Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017) • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#141

Post by imjustsaying » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 2:36 AM UTC

intertextuality wrote: post #117

SteveCoast wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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 upv…

One of the most common instances of generalized experts weighing in on topics they're not actually experts in happens in politically-related posts here, although it usually only comes in the form of downvotes.

You can cite science and demographic facts while leaving out your own overt normative opinions, yet you will still get downvoted from both 'sides' who think they are being slighted if you don't give a clear opinion. Unfortunately this is the way scientific method-driven experts talk (and generally anyone who's into political science rather than political opinion) - but in this domain it really sets non-experts off for some reason.

The thing is, most people are taught at a young age that their political opinion matters a lot, which probably has something to do with generalized experts walking into this domain thinking they're already experts and getting quickly frustrated when they realize they're not, lashing out at the source of that frustration via downvotes.

Back in the day the responses to these kinds of topics used to be via comments, now it's almost always via drive-by downvotes. I used to bemoan the inane buzzword replies back in the forum days because they were typically boring and predictable, but they were still infinitely better than the downvote without comment that is the norm for this site (and even more common on reddit).

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#142

Post by rbavocadotree » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 2:38 AM UTC

chansiky wrote: post #19

If you haven't heard of orthotropics, it sounds a bit pseuodoscience-ey, but it attempts to solve the crooked teeth issue by enlargening the jaw rather than through braces. Thus far, I have to say that I think there's some truth to exerting a little pressure to my maxilla/mandible, and if anything I can breathe much better, which for me is a bigger win than getting straighter teeth.

Enlarging the jaw is still very much under the scope of orthodontics. Palate expanders are fairly common, and are used to expand the adolescent jaw. I had one as a kid. It absolutely works. Their are devices for lower jaw expansion as well.

The pseudoscience-y orthotropics part is where adults are told they can expand their fully developed jaws.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#143

Post by gubbrora » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 2:38 AM UTC

cm2012 wrote: post #137

gubbrora wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not like their opinions are written on their foreheads. Hit on a woman on tinder she won't know. Hit on a woman in a bar she won't know. Clearly the rejection is for simply being unattractive.

Personality is often very obvious through body language.

Oh certainly. Having a boring or timid or otherwise unattractive personality can be a big hindrance.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#144

Post by _red » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 2:40 AM UTC

cyberferret wrote: post #94

As 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…

This is totally anecdotal, but we have a family friend who is an undertaker in a small town. He claims bodies today rot at a slower rate then when he started in the 50's. His theory is that its the preservatives in food.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#145

Post by rbavocadotree » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 2:41 AM UTC

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #140

keithwhor wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the real science here is Orthognathic Surgery [1]. I mean - I'm not an orthodontist or a surgeon, but once growth has stopped in the palate as a teenager or young adult I'd be skeptical of claims around bone growth or sculpting. Do you have any resources? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthognathic_surgery

I'm pretty sure my orthodontist did this when I had braces. He put this metal thing in my mouth that I had to crank open with a key every night for 6 months. He said it was to widen my jaw. It was absolute torture. Not sure exactly what it was or how it worked. I was like 12 when this happened.

Yeah, that's a pallet expander, and very common in orthodontics.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#146

Post by maxxxxx » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 2:44 AM UTC

madaxe_again wrote: post #64

skc wrote: post #40

Teeth 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’m a freakishly lucky bastard, to date. Also, a freak. I have a fairly gracile jaw for a guy. A bit of a chinless wonder. I have 28 teeth. Always have, since my adult teeth came through - but I do have wisdom teeth. What I don’t have are any M1 molars. They’re just not there. Seems my maternal grandfather and my sister are the same. I’m 35, with so-so at best oral hygiene. Never had a cavity, never had a filling, ne…

One of my sisters has perfect teeth while the 3 of us other siblings have pretty bad teeth. It's really annoying :-(

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#147

Post by maxxxxx » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 2:45 AM UTC

mgiampapa wrote: post #46

skc wrote: post #40

Teeth 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…

This used to be quite common. In Ireland for example back in the 1970s about 30% of the population had no natural teeth whatsoever. It used to be a common thing for young women to have all their teeth pulled and replaced with dentures before being married. It was seen as a desirable trait for en eligible bride to be.

Don't you start losing bone mass once the teeth are out?

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#148

Post by aswanson » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 2:50 AM UTC

_red wrote: post #144

cyberferret wrote: post #94

As 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…

This is totally anecdotal, but we have a family friend who is an undertaker in a small town. He claims bodies today rot at a slower rate then when he started in the 50's. His theory is that its the preservatives in food.

I legit laughed at that. Morbid humor.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#149

Post by ip26 » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 3:05 AM UTC

gnulinux wrote: post #138

My teeth aren't that bad but are bad. My upper teeth are nearly perfect but my bottom middle 4 teeth are a little messed up. Most people can tell because I expose my upper teeth while talking, but if I smile it's pretty obvious they're not aesthetic... For years I've been ok with this, my parents never showed me to an orthodontist. But recently I'm getting more and more self-conscious about this every day. I searched…

If they aren't going anywhere, you can clean them effectively, and the gums are happy, then maybe you don't care. But if they are getting worse, you can't clean them well, etc then you run the very significant risk that you'll be forced to do something about them eventually anyway (which is even more expensive)- better to do it sooner, before things start to deteriorate. I wish I could tell that to 22 year old me.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

#150

Post by louprado » Mon, Mar 18, 2019, 3:13 AM UTC

This article implies that if you can't change your diet then you could achieve similar results with chewing exercises. The comments below mention mewing, but I suspect greater force would be better. Googling "chew toys for adults" gave interesting results but they are mainly used for anxiety and ADHD. Curious if anyone knows of a chew appliance for children or adults that would address the issues mentioned in the article.