Dental Hygiene

Here are some more examples:

AND - use to connect two separate concepts to narrow the search (AND finds articles that contain BOTH terms)

• periodontal disease AND pregnancy

OR - use to search for similar terms to expand the search (OR finds articles that contain EITHER term)

• wisdom teeth OR third molars

NOT - use to exclude terms to narrow the search (NOT find articles that contain one term but NOT the other)

• heart NOT lung

Before you start searching, write down some possible keywords. This will help you know exactly what you are looking for and make the searching process easier. 

Things to remember:

• Avoid full sentences and phrases
  • Instead of "Does asthma medication cause dental caries?"
  • Try "asthma AND medication AND dental caries"
• Look for synonyms
  • dental caries, cavities, tooth decay
• Be specific 
  • A search for "oral health" could bring up articles on gum disease prevention, oral cancer, dental caries, etc.  
• Be aware of different spellings