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Interviewer: Is it safe to go to the dentist? Dr. Rory Hume is the Dean of University of Utah School of Dentistry. What precautions are dentists taking against COVID-19?

Dr. Hume: The standard precautions that we've used in dentistry for quite a while appeared to be effective in preventing infection within the dental setting. In the few months after the pandemic began, the American Dental Association, the Center for Disease Control started to look at all of this carefully and put out guidelines, and there are now very good guidelines for safety within dental practice.

Interviewer: So going to the dentist, very low risk, but maybe I should still just put it off to be safe. What do you think?

Dr. Hume: We don't know how long this is going to go on for. So it's better for you to have your routine dental care and stay healthy than to get into trouble and to need something in a more major way.

updated: February 17, 2021
originally published: August 14, 2020

Announcer: "Health Hacks" with Dr. Troy Madsen on The Scope.

Dr. Madsen: Today's health hack is avoiding the side effects from Ibuprofen while still getting the maximum effect from the medication. So, if you've ever taken Ibuprofen, you've probably heard take 600 milligrams or 3 of the regular strength over-the-counter Ibuprofen, take it every 4 to 6 hours. Well, you're probably taking too much Ibuprofen and you're not doing it to really provide a lot of benefit for your pain.

So studies that had been done, there have been studies in patients who are postoperative, also patients with dental pain, and they looked at 400 milligrams of Ibuprofen versus 600 milligrams, so just two of the regular strength tablets. They found that that 400 milligrams had the exact same effect on pain as the 600 milligram. And even then, they found that that 400 milligrams 3 times a day was the max effect. You're talking just every eight hours.

If you're someone who you're saying, "Wow, I hurt. I'm going to take 600 milligrams of Ibuprofen every 4 to 6 hours," so you're taking that dose maybe 4 or 5 times a day. You're not getting a lot of benefit from that additional Ibuprofen. And the big thing you set yourself up for is stomach irritation. It can lead to ulcers. It can lead to bleeding sometimes. You could avoid it and just take 400 milligrams 3 times a day. That's the maximum effect for pain. Less is more especially when it comes to Ibuprofen.

Announcer: For more health hacks, check out thescoperadio.com, produced by University of Utah Health.