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Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

theguardian.com

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Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#71

Post by dublinclontarf »

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 a heavily impacted wisdom tooth removed from my lower mandible.

Local anesthetic only, was a lot of work and as the surgeon got his leg up to get leverage I could feel my front teeth moving a little from the pressure.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#72

Post by pageld »

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…

"Quick Checkups" are less profitable. However, Scaling and root planing (periodontal treatment) is super profitable which is just a more time intensive version of a checkup. I do know of some dentists that tell their hygienists to not do a good job so they can get the periodontal treatment and charge $400 a quarter instead of $150 every 6 months.

Source: Wife was a hygienist before she burned out from contortionist body pain and having to make commission.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#73

Post by mikeash »

Bluestrike2 wrote: post #59
mikeash wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least dental techniques work , even if they might not be very sophisticated or pleasant. Lobotomies just destroyed people. They were only successful in that they made the victims more compliant and less of a hassle for their caretakers, they didn't actually fix the problems.

When you get a chance, take a look at a photo of an orbitoclast (think ice pick). Hammer it in behind the eye socket, give it a good whack, and swing it around a bit. Walter Freeman, the asshole who invented the device, used to drive around the country in his little van performing lobotomies for $25 a pop. He had a nasty tendency to kill his patients; he even killed one when he stopped to have his photo taken with th…

People like to say that "learning is fun," but I find that with the internet this is often not true.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#74

Post by hasenj »

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.

> without being put under

Local anesthetic is more than sufficient.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#75

Post by djfm »

digitalengineer wrote: post #40
atom-morgan wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That would be Europe. Sounds awful indeed. Especially if they won't budge and an extra tool is placed under the wisdom-tooth to be used as a lever… Root canal is done with local anesthetics as well by the way...

Where I live in Europe dentists are pretty effective, I got 2 wisdom teeth pulled out under local anesthesia and truly did not feel a thing. Was even able to eat a light meal a few hours after.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#76

Post by jessaustin »

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 it's loud. Since my father is a dentist, and he was keen to encourage my sister to follow in his footsteps, he had her "assist" during the procedure. (She was in high school at the time. She's now a very good dentist.) My clearest memory of the procedure is the comment, "hey let's see if he can get by with less lidocaine than usual."

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#77

Post by kbutler »

sevensor wrote: post #56
vdnkh wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is all low tech. I've been undergoing significant dental work over the past year and I always come back to this same thought. The reason the "brutal" techniques works is because of the amazing resiliency of the mouth. Wounds heal quickly, and teeth are rooted so deep they take a ton of punishment before giving out. I've been lucky to find an orthodontist whose not afraid to do something advanced. Previously, I had…

I had the same diagnosis 20 years ago. And I had the old-fashioned treatment for it: oral surgery to expose the tooth, metal braces, canine winched into place by means of weekly tightenings over several months. Glad to hear things are beginning to improve.

And sad that the improvement won't become common practice because the practitioner doesn't feel the need to publish it...

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#78

Post by transfire »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #46

Interesting. There was another unique treatment that hit the news perhaps ten years ago, but didn't happen apparently? The idea was awesome, they genetically re-engineered the "tooth-decay" bacteria in your mouth to stop producing acid, combined with a mild antibiotic to out-compete the original form. I've been waiting a long time for it, unfortunately. I think this was it: http://www.oragenics.com/?q=cavity-preventi…

And you'll wait forever b/c the governing bodies are all corrupt. (ADA, FDA, etc.)

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#79

Post by pavel_lishin »

Jtsummers wrote: post #51
merpnderp wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How was it possible to hold still while having a large nerve drilled out?

I can't speak to dental stuffs, but some local anesthetics don't work on me. I found it remarkably easy, though extraordinarily painful, to maintain stillness while having my foot stitched back together. The grip I had on the bedframe, however, I'm surprised I didn't break it or tear something apart in my arm. I can't really say how I did it, because I'm not sure. I just knew I had to and didn't move.

I feel like dental work is harder. I've had an ingrown toenail worked on, and every painkiller injection was a) incredibly painful, b) barely useful for dulling the pain. After about seven shots, I decided that the knife-work on my toe was going to be less painful than subsequent injections, and toughed it out.

It's much harder when having dental work done; I've had painkillers not-quite-take, and I always ask for additional injections, unless they're minutes from being done.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#80

Post by Eldarrion »

merpnderp wrote: post #45
wanderingstan wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

How was it possible to hold still while having a large nerve drilled out?

The way root canals were handled is by usually killing the nerve via opening up the nerve, putting arsenic in and sealing it with a temporary filling for 2-3 days. After that's all done, there's very little pain felt except when the doctor goes far enough to poke at the gums. The procedure does take longer than with anesthesia in that you need two visits for the whole process, but that's how they did it.
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