Find expert answers to your health questions

Dr. Gerry Curatola, DDS

Bio

Dr. Gerry Curatola graduated from Colgate University in 1979 and completed his dental education at New York University College of Dentistry in 1983. After graduating Dr. Curatola received post-doctoral training in integrative nutrition from the Pratt Institute Center for Continuing Education and Professional Studies. He attended Harvard Medical School’s Symposiums in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) given by the Center for Alternative Medicine Research and Education at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Consistently included in "America's Best Dentists," Dr. Curatola is a widely sought after speaker, commentator, and expert advisor who has been widely featured in print and broadcast media. For more information, go to www.rejuvdentist.com.

Specialties:

Affiliation:

  • Rejuvenation Dentistry/New York, NY

Location:

Group Memberships:

Activity

  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    What is dental plaque?
    Dental Plaque is actually an unhealthy expression of a naturally occurring biofilm (a complex community of bacteria) that can be found throughout your body from your lungs and digestive tract to your skin, hair and surface of your eyes. What we have come to call dentla plaque, results from an imbalance...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    Can baking soda and lemon juice be used as a teeth whitener?

    Baking soda and lemon juice are the equivalent of using Ajax on your bathtub. It gets out the stain but the abrasive nature only makes it easier for stains to return. A healthier way to whiten teeth is to reduce you consumption of acid promoting and corresponding stain producing foods such as refined

    ...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    Can mouth rinses remove plaque or prevent gum disease?

    The best way to reduce unhealthy plaque and prevent gum disease is promote a healthy balanced biofilm. That is accomplished by using nourishing and balancing oral health products and avoiding strong detergents or alcohol-based mouth rinses which disturb and denature the natural ecology of the mouth.

    ...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    What could cause a salty taste in my mouth?

    A salty taste in the mouth is most commonly due to dehydration as the saliva becomes more salty tasting. You should immediately hydrate by drinking a copious quantity of water. Other causes for a salty mouth can range from a post-nasal drip to throat cancer and should be brought to the attention of your

    ...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    How safe are dental X-rays?

    There is a great deal of misinformation and confusion regarding the safety of dental x-rays. Dental x-rays are an indispensable tool for any dental professional to competently treat a patient. Here are some interesting facts: the amount of cosmic and solar radiation, as well as the natural radiation we are exposed

    ...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    Is baking soda a good replacement for toothpaste?

    Baking soda as a toothpaste is sort of "the right church but the wrong pew."

    Sodium bicarbonate (i.e., baking soda) is a great alkalizer and helps to neutralize acids in the mouth (the "right church") but as a regular toothpaste ingredient, it can also be quite abrasive and can wear the enamel of the

    ...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    Are there alternatives to a root canal?

    While a root canal treatment remains the most conservative way to save a tooth with a dying nerve or surrounding dental abscess, the dental scientific literature continues to indicate that extraction and placement of a dental implant, in fact, may be a more predictable and stable alternative treatment.

    ...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    Is using a toothpick good or bad for my teeth?
    The use of a piece of wood to clean between your teeth goes far back in history. Egyptians, African and Indian tribes used twigs and bark from trees to clean teeth. Interdental wood picks and toothpicks when used carefully to remove food and debris is not harmful. It is still not a substitute to...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    What are the disadvantages of amalgam tooth fillings?
    Besides the obvious aesthetic disadvantages of silver metal in teeth, and the controversial content of methyl mercury present in amalgam restorations, studies have shown that amalgam fillings weaken teeth. In a study at the University of Minnesota, with compressive force placed on the occlusal (top) s...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    Are crowns better than veneers?
    Crown are a full coverage restorative option for the tooth. This is indicated when there extensive breakdown or loss of natural tooth structure. Veneers generally cover the facial (front) and incisal (edge) surfaces of the tooth and are a more conservative option when there is sufficient health tooth...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    What can my teeth tell me about my health?
    Your teeth and mouth in general are a mirror of what is going on in the body overall and a healthy mouth is reflective of total body wellness. Inflammed gums, worn down teeth, dry mouth, bad breath, ulcers and swelling can be warning sign of sytemic problems including diabetes, heart disease, digestive...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    What can I do to prevent oral cancer?
    The newest high risk factor for oral cancer is the transmission of the HPV virus to the mouth usually by oral-genital contact (oral sex). I now call Oral Cancer "the cancer you can catch." EDUCATION is one of the best ways to reduce the incidence of oral cancer. The other well known risk factors are alcohol...  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    Are there alternatives to dentures?
    Dental implants are often called man's way of giving you a third set of teeth. Depending on the quality and quantity of supportive bone present, dental implants are a wonderful alternative to dentures.  Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS has posted a blog entry: Want to reduce the spiraling healthcare costs in this country??? Start with a healthy mouth.
    With a federal deficit in the trillions of dollars and healthcare costs creating a significant contribution to the debt burden, there is no better time to take a proactive look at ways to reduce costs. In a study sponsored by the Aetna insurance company on 145,000 patients at Columbia University,...Full Post
  • Gerry Curatola, DDS
    Gerry Curatola, DDS answered:
    What type of dentist performs root canal therapy?
    Root canal therapy is a dental 'surgical' procedure (surgical removal of the pulpal tissue inside the crown and root of a tooth) that requires a high level of proficiency. It can be performed by a general dentist as endodontics (i.e., root canal therapy) is a part of a dentist's pre-doctoral training...  Full Post