The Mission
To empower our readers with evidence-based, easy-to-understand dental health advice.
We’re committed to giving you evidence-based recommendations whenever possible.
Our dentists and other experts sift through the complex science on dental and oral health. Then, we make it easy to understand.
Balanced, actionable dental information can help you improve your oral and overall health. After all, health begins in the mouth.
Here’s what makes us a source you can trust:
We’re big on unbiased information.
It may sound great to give you only one solution to treat your problem or answer your question, but that’s not how things work in real life. Our recommendations for procedures, products, and general advice are based on what allows you to make an informed decision.
We know that science can be complex and isn’t always simple to decipher.
We take complex topics, break down the research, and give you easy-to-understand information…no science degree required.
We make recommendations based on the available evidence.
We cite only primary research sources that are well-designed, well-conducted, and peer-reviewed. Just because Joe Schmoe said that you can cure boils with tinfoil doesn’t make it true—we want to see the scientific evidence behind it.
You can expect to see links and full citations for peer-reviewed research from trustworthy sources, like PubMed. We’ll also be open about what kind of study you’re looking at and what its limitations might be.
Our articles are written and/or edited by credentialed experts.
Articles on scientific topics are either written or medically reviewed by a member of our advisory board. See an article on a strictly dental health topic? It’s been reviewed by a qualified, licensed dentist or oral health practitioner. Articles on nutrition are edited by a registered dietician, and so forth.
We appreciate that being afraid of the dentist is a real thing…And we write with that in mind.
Dental phobia is the most common phobia on the books, and dental anxiety is in the top 3 reasons people feel nervous.
While your dental health is super important (and impacts the rest of your all-body health!), we know it can be a scary topic. We do our best to help you feel safe and confident by avoiding graphic images and startling language and by giving you as many suggested options for treatment as we can reasonably provide.
We don’t do shame.
Ever read an article on the internet that made you feel bad for your health-related decisions? Us, too. And it sucks, especially when you’ve been doing your best.
Everyone is walking a path in life, and it’s not our job to shame any kind of medical decision. Our intention is to provide information that anyone can utilize and implement. Dental health is a broad topic and we want you to walk away empowered, not ashamed.
We suggest products that we’ve actually tested.
One of the major reasons people visit Ask the Dentist is to find the best product for their dental health needs. We take that very seriously—when we post about a product, you can trust that we’ve bought it, held it in our hands, and thoroughly tested its effectiveness.
We’re open about how our website operates and makes a profit.
Ask the Dentist is supported by readers via website ads and the purchase of affiliate products. This allows us to provide the information we write at no direct cost to you.
Rest assured—buying an affiliate product will never cost you a penny more. If you’d rather not buy through an affiliate link, we encourage you to Google the name of the item you’d like and purchase it that way.
See an ad you don’t like? Please use the “report” link at the bottom of each ad. If you’d rather not see ads on our site, you can install an adblocker plugin on your browser. All of our content will remain totally public and free, even with an adblocker installed.
We also produce thorough downloadable guides on a variety of topics, for a small price, available on our store page.
We’re easy to reach.
It can be hard to accept advice from a faceless source. That’s why we make it easy to reach us via email and social media to clarify any questions you may have or ask a question we haven’t answered yet. Check out our Contact page for how you can connect with a real person.
*Please keep in mind that we are not able to provide medical or dental advice for an individual problem. We do our best to give educational information as requested, but we are unable to diagnose or prescribe treatment online.
We’re big on unbiased information.
It may sound great to give you only one solution to treat your problem or answer your question, but that’s not how things work in real life. Our recommendations for procedures, products, and general advice are based on what allows you to make an informed decision.
We know that science can be complex and isn’t always simple to decipher.
We take complex topics, break down the research, and give you easy-to-understand information…no science degree required.
We make recommendations based on the available evidence.
We cite only primary research sources that are well-designed, well-conducted, and peer-reviewed. Just because Joe Schmoe said that you can cure boils with tinfoil doesn’t make it true—we want to see the scientific evidence behind it.
You can expect to see links and full citations for peer-reviewed research from trustworthy sources, like PubMed. We’ll also be open about what kind of study you’re looking at and what its limitations might be.
Our articles are written and/or edited by credentialed experts.
Articles on scientific topics are either written or medically reviewed by a member of our advisory board. See an article on a strictly dental health topic? It’s been reviewed by a qualified, licensed dentist or oral health practitioner. Articles on nutrition are edited by a registered dietician, and so forth.
We appreciate that being afraid of the dentist is a real thing…And we write with that in mind.
Dental phobia is the most common phobia on the books, and dental anxiety is in the top 3 reasons people feel nervous.
While your dental health is super important (and impacts the rest of your all-body health!), we know it can be a scary topic. We do our best to help you feel safe and confident by avoiding graphic images and startling language and by giving you as many suggested options for treatment as we can reasonably provide.
We don’t do shame.
Ever read an article on the internet that made you feel bad for your health-related decisions? Us, too. And it sucks, especially when you’ve been doing your best.
Everyone is walking a path in life, and it’s not our job to shame any kind of medical decision. Our intention is to provide information that anyone can utilize and implement. Dental health is a broad topic and we want you to walk away empowered, not ashamed.
We suggest products that we’ve actually tested.
One of the major reasons people visit Ask the Dentist is to find the best product for their dental health needs. We take that very seriously—when we post about a product, you can trust that we’ve bought it, held it in our hands, and thoroughly tested its effectiveness.
We’re open about how our website operates and makes a profit.
Ask the Dentist is supported by readers via website ads and the purchase of affiliate products. This allows us to provide the information we write at no direct cost to you.
Rest assured—buying an affiliate product will never cost you a penny more. If you’d rather not buy through an affiliate link, we encourage you to Google the name of the item you’d like and purchase it that way.
See an ad you don’t like? Please use the “report” link at the bottom of each ad. If you’d rather not see ads on our site, you can install an adblocker plugin on your browser. All of our content will remain totally public and free, even with an adblocker installed.
We also produce thorough downloadable guides on a variety of topics, for a small price, available on our store page.
We’re easy to reach.
It can be hard to accept advice from a faceless source. That’s why we make it easy to reach us via email and social media to clarify any questions you may have or ask a question we haven’t answered yet. Check out our Contact page for how you can connect with a real person.
*Please keep in mind that we are not able to provide medical or dental advice for an individual problem. We do our best to give educational information as requested, but we are unable to diagnose or prescribe treatment online.
Become a VIP (for free!)
What you’ll get:- VIP newsletter with special deals & bonuses
- Insider Secrets Guide: 10 things your dentist isn’t telling you
The Founders
Mark Burhenne, DDS
Mark Burhenne, DDS, knows that the mouth is the gateway to health in the rest of the body. He is the author of the #1 best seller, The 8-Hour Sleep Paradox, and is a practicing sleep medicine dentist in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Burhenne has been practicing dentistry in the greater San Francisco area for over 30 years. Learn more about his practice here. (Note: Ask the Dentist is not affiliated with Dr. Burhenne’s practice.)
He is a TEDx speaker, and his advice regularly appears on media outlets like CNN, CBS, Yahoo! Health, the Huffington Post, Prevention, The Washington Post, and Men’s Health.
He received his degree from the Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco and is a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), Academy of General Dentistry (Chicago, IL), American Academy for Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH), and Dental Board of California.
Dr. Burhenne (affectionately dubbed “Dr. B” by patients and friends) is passionate about helping people understand the connection between oral and overall health. He also spends a lot of time educating patients and readers about the importance of healthy sleep.
Dr. Burhenne’s journey to sharing better dental health information started decades go, right after he was fired from his first job as a dentist. Want to know more? Read his story here.
Catharine Burhenne, BA
San Francisco native Catharine, or “Cat” to family and friends, makes up the second half of the father-daughter team behind Ask the Dentist. In 2010, Catharine and her dad realized their dream of building a website that would make dental health easier to access and understand for the general public. An idea that started as Catharine heard her dad answering patients’ questions over the phone quickly grew to an online institution.
Catharine originally planned on a career as a bilingual doctor, studying Spanish literature and pre-med at Scripps College. But after taking a class on the inequities in medicine between communities, a spark started that would shape her path toward bridging the information gap by way of the internet.
After working for Google’s AdSense new client acquisition team immediately out of college, she joined Facebook’s operations team. From there, she worked at Twitter in Revenue & Partner Operations.
In the early days of Ask the Dentist, she would organize reader questions and sit with her dad at the kitchen table, typing up articles while Dr. B spoke.
“What inspires me most about Ask the Dentist,” she says, “is that we’re making dental health information freely available to as many people as possible—and sharing it in a way that’s simple and actionable. Listening to my dad answer questions over the phone was the first time I recognized how important this was. I thought everyone needed that kind of access to information about dental health.”
Catharine lives in San Francisco with her husband, David, and daughter Quinn, who was born in 2017. Read more about her story here.
From Dr. Burhenne and Catharine:
When we started Ask the Dentist in 2010, our greatest hope was that people would find a place where they felt safe with a dentist. With Dr. B answering reader questions as Catharine scrambled to type them out, we could only dream that our work at that kitchen table would turn into millions of readers every year.
Today, our goal is to empower every single reader at Ask the Dentist to make the best decision for themselves and their family. Whether it’s which toothbrush to buy next or how to prepare for a root canal (and everything in between), we want people to walk away with everything they need to make informed decisions.
And we know how challenging that can be.
Cat: When a health condition stopped me from breastfeeding as long as I wanted, I was devastated that I wasn’t doing the best for my daughter. It was so painful to imagine giving her anything less than “the best.” After all, we were helping people understand issues exactly like why they should breastfeed for the dental and oral health of their babies.
Dr. B: But at that same kitchen table, I reminded Cat that she was giving her Quinn the best. Feeding, loving, and cherishing her baby girl was exactly what she did every single day. There was no reason to feel ashamed or in pain over a situation she wasn’t able to control.
Cat: That’s when it clicked. Giving people “the best dental health information” means understanding that every life is different. We’re all walking a hard road, no matter how many times we manage to eat kale in a month. Let’s give people the most thorough info we can, then let them decide what’s actually best and possible for themselves and their families.
Our hope is that every single reader feels just like they’re sitting across the table from Dr. Burhenne when they read an article on Ask the Dentist.
Want to get in touch with Dr. B and Cat? You can email them at: mark [at] askthedentist.com and catharine [at] askthedentist.com.
The Team
Rebekah Edwards, BA
Managing Editor
After graduating from Trevecca Nazarene University in 2012, Rebekah jumped into the marketing world at full steam. A full-fledged Enneagram 7, she’s tried her hand at many things, like wedding photography, website development, podcasting, and event planning, but found in writing and editing for health websites an unmatched career path.
Rebekah joined the team as a contributing freelance writer in February 2018 and later transitioned into Ask the Dentist’s full-time managing editor that November. She currently spends beautiful days with her husband, Josh, and Great Dane, Molly, in Nashville, TN.
Obligatory fun stuff: Rebekah is obsessed with neon lime green, loves to belt Whitney Houston songs on karaoke night, and has a passionate relationship with sushi.
Sarah Chouman, DDS Candidate
Contributing Writer
Sarah Chouman is a born-and-raised New Yorker. Like most true New Yorkers, she’s picky about her pizza and her bagels. During her adolescence, she noticed the popular culture of smoking (anything) and its impact on dental health, which led her to pursue dentistry.
She assists at a dental clinic while pursuing her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at NYU. Currently, she is the Community Outreach Representative for her class. Sarah also worked for a year at the BlueStone Center for Clinical Research at NYU on the effects of head and neck cancer on the teeth and gums.
She hopes to use her platform at Ask the Dentist to educate and inform the public on the many habits and issues related to oral health as well as overall health.
Andrew Pautler, BFA
Web Design & Developer
Andrew graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in graphic design. After working for a local design firm for a few years, he started Pautler Design, a full-service creative and web design firm.
His specialty is working to create fresh, sharp brand identity for clients in need of a website refresh. Andrew has worked for clients such as the Kresser Institute, Robb Wolf, Anji Mountain, Joyce Meyer Ministries, Give.org, and Spend with Pennies.
He also recently launched a personal website that’s about everything coffee. You can check out Pull & Pour here.
When he’s not designing, Andrew loves training for triathlons, listening to podcasts, roasting his own coffee, cooking, and spending time with his beautiful wife and three children.
Become a VIP (for free!)
What you’ll get:- VIP newsletter with special deals & bonuses
- Insider Secrets Guide: 10 things your dentist isn’t telling you