Remember when Listerine put out some ads where they pointed out that "according to research" gargling listerine is more effective at preventing gum disease than brushing? They were harassed by the ADA and forced to take down the ads, but they were right. Brushing is sometimes needed, but flossing and rinsing are more important. Gum health is the most important concern wrt dental health. Your teeth are generally going to be fine as long as your aren't regularly consuming sugar. In that case you can chew Xylitol gum (Icebreakers or Trident) which has an anti-bacterial effect. If you are worried about gum disease a waterpik is also recommended. Most people with healthy diets don't have to worry about caries.
Disclaimer: Do keep brushing your teeth. This is not medical advice. Ask your dentist, etc etc.
I basically never eat sugar. Hadn't been to the dentist in 15 years. When I finally did go, they did X-rays and found 4 "pre-cavities". Now I'm thinking it was scam.
I had three or four pre cavities on my teeth, I just started Vitamin K2 MK7, zinc and magnesium supplements. Combine that with brushing my teeth and they faded away after 6 months. No change in diet, although I don't have much sugar.
I had the "pre-cavity" thing once. Had a broken tooth and needed a crown, local dentist cleaned up the break and put in a temp crown, told me I would need a permanent in six months, and said I had 8 more cavities that needed work.
This one visit completely drained my dental insurance at the time, and the temp crown lasted a month.
Found another dentist in another town who had a cash discount, a big cash discount. Got the new crown for 20% of what it would have cost, and after using a much bigger and more powerful x-ray of my full mouth, he says I'm otherwise in good shape.
I asked him about the 'pre-cavities.' He gave me the look and shook his head.
15-20 years later, crown is long gone and I finally have to get that tooth pulled, third dentist finds ONE small cavity. So yeah, I don't buy that 'pre/micro cavity' bs.
It was. I went to the dentist for the first time in 8 years and he found "micro-cavities" that only he could see (dental hygienist said everything looked amazing). I didn't schedule the followup. That was six years ago, and my teeth are fine. I guess they healed themselves.
Full disclosure: The reason I was at the dentist in the first place was because my last wisdom tooth had split in half, and needed to be removed. The other three had been removed a few years earlier, but at the time, this one was impacted.
I don't know if that one had cavities or what, but it is true that the dentist said this about my OTHER teeth--it actually worked against me, as it made that broken tooth a lot harder to drill out!
All but one of my wisdom teeth came out normally, but the one that didn't is lodged almost 90 degrees towards a molar causing an impossible to get to area. There is no way of reaching that deep with any toothbrush, electric sonic, or whatever. You need a waterpik to get out food scraps and use mouth wash daily to prevent an otherwise inevitable extremely expensive dental visit.
Remember when Listerine put out some ads where they pointed out that "according to research" gargling listerine is more effective at preventing gum disease than brushing? They were harassed by the ADA and forced to take down the ads, but they were right. Brushing is sometimes needed, but flossing and rinsing are more important. Gum health is the most important concern wrt dental health. Your teeth are generally going to be fine as long as your aren't regularly consuming sugar. In that case you can chew Xylitol gum (Icebreakers or Trident) which has an anti-bacterial effect. If you are worried about gum disease a waterpik is also recommended. Most people with healthy diets don't have to worry about caries.
Disclaimer: Do keep brushing your teeth. This is not medical advice. Ask your dentist, etc etc.
I basically never eat sugar. Hadn't been to the dentist in 15 years. When I finally did go, they did X-rays and found 4 "pre-cavities". Now I'm thinking it was scam.
I know someone who brushes their teeth twice a day and is still facing gum issues due to genetic issues. Consider yourself lucky.
Yeah definitely something to that - I only brush once a day and use natural, fluoride-free tooth paste.
I had three or four pre cavities on my teeth, I just started Vitamin K2 MK7, zinc and magnesium supplements. Combine that with brushing my teeth and they faded away after 6 months. No change in diet, although I don't have much sugar.
I had the "pre-cavity" thing once. Had a broken tooth and needed a crown, local dentist cleaned up the break and put in a temp crown, told me I would need a permanent in six months, and said I had 8 more cavities that needed work.
This one visit completely drained my dental insurance at the time, and the temp crown lasted a month.
Found another dentist in another town who had a cash discount, a big cash discount. Got the new crown for 20% of what it would have cost, and after using a much bigger and more powerful x-ray of my full mouth, he says I'm otherwise in good shape.
I asked him about the 'pre-cavities.' He gave me the look and shook his head.
15-20 years later, crown is long gone and I finally have to get that tooth pulled, third dentist finds ONE small cavity. So yeah, I don't buy that 'pre/micro cavity' bs.
It was. I went to the dentist for the first time in 8 years and he found "micro-cavities" that only he could see (dental hygienist said everything looked amazing). I didn't schedule the followup. That was six years ago, and my teeth are fine. I guess they healed themselves.
Full disclosure: The reason I was at the dentist in the first place was because my last wisdom tooth had split in half, and needed to be removed. The other three had been removed a few years earlier, but at the time, this one was impacted.
I don't know if that one had cavities or what, but it is true that the dentist said this about my OTHER teeth--it actually worked against me, as it made that broken tooth a lot harder to drill out!
I've had no trouble with my teeth since.
I'm 40 and my wisdom teeth still haven't come in!
All but one of my wisdom teeth came out normally, but the one that didn't is lodged almost 90 degrees towards a molar causing an impossible to get to area. There is no way of reaching that deep with any toothbrush, electric sonic, or whatever. You need a waterpik to get out food scraps and use mouth wash daily to prevent an otherwise inevitable extremely expensive dental visit.