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Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

dental.washington.edu

71–80 of 364 posts

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mostly no. Keep in mind people are not born with perfect teeth by default. My SO is a DDS and has been practicing for about 15 years now. The bulk of her workday is definitely not fillings. Remember people break teeth, grind teeth, teeth die (trauma, health, etc), people want cosmetic work and the list goes on and on. She loves this type of thing to let people help themselves - but it often doesn't work. There's prod…

What is this product you mentioned that reverses the start of cavities? Any google of it is filled with cheap SEO for me.

I'd assume fluoride. On a recent trip to the dentist, I was told I'd had the start of a cavity that had re-crystalized (I believe that was the term). The American Dental Association [0] and an arm of the NIH [1] appear to back this up, as well:

> Fluoride is a mineral that can prevent tooth decay from progressing. It can even reverse, or stop, early tooth decay.

[0] https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/fluoride-superhero

[1] https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/health-info/tooth-decay/more-info/...

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#72
post #66

Weird teeth-cleaning trick that I discovered from suffering from interstitial cystitis / painful bladder syndrome (IC / BPS): toss a bit of baking soda in your water, such as 1 teaspoon per liter. It makes it alkaline. My teeth got whiter and felt better (less of a film feeling). Baking soda is used as a cooking ingredient and shouldn't be too risky, but don't go overboard... bit of discussion on the IC / BPS aspect…

Is the water with baking soda meant for drinking or for brushing your teeth with?

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#73
post #68
post #66

Weird teeth-cleaning trick that I discovered from suffering from interstitial cystitis / painful bladder syndrome (IC / BPS): toss a bit of baking soda in your water, such as 1 teaspoon per liter. It makes it alkaline. My teeth got whiter and felt better (less of a film feeling). Baking soda is used as a cooking ingredient and shouldn't be too risky, but don't go overboard... bit of discussion on the IC / BPS aspect…

Isn't baking soda a fairly common ingredient in toothpaste? (See arm and hammer brand toothpaste)

Yep. Altho I've been using LivFresh which contains edathamil [1] and has no baking soda.

The benefit of it being in your water is that you get that constant little flush of it

[1] [Effects of a Novel Dental Gel on Plaque and Gingivitis: A Comparative Study](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2d87n65m)

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#74
post #66

Weird teeth-cleaning trick that I discovered from suffering from interstitial cystitis / painful bladder syndrome (IC / BPS): toss a bit of baking soda in your water, such as 1 teaspoon per liter. It makes it alkaline. My teeth got whiter and felt better (less of a film feeling). Baking soda is used as a cooking ingredient and shouldn't be too risky, but don't go overboard... bit of discussion on the IC / BPS aspect…

Is the water with baking soda meant for drinking or for brushing your teeth with?

Drinking. In my case I'm trying to alkalize my urine to address IC / BPS... but if you just want the dental benefits you can treat it like a mouthwash

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#75

Assuming this works, isn't this pretty much game over for dentists? I'm aware that dentists do more than fillings, but it seems like there would be a serious contraction, even if this costed something like $1000 a tooth after insurance. That being said, even if this worked, it's not like it's instant, so you still have to be careful with your teeth. I wonder how this differs from novamin, which supposedly does the sa…

Not really. Plaque removal has to be the #1 thing done at a dentist's office. I've had one cavity filled in the last 15 years, and the rest of the visits have been cleanings (ie. plaque removal). Plus, it really doesn't matter how well you brush and floss. There's always something for the hygienist to remove. Which, I can only assume prevents this lozenge from actually doing anything.

Perhaps in the future there will be a layer added to this pill that first dissolves the plaque.

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My coffee habit will make short work of any overly white teeth.

Haha, I was just going to say this. My 4 cup habit a day has destroyed any chance of having white teeth. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t white.

I used to drink that much coffee. I got an espresso machine and started making americanos instead now I’m good with one cup a day. I don’t know what it is, clearly the caffeine is either higher or more bioavailabile or something, but it just sates my appetite for coffee.

(Actually i started making cappucinos first and stopped when i started putting on weight from them lol)

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#78
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anybody that grinds their teeth, investigate getting a splint before you reach this stage. https://www.coredental.com.au/splints-dentist-recommend-one/

They give me very bad tooth pain and cause my teeth to move (I couldn't close my mouth properly after I used one for a couple weeks as 2 teeth would end up touching that didn't before). Luckily it reverted quickly but I stopped using it. I mainly used it because sometimes I woke up hitting my teeth together really hard (it hurt a lot) but it was mainly due to stress. I really try to avoid that now, if I fail I may go…

> cause my teeth to move

This is why you want one fitted across all your teeth by a dentist. And made out of a solid material so it continues to fit the same way rather than sharper teeth pushing down further. That way it sits properly and balances all of the tooth-tooth forces.

Having said all that, mine developed a hairline fracture and eventually split in two, but actually sits a bit better as two pieces until I get a new one made in a month.

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (it doesn’t hurt!) It doesn't hurt for you . Some people, including myself, have had root canals that have almost caused worse pain than when I was in the ICU.

That's the parent's point: the tools and methods have changed so that now it no longer hurts.

Even now, sometimes it does hurt, plenty. Local anesthesia can be somehow negated by bacterial infection, something involving the pH getting altered. My endo apologized but had to keep drilling to reach relief.

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#80
post #31

> In addition, the researchers are investigating a gel or solution with the engineered peptide to treat hypersensitive teeth. This problem results from weakness in the enamel that makes the underlying dentin and nerves more vulnerable to heat or cold. Most common products currently on the market can put a layer of organic material on the tooth and numb nerve endings with potassium nitrate, but the relief is only temp…

Have you looked into botox shots at all? When I tell you my life changed completely from a 15 minute botox appointment with an oral surgeon I am not exaggerating in the least. I’d had no idea what it felt like to live without bruxism - not only were my teeth better but my neck stopped aching, my back muscles stopped spasming, and I stopped getting migraines entirely. I had gotten debilitating migraines once every month or two since I was a kid and had been taking pretty serious medicine to prevent and combat them for the better part of a decade. They stopped completely, cold turkey, after my first botox appointment. And I had no idea that was even a possible side effect(? benefit?) of the botox procedure at the time!

I’m sure I’ve written about it here before but it was wild how much the botox changed my quality of life to the point it was actually really upsetting to me at first. I had struggled for so long and I had to fight with insurance so much to get the botox covered (it was off-label at the time for TMJ, I think it’s approved now) and there had been a safe, simple, and highly effective solution that I sort of stumbled into out of sheer desperation, a lot of good luck, and a series of referrals on referrals on referrals.

Oh yeah, and much to my dentist & orthodontist’s delight, I stopped breaking my retainer in my sleep, stopped needing a mouth guard at night, and stopped needing special toothpaste for my sensitive teeth. But those improvements pale in comparison to the literal whole-body benefits.

I know it’s not going to be a magic bullet solution for everyone the way it was for me but the improvement was so night and day I have an almost compulsive need to bring it up whenever someone mentions they suffer from bruxism or migraines just in case it can put an end to their misery, too. So if you haven’t looked into it yet the potential upside makes it well worthwhile to bring it up with your doctor and/or dentist.

Or, if you happen to be in Massachusetts, give Dr. David Keith at MGH a call.

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