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Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

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Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#131

Post by EADGBE »

notheguyouthink wrote: post #115
barking wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many dentists have you gone to? Regularly changing dentists is just a bad idea. Get a recommendation from someone you know who says they were nervous, chose a particular dentist and now would go to no one else and give that dentist a decent chance. You need to develop a relationship with one dentist and over time you will become more comfortable with them and they with you. Everyone can be a little nervous in a n…

Any advice for finding a good dentist? I'm severely in need of a dentist after years upon years of neglect, mainly due to not being able to afford it, but now I'm in a position where I can at least work towards something proper. Yet, I've got no idea where to start. Thoughts?

Those years of neglect are going to hurt until you get back to where you need to be. Even the best dentist will admit to that.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#132

Post by ForRealsies »

skummetmaelk wrote: post #79
amelius wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about people who chew on gum all day?

As usual, too much of anything is bad for you. Chewing gum all day leads to many other (severe) issues.

Chew sugarless Falim gum, one piece for each side of the jaw daily for aestethic gainz.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#133

Post by EADGBE »

leksak wrote: post #83

I wonder what else might be going wrong with our bodies as a result of our childhood habits. For instance, are my hips genetically shallow or did I spend too little time outside running about as a kid?

Wait and see if elongated thumbs exist for the next generation.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#135

Post by erikpukinskis »

anon1253 wrote: post #95
tominous wrote: post #76

The standard approach to orthodontics is to extract teeth to make room and then move the remaining teeth into place. There is an alternative approach which involves enlarging the jaw, either through expanders, surgery or a combination of both. Unfortunately this is an area where the patient or parent often has to make the decision because specialists only know about what they do. As a related example, I asked a denti…

There's a larger truth hidden in here: experts disagree. It was one of the things that took me by surprise when building Machine Learning systems, but it makes sense if you think about it. For all but the most trivial matters, it's the job of the expert to exercise personal judgement. It's why they're experts, not because they have a solid understanding of the "knowns", but because they have developed methods and int…

There is a corollary prediction: AIs will disagree.

Too many people imagine AIs are somehow "perfectly rational" and therefore will never disagree, they'll just tap into a unified decision making engine and automatically integrate all of their knowledge.

In order to integrate knowledge you need more knowledge. And in order to integrate that you need more still. It's turtles all the way down. If anything, AIs are at a disadvantage to humans, because we at least share a body, an emotional palette, and to some extent a cultural timeline. AIs have nothing to ground the beliefs of the other in.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#136

Post by JPKab »

tominous wrote: post #76

The standard approach to orthodontics is to extract teeth to make room and then move the remaining teeth into place. There is an alternative approach which involves enlarging the jaw, either through expanders, surgery or a combination of both. Unfortunately this is an area where the patient or parent often has to make the decision because specialists only know about what they do. As a related example, I asked a denti…

The author of this article works at the University of Arkansas. I used to live 20 miles from there, and when we needed to "straighten" my son's teeth, we ended up checking out an orthodontist who has been influenced by the new school of thought that is emerging in Australia and Europe on dealing with orthodontic issues.

We ended up settling on a regimen of jaw exercises combined with a device known as a "Myobrace". I was initially very, very skeptical, and was concerned about the lack of rigorous scientific studies conducted on the practice. However, the more I researched the science, the more I became open to giving it a try.

Within 6 months, my son's jaw had widened, and his teeth were mostly straight. I was honestly shocked by how effective the treatment was. It's now been almost 18 months, and the before and after photos are shocking.

He wears the appliance while sleeping, and then during the day (we use the strategy of him doing it whenever he is watching tv or playing Xbox) we have him do jaw exercises with and without the appliance in.

The focus has been on expanding his jaw, and the side effect of this is straightened teeth. Pretty fascinating stuff.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#137

Post by erikpukinskis »

Sleeep wrote: post #118

Why does the author's wife think that chewing meat causes choking? This seems like a rather bizarre belief - does this have any basis in reality? If anything I'd think that learning to chew your food well from a young age would make you less likely to choke. (and more likely to moderate your food intake) It seem like the equivalent of "don't let them walk, they will just fall and get a concussion"

There's a common risk mitigation technique which is something like "don't be weird around important stuff". So you can be weird in your cooking, or write a weird song, but when you are at the doctor's office, be normal.

It's not crazy. It would drive me crazy, because I like to learn the why's and how's of things. But I can acknowledge it's a decently adaptive strategy.

It's probably less and less effective though, as "normal" is becoming more and more just shorthand for "how the corporations think you should act".

Although that, too, is probably somewhat adaptive to get in line with.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#138

Post by matt_morgan »

Sleeep wrote: post #118

Why does the author's wife think that chewing meat causes choking? This seems like a rather bizarre belief - does this have any basis in reality? If anything I'd think that learning to chew your food well from a young age would make you less likely to choke. (and more likely to moderate your food intake) It seem like the equivalent of "don't let them walk, they will just fall and get a concussion"

Do you have kids? Everybody thinks everything causes choking. People stop you on the street to tell you how to feed your toddlers. Grapes were particularly suspect in our neighborhood. People cut them in half, believing it was safer.

You are right, I'm sure, about chewing being important to learn; and it would have to be a tiny piece in order for it to be hard to choke on it, anyway, so cutting it small certainly won't usually help.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#139

Post by plorkyeran »

Sleeep wrote: post #118

Why does the author's wife think that chewing meat causes choking? This seems like a rather bizarre belief - does this have any basis in reality? If anything I'd think that learning to chew your food well from a young age would make you less likely to choke. (and more likely to moderate your food intake) It seem like the equivalent of "don't let them walk, they will just fall and get a concussion"

She believed that their children would try to swallow without chewing their meat enough, and thus choke if the meat was in too big of pieces.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#140

Post by scott_karana »

JPKab wrote: post #136
tominous wrote: post #76

The standard approach to orthodontics is to extract teeth to make room and then move the remaining teeth into place. There is an alternative approach which involves enlarging the jaw, either through expanders, surgery or a combination of both. Unfortunately this is an area where the patient or parent often has to make the decision because specialists only know about what they do. As a related example, I asked a denti…

The author of this article works at the University of Arkansas. I used to live 20 miles from there, and when we needed to "straighten" my son's teeth, we ended up checking out an orthodontist who has been influenced by the new school of thought that is emerging in Australia and Europe on dealing with orthodontic issues. We ended up settling on a regimen of jaw exercises combined with a device known as a "Myobrace". I…

If you don't mind my asking, how old is your son? I'm guessing this procedure is limited by age, since bone development stops as you get older?
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