teeth thread

[Valery Irinei]

By far the best thing you can do for your teeth (and by extent your overall health and wellbeing) is reading this book:
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The root of all dental problems is inadequate nutrition, not lacking hygiene and prophylaxis. With adequate nutrition, tooth decay will not occur, existing decay will stop and damaged teeth will be healed (to a certain point) by the body's own repair processes. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to get adequate nutrition in the pozzed modern world where the Jew rules supreme. Paradoxically, it was easier to get "good food" for stone age niggers in Africa eating ants, insect eggs and roots and shrubs a century ago than it is for us today.

This book is also an absolute must-read for any future parents or parents of children still in development. The importance of proper nutrition in general but especially during critical times of life such as preparation for conception, pregnancy, lactation and child development cannot be overstated.

Retarded book for retarded Facebook boomers. I'm not going to expand further because if you unironically believe the shit in this book you are beyond saving.

Teeth are very simple and easy. Reduce sugar intake, stop snacking, floss daily, brush twice daily with a fluoride toothpaste. Its that simple.

My teeth are really good. My parents are fanatical about the dentist so I have been going to the dentist without fail every 6 months for basically my entire life (minus the few times I was without insurance). I rarely get cavities and have never had a root canal or anything other than just fillings here and there. Worst thing was when I cracked a filling. I MAY need a root canal one day according to my dentist but I’ll just have them remove the tooth instead, I don’t want a root canal due to potential health complications of having an open hole basically directly into your jawline and bloodstream.

Oh I did have 6 wisdom teeth removed but it was fine. Never had braces (my teeth are straight and the dentist said it would be purely cosmetic to straighten my lower teeth out a little but I like them as they are, just slightly crooked, not bad or weird or gross).

I don’t eat much sugar or drink anything sweet, the dentist says that’s the best way to keep them healthy and it appears to be true in my experience. I brush once or twice a day depending and I do floss now a lot. That’s about all I do though. I’m middle aged as well fwiw.

Keep your teeth if you can. The root canal will be cheaper and better than an implant and removing a tooth without replacing it causes more issues downstream. Root canal does not leave an open hole to your blood stream. The tooth will be sealed at the apex of the root by gutta percha and a sealant such as a bioceramic sealer and should be sealed at the top by some sort of laboratory made restoration such as a gold or ceramic overlay or crown.

My mom started using tooth powder back in January and has given us some of it, and there were results within a couple of weeks. Teeth felt smoother, plaque and tartar is so minimal that at my last cleaning, the dentist was mainly sticking to the gumline. Downside was the kind we got had charcoal in it so it's messy and I had to get used to the taste and smell. I've been using an electric Oral-B toothbrush for a couple years, though I don't change out the heads as often as I should lol. I also don't wear my retainer every night, tend to skips nights despite having forked over the money to get a new one made before getting married, but meh.

My mouth is really small, though, it's always a pain to get the close-up X-rays done because biting down on those guards either hurt or make me gag. Worst part of the dentist is just the shrill drills and the metallic exhaust that emits from it, I otherwise enter some kind of zen mode as they clean in there.

Be careful using charcoal containing products and other weirdo toothpastes. They can be too abrasive and lead to loss of tooth structure, especially if you are have other issues like acid reflux or clench and grind.

I'm a dentist, if any kiwis have dental questions I'm happy to answer.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Be careful using charcoal containing products and other weirdo toothpastes. They can be too abrasive and lead to loss of tooth structure, especially if you are have other issues like acid reflux or clench and grind.

Yeah, after the charcoal tooth powder ran out, I got one that was mint and less messy. Lately leaves behind some of the particles that I have to rinse and pick out, so either I'm dipping too much or I just gotta change out the electric head.

I'm a dentist, if any kiwis have dental questions I'm happy to answer.

Why do you guys push fluoride so hard? I don't follow the whole fluoride conspiracy, mind you, I just have noticed my teeth haven't built plaque since switching to tooth powder and they don't feel so grimy every morning or even when I don't brush until later in the day.

 

[Valery Irinei]

Yeah, after the charcoal tooth powder ran out, I got one that was mint and less messy. Lately leaves behind some of the particles that I have to rinse and pick out, so either I'm dipping too much or I just gotta change out the electric head.


Why do you guys push fluoride so hard? I don't follow the whole fluoride conspiracy, mind you, I just have noticed my teeth haven't built plaque since switching to tooth powder and they don't feel so grimy every morning or even when I don't brush until later in the day.

Fluoride is able to replace lost minerals in enamel. Enamel is the outer layer on your teeth. It is extremely hard and highly mineralised. When you have acid in your mouth from eating sugars which bacteria eat and then use to produce acid or from acidic food/drinks the enamel is weakened and the minerals will leech out of the enamel into the saliva. This occurs as the minerals are following a concentration gradient, they want to equalise the concentration of the minerals in the environment.

This is before a "cavity" has formed. There is no hole in your tooth at this point but this is still decay in its earliest form as this demineralisation occurs. If you can replace these lost minerals you can stop the decay from getting any worse and arrest it. Saves you getting a filling or worse later.

I should mention that this is not the only way to arrest decay. Your teeth are constantly undergoing this continuous cycle of demineralisation and demineralisation. If demineralisation is greater than remineralisation you will develop decay. So really there are two levers to pull to prevent decay. Increase remineralisation (fluoride) or decrease demineralisation (less sugar, brush more/better, floss). Fluoride just happens to be a very easy and effective measure. Much eastier to add some to water and toothpaste than it is to make people not eat sugar constantly or brush and floss.

Fluoride is also one of the things in dentistry which we actually have very good evidence for. As other's have pointed out, dental practice has often been lacking in evidence and there is a shift to make dentistry more evidence based.

Toothpastes really have two functions for dental health. They are slightly abrasive to help remove plaque and they contain fluoride to help remineralise early decay.

The last thing I want to mention is that the benefit of fluoride comes from topical application, you get no benefit to your teeth from ingesting it. There is also nothing wrong with ingesting it unless you eat stupid amounts, but this applied to everything, even water. So, even if you are some anti-fluoride cooker, you could still get all the benefit of using fluoride and have none of the supposed downsides just by spitting it out once you are done. This is of course what dentists recommend when you brush your teeth with toothpaste or get fluoride applied at the dental office.

 

[Nameless One]

@Valery Irinei probably a stupid question to ask a dentist but given I started brushing regularly again and I'm trying to find sugar free mints that don't contain Aspartame since I can't digest that, are there any drawbacks to Xylitol mints? It's also known as Birch sugar. I know there's potential for cardiovascular issues if you consume too much. I'm also aware ingredients that are pretty vague and seem too good without many drawbacks tend to be red flags.

 

[Valery Irinei]

@Valery Irinei probably a stupid question to ask a dentist but given I started brushing regularly again and I'm trying to find sugar free mints that don't contain Aspartame since I can't digest that, are there any drawbacks to Xylitol mints? It's also known as Birch sugar. I know there's potential for cardiovascular issues if you consume too much. I'm also aware ingredients that are pretty vague and seem too good without many drawbacks tend to be red flags.

Xylitol has no serious detrimental effects that I am aware of. I recall the most concerning side effects of its use being digestive upset and the potential to kill pets such as cats and dogs if they eat it. From a dental perspective its extremely beneficial. The bacteria in your mouth which digest sugars to produce acid will attempt to digest xylitol but are unable to. They expend all of their energy trying to digest the xylitol until they die. xylitol mints will thus inhibit bacteria growth and stimulate saliva flow which will help neutralise acids and remineralise early decay, very beneficial. Suppose however, that xylitol does slightly increase the risk of a cardiovascular event , what benefit is it providing you? Does this benefit outweigh any negatives? I would think that having more teeth, less fillings and root canals, being able to eat and speak properly, and feel confident in your teeth as a result would tend to outweigh this potential slight increase in cardiovascular risk.

I would not get into the frame of mind of thinking that everything must have an equal and opposite reaction when it comes to biology. Too many people think there is no such thing as a free lunch and so grasp at straws trying to make up reasons for why seemingly beneficial things must be in some way detrimental. People will even go to the length of coping that running will ruin your knees. There are plenty of things we can do for our health that have no significant drawbacks.

 

[Nameless One]

Thanks doc.

 

[Rustybuttons]

Anyone have any thoughts on brushing with baking soda? I’ve heard good things, but to not overdo it. I’ve known a few elderly women with all their teeth who swear by it, but I’m curious if anyone else has any knowledge on this.

 

[ASCHQ]

I also destroy a new brush about every month, not sure if that's normal.

I think this thread is a valuable source so in good faith I am supplying an update. I bit into a screwdriver too hard almost a year ago and it did a little spin against the edge of a tooth. It caused a chip so small I couldn't feel it with a nail, only with floss. The dentist said it was too small to do anything but that dentist also sucked for other reasons. Now it's gotten bigger and I can feel it. The lesson here is maybe don't brush so hard and if you rely on fluoride-free toothpaste maybe use a little fluoride mouthwash every few days, especially once your enamel is exposed.