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Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

theguardian.com

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Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#121

Post by j2bax »

wpietri wrote: post #63
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.

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…

I also recently had my wisdom teeth removed without sedation. I took some pills that the dentist prescribed to me that were supposed to really put me out of it, but I was 100% with it until about the time we got in the car to leave the dentists office. I pretty much hate having my teeth worked on. It causes me quite a bit of anxiety when normally I'm not very anxious. Whilst numbing my face, he hit a nerve 2-3 times that sent what felt like a powerful electrical jolt through my body. After that, it was a quite a physical process with the dentist even propping himself against my arm at one point to rip those suckers out. I had put the process off for about 6-8 years, but I am really happy its done and in the past. Now every time I have to get a filling, I wince quite a bit waiting for that poked nerve sensation...

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#122

Post by pllbnk »

vectorjohn wrote: post #61
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.

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.

I actually lived through all the stages described here (I'm mid 20's) and I live in the Eastern Europe. When I was a child 20-15 years ago, local anesthesia/numbing would not even be even put on the table as an option, then good 10 years ago the doctor would ask if I wanted the numbing - I haven't refused once since then because I knew what the experience was like with no anesthesia. Recently they have been giving anesthesia without asking, which is good.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#123

Post by PhasmaFelis »

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…

It's bizarre how many people seem to think that "eating a good diet" is easy. They may be under the impression that "easy to describe" and "easy to implement" are the same thing.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#124

Post by anonymfus »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #115
anonymfus wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's still not used by many poor/old patients here because mandatory insurance don't cover it.

That's terrifying; isn't it just discouraging people from going to the dentist? How much can dental anesthetic injections cost, anyway?

About few hundreds of roubles.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#125

Post by saidajigumi »

yogipatel wrote: post #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.…

> The current conservative treatment for white spot lesions is to be judicious with cleaning

And I'll point out that my current dentist is the only one I've ever had (or known of) who actually bothers to rigorously teach his patients how to clean their teeth well. Most apparently don't believe this is possible or worth their time. Obviously that's not going to take with every patient, but it's really quite amazing the difference between thinking you're doing what needs done (yet having the hygienist grumble all the same), and actually getting the plaque off every time. Put another way, diligence != skill when it comes to dental hygiene.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#126

Post by wmeredith »

m3Lith wrote: post #113
wpietri wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> the smell of bits of it cooking Can you explain this part? I'm considering my wisdom teeth pulled out.

I had crown lengthening done once. The procedure is basically cutting away your gum to expose more of the bottom of the tooth (gives more surface area for a crown to attach). The "cutting" with a laser, so it's basically just burning away the gums. I could see actual smoke rising out of my mouth and it distinctly smelled like cooking bacon. It was very surreal because I didn't FEEL anything.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#127

Post by grumblestumble »

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.

Stents and angioplasty are pretty low tech, too, in much the same way. Bodies are messy.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#128

Post by saidajigumi »

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.

> It all seems so low tech.

This is because the alternative is very high tech. A living part of the body that isn't self repairing needs to be regenerated somehow. The tooth -under the enamel- is a complex living structure that doesn't self-repair. Much of our medical practice, esp. w.r.t. trauma, is based on the premise that the body can repair itself if perhaps given some assistance. But that premise fails with cavities.

At first blush, I was hoping that this work was going to be an advance that would promote repair in the deeper layers of the tooth. Sadly, we're not there yet.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#129

Post by jakejake »

wpietri wrote: post #63
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.

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…

For me this is one of those things that I would definitely spend $800/hour on! Not to mention that the drugs they use to put you under are amazing.

Ironically I had my 4 wisdom teeth pulled without it - wasn't even offered to me at the time. I only had the anesthesia once for a minor dental procedure.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#130

Post by e40 »

saidajigumi wrote: post #125
yogipatel wrote: post #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.…

> The current conservative treatment for white spot lesions is to be judicious with cleaning And I'll point out that my current dentist is the only one I've ever had (or known of) who actually bothers to rigorously teach his patients how to clean their teeth well. Most apparently don't believe this is possible or worth their time. Obviously that's not going to take with every patient, but it's really quite amazing th…

Care to elaborate what the techniques your current dentist taught you?
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