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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)

#101

Post by jnbiche »

Empact wrote: post #85
keithwhor wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would go and schedule an interview with an orthodontist instead of relying on the internet, here. "Orthrotropics" appears to be a registered trademark, which is, at the very least, a yellow flag. A cursory search on details has broken this down to extractive / surgical vs. non-extractive / non-surgical orthodontics, the latter of which has proven to be effective before the palate and growth plates have fused -- in…

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.

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

#102

Post by solveit »

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'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.

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

#103

Post by jnbiche »

dlg wrote: post #45
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.

There's a new dental device company working on re-shaping the dental arch called Envisium ( https://www.envisium.com/ ) out of Harvard. Great early results. (Full-disclosure: I'm an angel investor in them and not a dentist, so only reporting what I've heard from the dentists.)

She/he disclosed their affiliation and reasonable promotion is permitted on HN as long as it's on-topic (this clearly is).

No idea if the product works, but please don't downvote just because it's promotional. If you're an expert in the field and have a particular criticism, please consider engaging in a measured response instead of downvoting.

(I have no affiliation with `dlg` or the company in question)

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

#104

Post by thoughtstheseus »

refurb wrote: post #99
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…

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.

1. Significantly less. 2. That's great to hear.

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

#105

Post by wj »

qwerty456127 wrote: post #58

Misaligned 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.

The fact that we grow one set of bones, lose them, and then grow another set has always been weird for me to think about.

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

#106

Post by SteveCoast »

refurb wrote: post #99
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…

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.

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

#107

Post by gubbrora »

OldFatCactus wrote: post #31
guskel wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Orthotropics and mewing was widely discussed on incel communities and now that the prominence of these communities has grown, the topic is trickling to the mainstream.

Why would they be popular with incels?

Why is it surprising that unattractive people try to become more attractive?

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

#108

Post by smallnamespace »

thoughtstheseus wrote: post #104
refurb wrote: post #99

Earlier 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.

1. Significantly less. 2. That's great to hear.

To expand on (1.), modern cultivated fruit varieties are quite different from what wild fruits are seasonally available—for one thing, you're always competing with wild animals for a sugary, tasty snack.

Here's a somewhat fascinating article looking at both sides of this debate: https://deniseminger.com/2011/05/31/wild-and-ancient-fruit/

The conclusion to me seems to be that unless you're in the tropics, you almost certainly be eating less fruit, and the fruit you'll eat will be much more varied and seasonal. A lot of the wild fruit you eat may have specific defenses (tannins, alkaloids, etc.) that discourage you from eating too much (the fruit's job is to make you spread and excrete its seeds, after all).

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

#110

Post by ip26 »

nchammas wrote: post #92
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 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.
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