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Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

theguardian.com

101–110 of 202 posts

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#101

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 to have a cracked tooth pulled a couple years back after it led to an abscess. They did the procedure under local anaesthetic only.

Oh my god, did it hurt. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and even I was praying for it to be over as soon as possible. I can only imagine what people who are more sensitive go through.

(I would have happily taken general anaesthetic instead, but they didn't even offer me the option.)

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#102

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.

Yep yep yep yep. The fact is that this will "heal" the tooth rather than effectively putting a cork in it. This will also eliminate root canals because rather than a cork pushing against the nerve, you will have calcium replacing lost... calcium. Boom. Real healing.

Remember when a bad cut = cut the arm off? Now we have so much treatment that it is very rare to remove healthy tissue.

Similar things are coming with that new artificial eye lens. "Why would we cut off healthy tissue, when we can just replace the bad tissue"

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#103
This headline is overly sensational — this treatment does not apply for what most people consider cavities (i.e. caries, bacterial decay). It only applies for the very early stage caries process where enamel is just beginning to become demineralized.

Tooth enamel is essentially a matrix that is hardened by mineralization. Caries initially demineralize the enamel, but as they progress they destroy the enamel as well. Once that enamel is gone, there is nothing left to mineralize. You can throw as much calcium, phosphate, electricity, etc at it and you won’t end up with any more enamel. The decay has to be removed and filled with something.

This proposed treatment only works for the very initial stages of demineralization, which are referred to as white spot lesions, since demineralization causes the enamel to become opaque. The current conservative treatment for white spot lesions is to be judicious with cleaning and possibly apply some additional fluoride, as the tooth simply needs to be remineralized. The researchers are claiming to be able to accelerate that remineralization, which is great, but is very, very far from saying that patients won't need fillings.

Source: I’m a 2nd year dental student.

Edit: formatting

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#104
post #11
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?

Why don't dentists recommend drinking more soda and eating more candy?

I have a dentist friend that says he should install a soda machine, and if you have a cavity free checkup, you get coupons for free refills of soda... "And have a free piece of sticky candy!"

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ad…

Holy crap am I glad I'm extra sensitive to painkillers' effects. For tooth work, I can easily get by on half a shot.

One thing few writers focus on, in terms of the post-apocalypse, is dental care. A cavity can literally kill you if it progresses far enough. David Brin actually addressed this in The Postman; maybe this is why everyone in post-apocalyptic television and most films has shiny white teeth - they know!

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#107

Not to worry, our duty-bound ADA/FDA cronies will make sure this never sees the light of day. P.S. There is something you can already do btw. If your teeth are still good then go get them sealed . Most dentists won't do it, and will give you some lame excuse. Just go find another dentist. There are a few out there that aren't full of sh*t and they will do it and it will save you thousands of dollars over the course o…

Wow, I've never heard of this option before. What are the potential drawbacks?

[deleted]

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#108
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I would say genetics have larger role in this, you can have good diet and still have cavities.

Just example, a person with hyperthyroidism will have much more issues with teeth than someone who doesn't.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#109

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.

The problem with new techniques is that, being new, they are (1) hard to find and (2) more expensive. Combine that with miserly dental insurance and it's hard for advances to get traction.

I actually have an example of this from my own life. I grind my teeth while I sleep, apparently, and since none of the dentists I saw during the first 30 years of my life ever figured that out (grr) my teeth are pretty ground down. These days I wear a dental appliance while I sleep to reduce the damage, but it is only a case of "reduce", not "prevent." The teeth are still getting worse, just not quite so fast.

The word I'd gotten from several dentists was that this was as good a solution as I could realistically hope for. But last year I switched to a new dentist, and when I was telling him all this his eyes got all big, like I was telling him that the plan had been to drill a hole in my head to let out the Evil Spirits. Modern dentistry, he told me, actually had a way to stop the grinding altogether using a course of mild, painless electrical stimuli. Do a few rounds of that, he said, and it'd be problem solved.

Which sounded great! Except that my dental insurance refused to cover even one dollar of such a procedure, which meant it would have cost me about as much out of pocket as a small car. And I, being a layman, have no way to tell if this one dentist is really right, or if all the other ones were and this one is peddling snake oil. So I ended up not doing it, out of fear of a worst case scenario where I went broke paying for treatments that didn't actually do anything.

This outcome is sub-optimal for everybody -- even the health insurance company, since the more I grind my teeth down the more often they'll end up having to pay for extractions, root canals and the like as the teeth crack and fail. But combine lack of information with high costs and change-averse insurance, and it's difficult to see how you get to any other outcome.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#110

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.

I had to have a cracked tooth pulled a couple years back after it led to an abscess. They did the procedure under local anaesthetic only. Oh my god , did it hurt. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and even I was praying for it to be over as soon as possible. I can only imagine what people who are more sensitive go through. (I would have happily taken general anaesthetic instead, but they didn't even offer me th…

Reading some of these makes me grateful to have gone to an oral surgeon to have all four wisdom teeth removed at once while under general anesthesia.
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