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Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

theguardian.com

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Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#181

Post by dschiptsov »

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.…

So, how are people a hundred years ago and back into distant past, or even nowadays people of remote villages in South Asia, unaware of the miracles of American dental industry, deat with demineralization issues?

Has it anything to do with a diet, particularly of consuming vegetable roots, such as ginger, or redis, of meat curries as a calcium source? Has it anything to do with gums health, to with consuming chilly pepers is related? How the third world people managed to survive up to this very day without that very costly help of American dental industry?

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#182

Post by TeMPOraL »

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.

My mother had a few done without any kind of anesthesia just few years ago. Painful, but definitely possible to take.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#183

Post by cobweb »

yogipatel wrote: post #146
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.

I'm not sure I understand, are you basically brushing twice? Once w/o toothpaste and once with?

That's what I do. Once to get rid of food debris. Then start with toothpaste. Then floss, rinse, and a quick brush again with toothpaste. But sadly too little too late with my teeth. They are screwed.

I rarely ate sweets as a child and avoid sugar. I rarely eat processed foods. Drink is another matter. I most likely have harmed my teeth from drinking beer/wine/smoothies and from being too rough when cleaning. I really miss my younger healthy teeth.

My teeth have felt horrible ever since they failed and were drilled and filled. And now bring me a lot of misery. Look after your teeth! Healthy teeth are incredibly attractive. IMHO.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#184

Post by amelius »

MAGZine wrote: post #175
amelius wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I usually do a "milk-rinse", because I have the feeling it brings the pH back to neutral a lot quicker than water. But milk contains sugar, so perhaps a water-rinse after that is a good idea.

milk is a slight acid, so no, water would still be a better job of balancing pH, and also better because water contains no sugars or other things that might stick to your teeth.

But milk is a buffer solution [1]

[1] http://milk.polybum.com/the_chemistry_of_milk/basic_physical...

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#185

Post by petercooper »

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…

I recently switched dentist and my new dentist requires that you also have a six monthly appointment with a full-time hygienist also at the same site. I was very skeptical about this but ultimately learnt a lot and my teeth are becoming a lot better for it.

I am not entirely sure if most dentists would be good at delivering hygiene advice to the level of the hygienist (it's a special skill, after all), but I'm also not sure most patients would voluntarily see a hygienist, so it's a tricky problem.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#186

Post by Pyxl101 »

Pyxl101 wrote: post #25
tjr wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

For the same reason a real estate agent does not try to sell you the first house they show you: their motives would be way too obviously transparent if they did that and people would see through it.

I don't understand the downvotes. I'm not suggesting that dentists actually want to harm peoples' teeth. I'm simply pointing out that dentists recommending sugar and soda is too obviously nonsensical a position for anyone to actually take, regardless of their true position.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#187

Post by stevetrewick »

merpnderp wrote: post #112
mikeash wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find this response to be curious. Why not simply assume that the other person up there does include State Capitalism under the umbrella of "capitalism" when they say that capitalism and free markets don't always go together, rather than assume that they intend a definition of "capitalism" that automatically excludes the very thing they were saying?

Because the person I was responding to was saying that capitalism didn't include a group of "loosely affiliated" people competing for business. It obviously does. State Capitalism would be if the government started a dentist company and, in this case, didn't offer new services in order to keep the profits artificially high.

It's not even remotely obvious that capitalism must include any competition. You might try reading the Wikipedia entry you linked.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#188

Post by legulere »

derriz wrote: post #96
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.

Must be a thing in German speaking countries? Last year i was asked if i wanted local anesthetic when the dentist was about to drill a back tooth for a crown in Zurich. I blinked with incomprehension - I couldn't believe anyone would NOT want anesthesia. But apparently I had understood correctly and according to the dentist quite a few ask to forego it.

Drilling and getting a filling isn't that painful and for some people getting a shot is less pleasant.

There even are some dentists in Germany that drawing teeth without anesthesia, but with the help of hypnosis.

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#189

Post by dualogy »

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.

Abrasives on enamel! Yay..

Re: Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment

#190

Post by rejschaap »

dschiptsov wrote: post #181
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.…

So, how are people a hundred years ago and back into distant past, or even nowadays people of remote villages in South Asia, unaware of the miracles of American dental industry, deat with demineralization issues? Has it anything to do with a diet, particularly of consuming vegetable roots, such as ginger, or redis, of meat curries as a calcium source? Has it anything to do with gums health, to with consuming chilly p…

My guess would be no fizzy drinks and a lot less sugar.
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