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Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

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Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#81

Post by jamesdftx »

dawhizkid wrote: post #10
guilhas wrote: post #3

When I see old human skeletons always wonder how they kept their teeth so good. Without toothpaste, toothbrush or floss. What are we doing wrong?

Carbs

The only reason I can see you being down voted is because you're not providing a constructive argument in HN standards against carbs. But you do make an excellent point. I'd like to add that in addition to the dental antropologist listed in the article [0], Weston A. Price [1] is also very well known for the role of agriculture (more carbs) in human dental change.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Corruccini

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_Price

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#82

Post by leksak »

mrob wrote: post #23
guilhas wrote: post #3

When I see old human skeletons always wonder how they kept their teeth so good. Without toothpaste, toothbrush or floss. What are we doing wrong?

There's evidence that cleaning with toothpaste is no better than cleaning with water alone (keyword for search "dentifrice": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27513809 There's evidence that plant root fiber toothbrushes are at least as good as nylon bristle toothbrushes (keywords for search "miswak", "chewing stick"), eg: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15643758 (in my personal experience they work just fine, b…

You can also use charcoal and salt to brush your teeth, apparently. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/C...

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#83

Post by leksak »

I wonder what else might be going wrong with our bodies as a result of our childhood habits. For instance, are my hips genetically shallow or did I spend too little time outside running about as a kid?

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#84

Post by justinclift »

jstanley wrote: post #63
synicalx wrote: post #25

It always struck me as funny that if you want to get into Medicine you can either do the normal MD course that covers 95% of the body (obviously, you may be able to specialize much later on) OR you can do the other 5% as a Dentist (and again, you may chose to specialize later). Teeth suck, I'm hanging out for "I can't believe they're not teeth" implants so I can stop worrying about the damn things.

I have an "I can't believe it's not a tooth" implant, after I lost a front tooth when I crashed a tiny motorcycle. They drilled a hole in my jaw, beefed it up with a "cadaver bone" from a pig, threaded a titanium bolt into the hole, and then threaded a tooth-lookalike into the titanium bolt. The installation is a bit... industrial, but you'd never know it wasn't a real tooth. It cost £3,000 though.

There's also BioImplant (Austrian based), which uses Zirconium and has a good rep:

http://www.bioimplant.at

Titanium screws can have issues, where's the Zirconium-moulded-to-the-original-tooth-shape approach seems better.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#85

Post by dom0 »

kovrik wrote: post #26
elchief wrote: post #17

I had to get my front molars and wisdom teeth removed to make room in my jaw (got braces, all good) Saw the x-ray of my wisdoms. The tops were facing my front teeth, ie 90 degrees rotated

I have the same issue with my wisdoms. Seems to be a common thing. Weird. Was it painful to remove wisdoms?

All four in one go, procedure wasn't painful for me at all, but that might have something to do with it being under general anaesthetic. Of course, mouth was a bit painful for a few days.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#86

Post by sattoshi »

skummetmaelk wrote: post #79
amelius wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about people who chew on gum all day?

As usual, too much of anything is bad for you. Chewing gum all day leads to many other (severe) issues.

Don't chew all day = have one set of problems

Chew all day = another set of problems

We can't win, can we?

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#87

Post by dsego »

jstanley wrote: post #63
synicalx wrote: post #25

It always struck me as funny that if you want to get into Medicine you can either do the normal MD course that covers 95% of the body (obviously, you may be able to specialize much later on) OR you can do the other 5% as a Dentist (and again, you may chose to specialize later). Teeth suck, I'm hanging out for "I can't believe they're not teeth" implants so I can stop worrying about the damn things.

I have an "I can't believe it's not a tooth" implant, after I lost a front tooth when I crashed a tiny motorcycle. They drilled a hole in my jaw, beefed it up with a "cadaver bone" from a pig, threaded a titanium bolt into the hole, and then threaded a tooth-lookalike into the titanium bolt. The installation is a bit... industrial, but you'd never know it wasn't a real tooth. It cost £3,000 though.

Next time take a vacation in one of the balkan countries, get an implant, and maybe even save some money.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#88

Post by dsego »

greggman wrote: post #48

I'm going to take this moment to rant at dentists! Going to the doctor they get the excuse that they rarely do anything that could possibly hurt. Dentists on the other hand are practically doing minor surgery every time you visit them. I know many of you will never have had any bad experiences at the dentist but I've had tons and what's extremely frustrating is many of them are preventable but dentists seem to have a…

Don't be such a wuss. My dentist is this older lady and she always strokes my head and tells me to be brave and it's gonna be over soon. I only ever got an anesthetic for a root canal. Nothing for ordinary fillings. Oh the pain when that drill hits the nerve.

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#89

Post by justinclift »

shubb wrote: post #62
greggman wrote: post #48

I'm going to take this moment to rant at dentists! Going to the doctor they get the excuse that they rarely do anything that could possibly hurt. Dentists on the other hand are practically doing minor surgery every time you visit them. I know many of you will never have had any bad experiences at the dentist but I've had tons and what's extremely frustrating is many of them are preventable but dentists seem to have a…

I don't actually agree with your examples but I wanted to add one of my own. I went to a dentist complaining of sensitive teeth. He identified the problem as small cavities caused by chewing in my sleep, drilled them out, and added fillings. A few months later those fillings fell out and I went to another dentist to get them replaced. "You've had large holes drilled on top of your teeth so I'll have to replace them,…

Chewing in your sleep (or even when awake), called Bruxism, is extremely common for many people in stress causing professions. eg probably many people here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruxism

Did your dentist discuss getting a mouth guard/splint to wear at night?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruxism#Dental_guards_and_occl...

Asking because that's what I went with, and for me it works well. Without it when I wake up I feel as if I've not slept all (very unrested), with it I can actually feel rested after sleep.

That's only during stressful times though. ;)

Re: Why Are Human Teeth So Messed Up?

#90

Post by justinclift »

madaxe_again wrote: post #40
guilhas wrote: post #3

When I see old human skeletons always wonder how they kept their teeth so good. Without toothpaste, toothbrush or floss. What are we doing wrong?

You're going to say "ewwwwww gross!", but: I do not brush my teeth. Haven't since I was 10 years old, I'm 34 now. The most I ever do is chew sugar free gum, or pick at my gum line with a fingernail in idle moments alone. You know, like humans did for a few million years. I have very little sugar in my diet. When I go to the dentist every five or so years, they say "gosh you take good care of your teeth" and I smirk.…

This sounds like sure fire way to have Halitosis. :(
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