Hey all..

In the last 6 months I've had to get 3 fillings, and right now another tooth is starting to feel sensitive! That makes a total of 4 fillings so far and I'm only 19... is this normal?!

I'd be interested to know what other teens think, as well as adults. I realise that my low calcium diet over many years contributes to this and I'm boosting my intake, also i didn't use a fluoride toothpaste for a few years.

Does anyone have any knowledge about anything else contributing to tooth decay, eating a lot of fruit? Brushing teeth before meals rather than after? Is mouthwash actually affective in killing bacteria and preventing tooth decay? I've also been brushing my teeth really hard, applying a lott pressure, I never realised til the other day I read this deteriorates the tooth enamel.

I know you mightn't know at all but if anyone does, thanks!
:wall:

I think you have some good ideas there re: flouride/calcium intake. However, my dentist told me that much of the problem is often just genetic. That is..bad teeth run in certain families.

I don't know that brushing before meals would be harmful, but it certainly doesn't seem as effective as brushing after. :) Also, the over-brushing can cause damage to the enamel, but it's more likely to damage your gums. (ow!)

Yea my parents' mouths are full of fillings! My granny however has never ever had one, the dentist says she has something special in her saliva that protects! Lucky

Thanks Jen! I read that brushing before is actually more effective, but I don't understand why

Sticky, starchy foods like bread and cooked grains are more likely to cause tooth decay than fruits, because they adhere to your teeth. Brushing after eating those foods may help.

Also, there's a mouthwash called ACT that can help remineralize your teeth and even fill in early cavities. I use it and I managed to avoid some fillings that way.

And don't forget to floss!

if you eat a lot of fruit, especially citrus-y kinds, rinse your mouth out with water after eating them.

you can also start making green smoothies - they are about 60% green and 40% fruit. the taste of the fruit overpowers the greens, so you don't taste them at all. they are a good source of calcium from the greens and there have been studies that the smoothies (the greens, really) will help rebuild your teeth and help any gum problems.

if you're using toothpaste with fluoride in it, please stop. also, brushing hard on your teeth can damage the enamel and they'll become very sensitive.

There is something called 'gum joy oil' that can be used as a mouth wash, rubbed on the gums and even as a toothpaste, that helps heal mouth problems.

another thing is snacking. if you snack a lot it can leave your mouth in a constant acidic state, which is not what it needs to be. i've read of some people brushing with celtic sea salt as it helps the mouth stay in an alkaline state.

i'll have to do some more reading up as I know of a bunch of websites and lots of other information I could post, if you want to read it.

Most tooth decay is caused by refined sugar/other refined carbs and "bad genes." Though I've always eaten a lot of sugar, I have only one filling. Eating a lot of acidic fruit (citrus) or drinking soda can eat off the enamel, leaving teeth more vulnerable to decay.

Soda and white carbs stick to teeth worse than just straight up sugar. Brush your teeth often and try chewing sugarless gum. Brushing your teeth too hard is just going to erode your gums away. A friend of mine did that and had to have a piece of his palate grafted onto his gums so he wouldn't lose his teeth. Yow. It is definitely recommended that you use a flouride toothpaste. Whyu did you stop? Have you asked your dentist for suggestions?

Just a few of the many websites out there about fluoride:

http://www.mbschachter.com/dangers_of_fluoride_and_fluorida.htm
http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/fluoride.htm
http://www.nofluoride.com/
http://www.nofluoride.com/legal.htm
http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/fluoride.htm
http://www.ghchealth.com/where-the-yellow-went.html
http://www.aquamd.com/fluoride/
http://www.fluoridealert.org/
http://www.fluoridation.com/
http://www.zerowasteamerica.org/Fluoride.htm
http://www.holisticmed.com/fluoride/
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/fluorideharm.html
http://home.att.net/~gtigerclaw/EPAresponse.html
http://reactor-core.org/dental-health.html


Flossing, as Mollygoat stated, is a big thing to do, as well. Also, when you buy a toothbrush you should make sure that it's the "soft" bristle always, never the mediums or the hards.

From http://www.life-enthusiast.com/news/o_dental_health.htm

Letter from Gerard F. Judd, Ph.D., Chemist, Researcher for 18 years and Professor of Chemistry for 33 yrs.

April 2002

Dear Government Executive and Employee:

We can all stop spending billions for American dental work and research. Let me tell you why: I have learned the real causes of dental cavities and gum infection. People, including you, will now be able to take care of their own dentistry with insignificant cost, and end with perfect teeth. Cavities and gum infections are ended!

A great amount of reputable dental research proves the following:

1. Tooth cavities will be ended simply by rinsing acids off the teeth. Acids alone eat the enamel. There would be no cavities in the world if all people rinsed acids from their teeth promptly. Just rinse with water or other liquid after eating. Water reacts with acids (dilutes). (We found Miracle II Neutralizer in water to be extremely effective)

2. Foods and drinks, other than those containing acids, have no action on tooth enamel. Sugars have no action on the enamel.

3. Bacteria cannot damage the enamel (calcium hydroxy phosphate). There is no such thing as decay of the enamel since bacteria require carbon and hydrogen to live. Billions of human and animal remains show teeth and bones are resistant to earth-bound organisms.

4. Teeth re-enamelize when clean. To make teeth clean one brushes with any soap. Soap washes off in just 2 rinses. What about toothpastes? Glycerine in all tooth pastes is so sticky that it takes 27 washes to get it off. Teeth brushed with any toothpaste are coated with a film and cannot properly re-enamelize. (We found Miracle II Liquid Soap to be just perfect for this job)

5. Taking calcium and phosphate in the diet results in re-enamelization of the teeth, but only when they are clean. Soap does a perfect job of cleaning the surface. The enamel thickens and becomes less sensitive. Adenosine diphosphatase furnishes phosphate to teeth.

6. Gums are disinfected by brushing with any soap. Not only bacteria and viruses are destroyed promptly by small amounts of soap in water, but also white flies and aphids. Gardeners: Spray 1 tsp of dishwashing soap in 1 gallon of water to kill white flies and aphids. (Miracle II Soap is very effective ...)

7. Plaque, a poorly formed crystal stuck to the bottom of the enamel, is prevented and eventually removed by brushing with soap. Dental procedures (scaling, planing) to get the badly formed crystals off dig holes through the enamel. These cavities catch food and cause gum infection.

That's just 7 out of the 32 that he listed.

I switched from a fluoride toothpaste to a more natural one made by Nature's Gate. Now, I'm trying Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap - the peppermint kind. It's working out very well. I've also read that GSE (grapeseed extract, in its diluted form) is great for gums and teeth, as well.

Cutting out soda is another big thing in helping to heal teeth.

Re: brushing before hand..evidently it makes your teeth less "sticky" and those starchy foods don't adhere as well. Hm.

re: flouride...most of the (peer-reviewed, scientific) research seems to say only that ingesting larger amounts of flouride (say in flouridated water) is/may be linked to health issues. The amount you should ingest from toothpaste is very small. The dental benefits, IMO, outweigh this danger.

Jenna: re your quote above..to avoid any copyright issues, can you please edit it so that only a small portion appears, and provide a link? Thanks.

Hm. I may have to delete that part, then, Jen. A lady on another forum typed that out from a book that she has. There wasn't any link.

I think if you brush your teeth well and often, the rest might just be genetic.

I'm 28, and have never had a cavity or filling, and there was a time when I was a kid that I ate candy every other day and refused to brush my teeth. Still no cavities. My dental hygenist said that she can count on her hand the number of patients over 30 without ever getting cavities. I know for sure it isn't my good oral hygeine, its gotta be genetic.

My wife brushes her teeth, and flosses three times a day, and just about everyone of her teeth has had some cavity or anther.

We both eat the same vegan diet.

Our dentist can only explain it as "genetic".

ps. I eat sticky starchy (and sugary) foods often, and I've never had a problem. Besides avoiding sweets unless you can brush afterwards, there isn't much else you can do. :(

Jenna: you can provide a link to where you found the info (although, unless the poster there has permission, I think she's in violation too..not sure)

Ugh, I've had sooooo many cavities...same with my kids, and my brothers, my sister, and my mom. My dad had dentures by the time he was 16. We are all quite habitual about our brushing. I brush after every meal, my kids twice a day. We've all been told that it's just genetics, as well.

Re: brushing before hand..evidently it makes your teeth less "sticky" and those starchy foods don't adhere as well. Hm.

re: flouride...most of the (peer-reviewed, scientific) research seems to say only that ingesting larger amounts of flouride (say in flouridated water) is/may be linked to health issues. The amount you should ingest from toothpaste is very small. The dental benefits, IMO, outweigh this danger.

Jenna: re your quote above..to avoid any copyright issues, can you please edit it so that only a small portion appears, and provide a link? Thanks.

Yea that sounds right about brushing before.
So when we brush our teeth with fluoride toothpaste, does enough actually go into our bloodstream to be beneficial?

Rabid - I stopped using a flouride one because I used a non animal tested one from a health food shop and was so dumb that I didn't even realise it didn't have flouride! :-/

thanks all for your help, it really does seem genetic! :(

The thing is I had healthy teeth and the dentist said they were good, I only had one filling, until the summer there, I was 18, and since then it's been going down hill. This makes me think it was the fact that I stopped using flouride toothpaste for that period of time. Either that or it's just age, and normal wear and tear etc!

:-/

Any good toothpaste to recommend ?

Any other methods to prevent tooth decay ?

Thanks

If you are doing all the right hygenic things, then I agree with the genetic issue. One of my daughters has only one or two cavities total (she's 30) and the other gets cavities every six months. I always had a lot of cavities. It got better as I got older, and even though I hadn't seen a dentist in over 15 years, when I finally went, I only had one cavity! I was shocked. In regards to using ACT, I would rinse with any antiseptic mouthwash BEFORE brushing (because I hate the taste) and I'm thinking this may have really helped. It's the only thing I did differently from years before.

Yea that sounds right about brushing before.
So when we brush our teeth with fluoride toothpaste, does enough actually go into our bloodstream to be beneficial?

Rabid - I stopped using a flouride one because I used a non animal tested one from a health food shop and was so dumb that I didn't even realise it didn't have flouride! :-/


actually, you don't want it in your bloodstream--that's the point. you just want it on your teeth.

anyway, like others have said: brushing after meals--brushing the GUMS more than the teeth. brushing for two minutes (most people only do really quick brushing), flossing EVERY DAY, the act stuff molly mentioned. all of this is really important.

and yeah, a huge amount is just genetics. if you have crappy teeth, no matter what you do, you'll still have crappy teeth. but you can prevent yourself from losing them by being very diligent.

if you eat a lot of fruit, especially citrus-y kinds, rinse your mouth out with water after eating them.

you can also start making green smoothies - they are about 60% green and 40% fruit. the taste of the fruit overpowers the greens, so you don't taste them at all. they are a good source of calcium from the greens and there have been studies that the smoothies (the greens, really) will help rebuild your teeth and help any gum problems.

if you're using toothpaste with fluoride in it, please stop. also, brushing hard on your teeth can damage the enamel and they'll become very sensitive.

There is something called 'gum joy oil' that can be used as a mouth wash, rubbed on the gums and even as a toothpaste, that helps heal mouth problems.

another thing is snacking. if you snack a lot it can leave your mouth in a constant acidic state, which is not what it needs to be. i've read of some people brushing with celtic sea salt as it helps the mouth stay in an alkaline state.

i'll have to do some more reading up as I know of a bunch of websites and lots of other information I could post, if you want to read it.

Great Post!!!:nana:

I would add that dried fruit can really be hard on your teeth, so minimize it and when you do eat it, make sure to brush your teeth and floss afterward.

And I would say again, please don't use flouride toothpaste.

Great Post!!!:nana:

I would add that dried fruit can really be hard on your teeth, so minimize it and when you do eat it, make sure to brush your teeth and floss afterward.

And I would say again, please don't use flouride toothpaste.
I really don't think you should be saying not to use flouride toothpaste, it seems like that's WHY the OP has cavaties! I doubt you would find one dentist that would agree with you. Countries where they do not use fluoride, the people have bad teeth.

Thank you all very much for the advice. I agree with bluegrrl though I'm definitely gonna keep using flouride tooth paste, it does seem like that is a large part of why I'm getting the cavities