About Dr Surbhi Jalan

I am a dentist. I hold a BDS, I have been treating patients for six years, and I am registered with the Dental Council of India.

I went into dentistry because the mouth is a genuinely interesting piece of engineering and almost nobody is taught anything about their own. That has not worn off. I still find it satisfying to take something a person has been anxious about for months and explain it in a way that makes it ordinary.

Why I write

Because I kept saying the same things in the chair. The same explanation about why gums bleed, the same one about what a filling actually is, the same reassurance that no, this does not need doing today. Ten minutes at a time, to one person at a time, and always about five years later than it would have been useful.

So I started writing it down, and then filming it. Most of what keeps your teeth is done at home, in about four minutes a day, and very little of it is expensive or interesting. That is a much better message to give someone before they need treatment than after.

People read it from all over the world now. That part still surprises me, and it is the reason I keep going.

How I think about treatment

The part of the job I care most about is helping people understand what they actually need. A finding on an X-ray is not automatically a job for this month. Some things need doing today. Others can be watched for a year, and a few are better left alone. Sorting those apart is most of the value a dentist gives you, and it is the part that tends to get skipped when there are fifteen minutes in the chair.

Everything I publish carries its sources. If I write that something works, you should be able to click through and see why I think so, and where the evidence runs out.

Where I can help

I practise in India and I am registered there. I am not licensed in the United States, so I cannot examine, diagnose or advise anyone in the US about their own teeth, and I will say so rather than take the enquiry. What I write here is for everyone.

For publishers, practices and dental brands, I also write and review clinical content. That work is on the work with me page.

Getting in touch

WhatsApp or email, both on the contact page. Enquiries are welcome for writing, editorial review, teaching and advisory work. Please do not send X-rays, scans, treatment plans, photographs of your mouth, or any dental records. Questions about your own care cannot be answered, and unsolicited clinical material will be deleted unread.