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Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up? (2017)

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

#151

Post by chansiky »

keithwhor wrote: post #33
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.

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

Thanks for pointing out real science. I don't believe much bone can be sculpted or grown once someone's body is fully developed. However, let's keep in mind traditional braces work even in adults because bones remodel themselves continuously. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_remodeling), (https://www.simplyortho.com.au/process-behind-orthodontics/). There's also a reason if bones aren't exposed to forces, the bones start to lose structural strength, example of osteoporosis: (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK45504/figure/ch2.f5/), that's a scary image. Also, bones get smaller if you lose teeth: (https://www.deardoctor.com/articles/hidden-consequences-of-l...).

I don't know how any of this stuff works, I'm not a scientist, but the dots seemed to connect based on everything I believe about our physiology, which is admittedly a little "alternative". I don't think you can do exercises and turn into brad pitt, but I'd be willing to bet that there are mechanisms and signals that our body needs in order to self correct misalignments and/or regenerate that our modern lifestyles don't provide due to our indoor sedentary lifestyles.

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

#152

Post by senectus1 »

Interesting.

I was born without "Wisdom teeth", which my Dentist claims is widely accepted as human evolution. (apparently the number of people born without them is growing)

But I also have a bad, and getting worse "popping jaw" issue. where my jaw pops (loud enough to make my ear ring for a while after) or locks up when under too much pressure or opened too wide.

Her advice is to eat soft food.... which seems to go against what TFA suggests we should be doing.

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

#153

Post by shard »

osdiab wrote: post #65

What 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…

There is surgery in Asia to shave the jawbones to achieve a slimmer face, so I'd expect that this kind of information would lead to an increase of giving soft foods to children in order for them to have the slim face that matches Asian beauty aesthetics. After all, orthodontics are much less expensive and painful than jawbone reduction surgery...

Example surgery site: https://www.vippskorea.com/face/facial-contouring-surgery/ja...

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

#154

Post by frosted-flakes »

flurdy wrote: post #72
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…

Which is why dental veneers [1] are so popular with the easily influenced reality-show-wannabees. If you can afford veneers you have apparently made it... So much that some of the reality stars make it a show or as part of their contracts. [2][3] Except they look ridiculous and many can't chew properly especially some meat afterwards... Not sure I'd want my teeth ground down to little sticks. Nature works best as it…

I don't know if you'd call it a veneer, but one of my upper central incisors is a ceramic and stainless steel cap over a ground down "stick", and the real one is night and day better than the fake. The real one is slightly serrated and has a sharp edge, while the fake one is totally smooth and rounded, and slightly thicker. Essentially, it feels like the mould was made out of play-doh. I can't imagine having my whole mouth like that.

I got it when I was a child (broke the end off when I was ~10 years old) and my gums have receded somewhat since then, so now there's a gap where the base of the original tooth is visible below. I was told at the time that I'd probably need a new one once I got older for this reason, but it hasn't been a problem so I haven't gotten around to it--I'm in my mid 20s now. It's also fallen out twice (once when I sneezed and it skittered across the classroom floor), so now I have an irrational feeling sometimes when eating apples or other tough foods that it's coming loose.

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

#155

Post by frosted-flakes »

ntucker wrote: post #91
knotty66 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the principal behind 'all-on-4' dental implants. I've no idea how good they are though. I've seen a few YouTube videos but you never really know if they're paid shills nowadays.

I effectively have an "all-on-4" situation but where the 4 are my natural teeth. I have a genetic condition which caused very few of my adult teeth to grow, so the ones that did grow in nice and solid have been capped with machined gold cylinders and used as the receivers for a full denture (google "telescopic copings"), which fits perfectly on them and also acts as a retainer for those teeth. It's actually quite nic…

Removable dentures?

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

#156

Post by cyberferret »

refurb wrote: post #128
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 because the story sounds like bullshit. I have no doubt that you can tell the age of a skull with a close inspection of the teeth. This story was an anthropologist looking at remains from several feet away and claiming that it’s aboriginal from the lack of dental decay. I proposed a few exceptions to that rule. Certainly not a quip about the expertise of the anthropologist, but rather the accuracy of the story.

One of the benefits of being an expert in a particular field, is that you can take small parcels of evidence and formulate an accurate picture of a situation much faster than a layman with no prior experience in that field. I don't know the anthropologist in question, but I am sure she used a series of supporting evidence that was obvious to her trained eye as well as the teeth condition.

Ask any doctor or midwife who can look at an ultrasound image and tell you the sex of the baby while you are still staring at a smudgy grey moving image. Ask any accident investigator who can estimate the speed and trajectory of the vehicles while you are still looking for the skid marks.

I personally have spent over 25 years interacting on public message boards, and I am a domain expert enough that I can pick an armchair expert who has lots of perceived theoretical knowledge, but little or no real world knowledge, but still feels the need to espouse their opinion in order to get their dopamine hit of the day - all just from a quick glance at their post.

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

#157

Post by crankylinuxuser »

imjustsaying wrote: post #141
intertextuality wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 opi…

Try saying anything with a hard truth at its core that goes against what people want to believe. And instead of engaging with discussion and rebuttal, they do so with -1s and rate-limiting.

1. Cognitive impairment is likely already happening in office rooms

2. Rich people "donating" to semi-non-profit orgs and universities are doing so for non-altruistic reasons.

3. When you use a free service, you are paying primarily with your data.

4. FAANG has engaged in criminal conspiracies.

5. News agencies that bemoan Facebook also bend over to Facebook and Google's tracking.

6. Cell phones don't cause cancer.

7. "Sharing Economy" is just a scam to evict employees from workforce to something less than employees.

8. The USA is primarily at "One Dollar = One Vote".

9. There's something else going on with meditation and mind, that we can't adequately explain with science at this moment.

This place used to be a lot better, with discussions and rebuttals and refutations with sources and links. Now it's "who can '1 more". And hiding the current score does little to no good, other than obfuscate the real problem.

Edit: Why am I not surprised a mod collapsed this, and likely flag-killed the response to me? This is what happens with little to no transparency, and when a VC firm "controls" the narrative.

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

#158

Post by Empact »

rbavocadotree wrote: post #142
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.

I had a palate expander in my youth. It did not change the forces I applied to my jaw, so it didn't solve my problem, instead they emerged and re-emerged, first in my teens, then after I stopped wearing a retainer in my 20s.

What's the basis for your eager dismissal of an alternative?

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

#159

Post by baolongtrann »

jnbiche wrote: post #101
Empact wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Orthodontists are incentivized against embracing orthotropics by their current knowledge and business model. They prefer interventions they can charge for (braces, slenderizing) over practices which can be adopted without intervention. This may be why the field emerged from dentists rather than orthodontists. “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it”…

> This may be why the field emerged from dentists rather than orthodontists. Orthodontists are dentists.

but dentists aren't always orthodontists. I think OP meant those that aren't.

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

#160

Post by [deleted] »

osdiab wrote: post #65

What 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…

[deleted]
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