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Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

mcgill.ca

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Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thousands of years of test of time stood with ayurveda. also validated with citations as experiments catch up https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5654187/

>The process of oil swishing is believed to cure or control 30 different types of systemic diseases including headaches, migraine, and chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes mellitus. Oh come on.

They forgot to mention, it specifically only works with snake oil.

Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#82
post #76
post #43

It may still take us some time to reach that goal, but the good news is that we have an effective solution available right now: keeping good oral hygiene is known to prevent both caries and gum disease, and takes less than 10 minutes a day for the average person. If you need more information, we recently developed a free website to get you started: https://lifelongsmiles.hk/

My wife seems to be basically immune to cavities; I get them easily. I brush very carefully; she brushes only quickly. Our diets are the same — if anything she probably gets more sugar. We have the same water source. Etc. Clearly there’s a lot more to this than what you’re claiming. Unless you’d propose that all of my current problems are due to conditions while I was child or similar.

[dead]

Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#83
post #76
post #43

It may still take us some time to reach that goal, but the good news is that we have an effective solution available right now: keeping good oral hygiene is known to prevent both caries and gum disease, and takes less than 10 minutes a day for the average person. If you need more information, we recently developed a free website to get you started: https://lifelongsmiles.hk/

My wife seems to be basically immune to cavities; I get them easily. I brush very carefully; she brushes only quickly. Our diets are the same — if anything she probably gets more sugar. We have the same water source. Etc. Clearly there’s a lot more to this than what you’re claiming. Unless you’d propose that all of my current problems are due to conditions while I was child or similar.

While there are indeed many factors (genetics, the specifics of the microbiome in your mouth, probably some we don't even understand at the moment) at play, oral hygiene (and diet for caries, but not gum disease) is currently considered by far the most important modifiable risk factor.

Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#84
post #76
post #43

It may still take us some time to reach that goal, but the good news is that we have an effective solution available right now: keeping good oral hygiene is known to prevent both caries and gum disease, and takes less than 10 minutes a day for the average person. If you need more information, we recently developed a free website to get you started: https://lifelongsmiles.hk/

My wife seems to be basically immune to cavities; I get them easily. I brush very carefully; she brushes only quickly. Our diets are the same — if anything she probably gets more sugar. We have the same water source. Etc. Clearly there’s a lot more to this than what you’re claiming. Unless you’d propose that all of my current problems are due to conditions while I was child or similar.

Well, don’t forget genetics. Apparently 60% of tooth decay swivels on your genes.

Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#85
post #58
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dunno that it's awkwardness so much as the discomfort of watching someone with pretty messed up teeth forcing too-large ID brushes in between them

Thank you all very much for the feedback, it gives me a new perspective on things. We wanted to show a real case, rather than animations, because we thought it would be clearer for our patients; but we are probably desensitized to watching stuff like this. Would you prefer to see a 3D animation instead, or something else?

I actually really prefer the videos of real people doing the thing! I've literally never seen a video of how to floss - even at the dentist they show you how on a little model.

Thanks for sharing these!

Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My parents both have fillings in almost every tooth, my sister and I have none. Neither of us did anything particularly special, my parents were quite strict about sugar (for the UK in the 80s/90s) and we brushed our teeth twice a day. I never flossed regularly, though I have started doing it more in the last few years.

Fluoride treatments at the dentist and fluoridated tooth paste are a big factor in my area. A commenter also mentioned fluoridated water, which had the same objective, but it causes demineralization of teeth (fluorosis) and possibly behavioural / hormonal changes ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520156/ , https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001393512... , https://ec.europa.eu/health/scie…

"Have you ever seen a commie drink a glass of water?"

Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#87
post #76
post #43

It may still take us some time to reach that goal, but the good news is that we have an effective solution available right now: keeping good oral hygiene is known to prevent both caries and gum disease, and takes less than 10 minutes a day for the average person. If you need more information, we recently developed a free website to get you started: https://lifelongsmiles.hk/

My wife seems to be basically immune to cavities; I get them easily. I brush very carefully; she brushes only quickly. Our diets are the same — if anything she probably gets more sugar. We have the same water source. Etc. Clearly there’s a lot more to this than what you’re claiming. Unless you’d propose that all of my current problems are due to conditions while I was child or similar.

That is frustrating. Does she drink more coffee, tea, water, during the day? Are your stress levels higher? Did your parents have similar cavity issues?

Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My parents both have fillings in almost every tooth, my sister and I have none. Neither of us did anything particularly special, my parents were quite strict about sugar (for the UK in the 80s/90s) and we brushed our teeth twice a day. I never flossed regularly, though I have started doing it more in the last few years.

Fluoride treatments at the dentist and fluoridated tooth paste are a big factor in my area. A commenter also mentioned fluoridated water, which had the same objective, but it causes demineralization of teeth (fluorosis) and possibly behavioural / hormonal changes ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520156/ , https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001393512... , https://ec.europa.eu/health/scie…

First, fluorosis isn't demineralization of teeth, it's hypermineralization, way on the other side of the spectrum.

Second, you'll get water poisoning before you'd get fluorosis from tap water. I challenge you to find anyone who has gotten fluorosis from tap water alone

Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#89
post #69
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fluoridated drinking water may explain the difference.

UK tap water isn't fluoridated

This isn't entirely true: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/community-water-...

Re: Reports of the death of dental cavities are greatly exaggerated

#90
post #83
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife seems to be basically immune to cavities; I get them easily. I brush very carefully; she brushes only quickly. Our diets are the same — if anything she probably gets more sugar. We have the same water source. Etc. Clearly there’s a lot more to this than what you’re claiming. Unless you’d propose that all of my current problems are due to conditions while I was child or similar.

While there are indeed many factors (genetics, the specifics of the microbiome in your mouth, probably some we don't even understand at the moment) at play, oral hygiene (and diet for caries, but not gum disease) is currently considered by far the most important modifiable risk factor.

Considered by who? Dentists, or scientists? Dentists seem to be about 5-10 years behind the research on this topic. I know of a single practice that has started doing oral microbiome testing.

We know that caries are caused by acid eroding the teeth. And we know which bacterial species produce this acid, how quickly they secrete it, and how common they are. The most significant source is Strep. Mutans. Sugar is an input to this process, and Xylitol (a sugar alcohol) can kill this bacteria selectively.

Diet is probably the most significant way to affect gum disease. Gum disease is associated with systemic inflammation and auto-immunity. The same dietary interventions that are used to treat those conditions also treat gum disease.

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