. At times, the price of grasshoppers has exceeded beef. Some consider the insect a delicacy.

In countries like Uganda and Kenya, grasshopper farming is a lucrative business.

The scientists in this study put rats on a grasshopper diet and compared them with control groups who were not fed the insects. The insect-munching rats saw improvement in several measures of health.

Their sleep patterns changed, with the rats getting an extra 12 hours a week of shut-eye. They maintained a healthier body weight. And researchers also recorded an astonishing improvement in hair quality. Nearly 95% of the rats had excellent hair health.

Just 5% of rats on a fishmeal diet and less than 1% on a no-protein diet boasted identical outstanding bobs.

And the hopper rats had sex more often.

What makes insect food attractive? Its small environmental footprint. It’s a sustainable food in a world threatened by climate change and crop loss.

And many people love their flavor, especially with a chili powder dip.