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Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

theguardian.com

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Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#61

Post by vectorjohn »

wanderingstan wrote: post #33
pavel_lishin wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need to wait. A few decades ago in Russia, anesthesia wasn't used during dentistry. That was a fun time period to grow up in.

No need to even go that far, in 2006 I had a root canal in Germany with no anesthesia or pain killers given. Made worse by the fact I didn't understand what it was being done. My German was terrible and the dentist's English was worse.

This can't be real. I've had a couple root canal procedures done, and even with local anesthesia, sometimes a jolt of pain comes through. It would be impossible to take, I would think.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#62

Post by jensen123 »

lps41 wrote: post #23
jensen123 wrote: post #7

In 1939, the book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration was published. In it Weston A. Price explains that you can avoid cavities by eating a good diet. I wonder if most people will ever become aware of this. Probably not - they don't read much, and certainly not non-mainstream stuff like that book. Edit: I would also recommend reading The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, since Weston A. Price did not get everything r…

I'm really confused by your comment - isn't it general knowledge that poor diet causes cavities? I remember being taught this in public school as early as kindergarten, and having my dentists reinforce it my entire life. However, I do believe that genetics also plays a large role in predisposition to cavities, with or without a healthy diet.

Ok, it's probably general knowledge that soda, candy etc. can cause cavities. What obviously is not common knowledge is that, with a good diet, it's possible to go through your whole life without getting a single cavity. Weston A. Price travelled around the world and looked at the teeth of many primitive tribes (still quite a few of them back in his days) and they had perfect teeth.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#63

Post by wpietri »

atom-morgan wrote: post #35
benjaminwootton wrote: post #14

In a few years I think we will look back on how today's dentists look after teeth with shock, similar to how we do now knowing that they used to treat depression with a frontal lobotomy. "They used to DRILL your teeth? And if that didn't work they yanked them out of your jaw?" It all seems so low tech.

People still get their wisdom teeth taken out without being put under. I heard one person describe the process inside your mouth sounding like a tree trunk being snapped in half.

I am one of those people. The oral surgeon offered me the option of being put under for an extra $600 for the 45-minute operation. There are probably things I'd pay $800/hr for, but that wasn't one of them. He seemed kinda irritated; that meant he had to give me something like 16 shots to properly numb everything.

Personally, I didn't mind it. It was an interesting experience. I knew I was made of meat, but the smell of bits of it cooking really brought it home. And as you say, the sound was kinda freaky. But it was a good opportunity to practice keeping the mind centered and following the breath. Plus now I can joke that I learned to transcend dental medication.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#64

Post by Luc »

wanderingstan wrote: post #33
pavel_lishin wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need to wait. A few decades ago in Russia, anesthesia wasn't used during dentistry. That was a fun time period to grow up in.

No need to even go that far, in 2006 I had a root canal in Germany with no anesthesia or pain killers given. Made worse by the fact I didn't understand what it was being done. My German was terrible and the dentist's English was worse.

Are you talking about anaesthesia in the sense of general anaesthesia (loss of consciousness and all that)?

Because that's really not needed for a root canal. I've had many and generally the dentist will make an injection to numb the nerve, have you wait 15 minutes, and start working. In case of discomfort they'll give an extra injection.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#65

Post by noir_lord »

atom-morgan wrote: post #35
benjaminwootton wrote: post #14

In a few years I think we will look back on how today's dentists look after teeth with shock, similar to how we do now knowing that they used to treat depression with a frontal lobotomy. "They used to DRILL your teeth? And if that didn't work they yanked them out of your jaw?" It all seems so low tech.

People still get their wisdom teeth taken out without being put under. I heard one person describe the process inside your mouth sounding like a tree trunk being snapped in half.

Had two of mine out last year, one impacted, one cracked.

Both under local, first came out in Neither was fun but the dentist was lovely and the local worked well, I took her a box of chocolates and a card a few days later to say thank you for taking care of me.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#66

Post by abecedarius »

Kluny wrote: post #9

I've often heard conspiracy theorists say that if dentists ever learned of a way to cure cavities more cheaply and without drilling, they'd suppress the information as it would endanger their business. I think this is insane, but can anyone offer a sound economic argument for why dentists would embrace the new technique instead of cartelling up to suppress it?

That kind of already happened, though it's only suppressed in the sense that no dentist ever hinted to me that nutrition might matter beyond avoiding sugar: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/12/dr-mellanbys-t...

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#67

Post by toast0 »

atom-morgan wrote: post #35
benjaminwootton wrote: post #14

In a few years I think we will look back on how today's dentists look after teeth with shock, similar to how we do now knowing that they used to treat depression with a frontal lobotomy. "They used to DRILL your teeth? And if that didn't work they yanked them out of your jaw?" It all seems so low tech.

People still get their wisdom teeth taken out without being put under. I heard one person describe the process inside your mouth sounding like a tree trunk being snapped in half.

I had mine out without general anesthesia, but they were fully erupted and about halfway out into position. The uppers came out in less than a minute (after local anesthesia), but the lowers took a lot of pulling.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#68

Post by kobayashi »

benjaminwootton wrote: post #14

In a few years I think we will look back on how today's dentists look after teeth with shock, similar to how we do now knowing that they used to treat depression with a frontal lobotomy. "They used to DRILL your teeth? And if that didn't work they yanked them out of your jaw?" It all seems so low tech.

Comparing frontal lobotomies (FLs) with cavity fillings is not an appropriate comparison, IMHO. FLs were always quite controversial because of the serious impairment side-effects and the danger inherent in the procedure (5% death rate during procedure). The operation caused serious brain damage to most - that was its modus operandi.

On the other hand, drilling holes in teeth seems like a low-tech solution (though I suppose that humans from years past would view it as a marked improvement from tooth-pulling), but it ultimately gets the job done, more or less, with minimal negative side-effects.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#69

Post by noir_lord »

to3m wrote: post #58
Kluny wrote: post #9

I've often heard conspiracy theorists say that if dentists ever learned of a way to cure cavities more cheaply and without drilling, they'd suppress the information as it would endanger their business. I think this is insane, but can anyone offer a sound economic argument for why dentists would embrace the new technique instead of cartelling up to suppress it?

I wonder if quick checkups are any less profitable per unit time than doing fillings. Not much in the way of materials required, and you can get a good throughput, with each visit likely to be of predictable duration. (My teeth are in good shape, and my average dentist visit takes all of 15 minutes: check teeth for basic soundness, scrape off tartar, remove tea stains from upper incisors. Still costs me £55.) There i…

Since you used pounds I'm assuming UK, NHS dentists charge £53 for extractions/most work, a check up is less than £20 and mine always include a cleaning/scaling if required.

Unless you are strictly private in which case that sounds more sane.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#70

Post by kefka »

atom-morgan wrote: post #35
benjaminwootton wrote: post #14

In a few years I think we will look back on how today's dentists look after teeth with shock, similar to how we do now knowing that they used to treat depression with a frontal lobotomy. "They used to DRILL your teeth? And if that didn't work they yanked them out of your jaw?" It all seems so low tech.

People still get their wisdom teeth taken out without being put under. I heard one person describe the process inside your mouth sounding like a tree trunk being snapped in half.

Yes. I did. Full extraction of upper right #2 molar.

They did topical numbing, then 4 shots in numbed area. The extractor device is 2 prongs on one side, and 1 on the other. It mates with your tooth's root. There's also a gum separator so they don't cause tissue damage.

The actual extract, if the tooth doesn't break, is about 2 minutes. And yep, it sounds like wet wood snapping, like that tree sound/feel described. If it breaks, it's called a "surgical extraction". Then they drill and pull the pieces as they come out. That can add a few minutes. Mine was in 2 pieces. They drilled for 3 seconds, and used a tweezers or something like that size. Little noticeable sound on that.

After that, you put gauze in your mouth so the area stays moist. Simple, crude, and effective.

I was in a great deal of pain with that tooth, as I had infection/cavity down to the root. I was glad to part with it, given the extensive damage.

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