My dentist told me the reason I never needed braces, but all my friends did was from wearing a mouth guard from all the ice hockey we played growing up. They aren't perfectly straight, but except for 2 teeth, very close to it. Every dentist I ever had was like, "Did you ever have braces?"
Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
111–120 of 238 posts
Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
#112Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
#113As a slight aside from the premise of the article, I was reminded of a story my friend once told me. He is a policeman, and works with the Water Police department in our town. One day, they got a call from some dirt bikers who were riding in the mangroves beaches across the bay that they had found two skeletons partially buried in the mud. As per standard procedures, a police patrol was dispatched to investigate (whi…
Two thoughts: 1. They really are no sugar in aboriginal societies? No fruit or carbs? 2. I know a handful of people who eat Western diets who have zero tooth decay. Doesn’t seem like a great way to tell the age of a skull.
He most likely meant refined sugars.
Sugar is being added to most foods nowadays. The timeline of cheap refined sugar is the timeline of sugar addiction and tooth decay.
Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
#114Teeth are annoying. Mine are ok, but as I get older I start to notice their deterioration. I've always felt that if there was a part of our anatomy that we should think of replacing completely with an artificial design, it's teeth. We already do so now (at great expense), but it's literally one or two teeth replaced but I'm thinking more along the lines of replacing every single one with something stronger and more e…
> I've always felt that if there was a part of our anatomy that we should think of replacing completely with an artificial design, it's teeth. I'll go with the spine, for pretty much the same reasons except more.
The spine worked pretty well until computers, as far as I understood.
Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
#115What are the aesthetic consequences of having a more developed jaw from chewing tough foods as you grow? Given how sensitive people are to cosmetics when it comes to their teeth, would doing this to your child positively impact their dental outcomes at the expense of conformance with modern norms of physical attractiveness, given trends like how having a small face is seen as attractive in Asia, or soft jawlines for…
People also care about healthy straight teeth and a nice smile, so it's not like you're getting nothing.
Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
#116This article seems to be part of the recent wave of content about orthotropics/mewing. I'm not sure why it seems to have picked up so much recently.
You’re not kidding, and even a little research into this reveals it to be on the same level as dry needling and homeopathy. I think my favorite “evidence” in favor are people taking pictures when they’re preteens, and then showing how their facial structure changed with mewing. It’s not the normal course of puberty guys, it’s magic!
I can easily see why this became mainstream, because it’s easy to do, and a sucker is born every minute. I am however, surprised to see this bunk here. Although, I’ve noticed that on health topics this forum is at its worst. Endless testimonials about vitamin D, magnesium, LSD, FSD diets and more seem paradoxically popular here, and I’m unsure why that is. Maybe the California connection?
Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Two thoughts: 1. They really are no sugar in aboriginal societies? No fruit or carbs? 2. I know a handful of people who eat Western diets who have zero tooth decay. Doesn’t seem like a great way to tell the age of a skull.
"Doesn’t seem like a great way to tell the age of a skull." The confidence of people far away at a different time without any relevant knowledge to dismiss an experienced local on the ground based on flawed high-level logic never ceases to surprise.
It's the epitome of hacker news. Reddit also has this "armchair quarterbacking" effect, but it's significantly worse on HN, in my opinion.
A lot of the people here are knowledgeable—in specific domains. I think people forget that being an expert in one thing doesn't make you qualified to judge, understand, or discuss another domain in depth.
Case in point, the recent "tech that reduces sound by 94%" post that got upvoted here.
Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes I know they're not the most reliable teeth in the world, that's not what I'm talking about. A parent saying "take out all the teeth, they're gonna fail eventually anyway"? Am I weird for thinking that sounds horrible? I can't even try to make analogies for it because whatever I think of is not as bad as that quote.
I think its horrible - its far too early to make that decision for your child. I think its something a person should make for themselves. "Expensive dental work" could mean only a few teeth impacted - the rest may be perfectly great. I see no reason to take them out.
For many children, my daughter in this case, it was an option, and was suggested. We didn't go that route but given both parents teeth and the dentist's assessment it would have been reasonable.
I think what your main concern is that such a drastic body modification should not be done in a flippant manner. I feel the same way about hormone therapy.
Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in my early 30s, and I recently had my maxilla and mandible non-surgically expanded with a combination of appliances, one called Advanced Lightwire Functional (ALF) and the other called Fixed Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance (FAGGA). Treatments that make use of the Orthotropics philosophy or of appliances like the ALF or FAGGA are relatively new and are not mainstream. However, there are many case studies avail…
Aren't those basically lingual braces? Moving teeth and fixing your arch doesn't require or necessarily involve mandible changes.
From the what I understand, the FAGGA basically expands your maxilla forward. Here's a good example [1] that shows the appliance in action. The photos showing the upper jaw after FAGGA insertion match my experience.
The ALF can be applied to both the maxilla and mandible (whereas the FAGGA, I believe, is just for the maxilla), but the growth it promotes is more gradual and subtle.
I don't think either appliance shares much in common with lingual braces, functionally speaking. I'm not a doctor, but from what I understand lingual braces act primarily on the individual teeth whereas the ALF and FAGGA act primarily on the jaw bones.
[1]: https://www.robinatowndental.com/jaw-expansion-without-surge...
Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)
#120Misaligned teeth are not the worst problem IMHO. The fact teeth of most of the humans decay in less than a lifetime and this is considered normal feels much more weird to me.
Only if you eat a modern diet. You can't blame our teeth for being ill prepared to handle coca cola.