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Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

theguardian.com

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Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#151

Post by triangleman »

yourapostasy wrote: post #117
kbutler wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read about this previously, and would love to see it take place. But would kissing spread the non-tooth decay version of the bacteria, or the tooth decay version? Testing must be done! Also, TIL that bottled water promotes tooth decay (by displacing flouridated tap water consumption) " there are several factors that are likely to increase the incidence and frequency of tooth decay, including increasing consumpti…

> TIL that bottled water promotes tooth decay (by displacing flouridated tap water consumption) The elite-branded bottled water that go to lengths to set themselves apart from tap water (spring-fed-only, or rain-only, or some other esoteric, "natural" source) will not have fluorine. But many a budget-brand is simply expensively-packaged municipal tap water, and about 2/3 of municipal tap water supplies in the US are…

Serious question: How does fluoride in the tap water help mineralize tooth enamel? Does it enter the body through drinking and then carried to the teeth via the bloodstream? Or is it somehow helpful for teeth by simply being present in the mouth when you drink tap water?

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#152

Post by etcet »

vectorjohn wrote: post #120
takeda wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really matters at what stage the tooth is in. If the tooth is dead (e.g. you have pain that intensifies to heat, and cold helps)[1] then anesthesia won't make much difference you won't feel a thing anyway. If you're getting root canal, because cavity is close to the nerve and your dentist don't want to use amalgamated filling then you will need anesthesia, because the nerves are alive. [1] It gets a bit complicate…

Hmm. Both of mine were on molars and certainly alive, so that explains that. But I don't know how a dentist could possibly tell the nerves are dead before drilling in. And the way they know is that you say ouch that fucking hurts.

They do hurt you but they don't use a drill at first. I had a root canal done recently and the dentist briefly touched a piece of dry ice to my tooth. He did to a an undamaged tooth first, I guess to see if I could feel pain?

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#153

Post by amalcon »

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.

It amazes some people when I tell them I had my wisdom teeth removed with only the local anesthetic, and managed the pain for the next few days with over the counter painkillers. It actually wasn't that bad. I had more pain from the braces I wore half a decade before.

Of course, my case was totally routine. Your mileage may vary.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#154

Post by rsynnott »

EGreg wrote: post #134

I am 32 and have never had to havea filling or root canal. I do not brush my teeth very often or do anything special, except possibly limiting sugar intake somewhat, and maybe rinsing once in a while. I went to a dentist a year ago and they said I am developing a cavity inside one of my upper treth, and should get it treated. Since then it's been a year and I feel no pain there and nothing is visible on the outside.…

> have never had to havea filling or root canal

> they said I am developing a cavity inside one of my upper treth, and should get it treated.

So, in fact, you DO have to have a filling, you've just declined to have it. And if you keep on that path, you'll probably end up needing a root canal (far higher cost, much more annoying procedure, far higher chance of eventual failure) as well.

I'm 30, and had never previously needed fillings, but was recently told by the dentist I needed a few. So I got them. Just because you didn't have much tooth decay until now doesn't mean you're immune; you really should get it treated.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#155

Post by outworlder »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #31
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.

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.

What the hell?

Frankly, I would consider foregoing anesthesia if they wanted to hack one of me members with a kitchen knife. But would never, ever, opt out of anesthesia for dental work.

Those tooth nerves seem to have realtime priority or something. These things HURT, and I haven't even done anything other than wisdom teeth extraction and normal cavity drilling. I cannot imagine a root canal therapy done without at least local anesthesia.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#156

Post by marincounty »

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.

The way they treat depression is still very low tech. They make it sound modern, but electroshock therapy still has the the highest rates of remission. I'm a nobody, so listen to your psychiatrist though.

I do agree they have a long way to go in dentistry. A year ago, I was browsing a scientific grant site. They still don't know why fluoride ions seem to protect teeth.

As to keeping your teeth as long as possible, I'm an old dude who's missing one tooth. It could be genetics, or luck, but here's my regimen. Brush with a electric tooth brush(the original one, that one that vibrates. Get in the habit of using tooth picks. I'm a former smoker, so the habit came easily. (Don't throw the tooth picks on the ground. Birds can swallow them, and other trash concerns. I won't mention a company. They are all the same.) Try not to eat sugary stuff before sleeping, even napping. Buy a few dental scraping instruments. (if you are somewhat coordinated, you can scrape your teeth. You can even get 1 to 2 mm below the gum line. Because you are doing this extra work, just believe you are saving your teeth. (Yea, why not use the placebo effect on your own body?). Drink tap water.

When I was younger, I looked into making chewing gum, but with a safe substance in it that would neutralize the acids on you teeth. Never got around to it. I recall a French company hit the market with a gum like the one I wanted to make, but unsure if it was successful, or even worked.

There's a part of me who believe's tooth decay is more about enzymes, and immunity, but who know?

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#157

Post by pnathan »

etcet wrote: post #152
vectorjohn wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm. Both of mine were on molars and certainly alive, so that explains that. But I don't know how a dentist could possibly tell the nerves are dead before drilling in. And the way they know is that you say ouch that fucking hurts.

They do hurt you but they don't use a drill at first. I had a root canal done recently and the dentist briefly touched a piece of dry ice to my tooth. He did to a an undamaged tooth first, I guess to see if I could feel pain?

Correct. The doc did it to me.

I had a very dead tooth, and a very alive tooth. Worked like a charm.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#158

Post by saidajigumi »

Scoundreller wrote: post #140
lukeschlather wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing that has done a lot for me is I've been doing more brushing without toothpaste. I do use toothpaste, but when I do it I treat it more as a fluoride treatment than as a tool to get off plaque. When I'm trying to get off plaque I use a dry brush.

Toothpaste is more than fluoride, it contains surfactants and mild abrasives to aid in the cleaning process.

As my post above indicates, this effect is really important. The plaque biofilm is really sticky. I'm not sure what's going on in GP's case, but when using a plaque staining dye to see what's going on, it's clear that toothpaste makes a huge difference in the ability to mechanically disrupt plaque. It's amazingly hard to do without toothpaste.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#159

Post by roel_v »

e40 wrote: post #130
saidajigumi wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

With the regular 'brush compliance checks' mine does, an electrical toothbrush made significant difference. And it's not because I spend longer brushing, I even think I brush less in wall-clock time. The electrical one just seems to be more thorough ('seems' as in 'confirmed with dentist-administered plaque and gum health measurements', not 'I really want to believe so in my mind I make it so').

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#160

Post by roel_v »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #31
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.

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.

Today if you go to the dentist in the Netherlands they'll ask you whether you want anesthesia. At first I was like 'wtf, is that even a question' but it's not that bad. It just compresses discomfort into a smaller time window. I'd estimate the 'total' discomfort to be the same.

Only have experience with fillings, btw. I guess extracting a healthy molar (e.g. to make room for other teeth), or a wisdom tooth, would be significantly more uncomfortable when done without anesthetics.

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