Let's talk dental hygiene

[Nograts]

Had a cavity filled few weeks ago. Bottom left molar. When I got home I watched some videos of cavities being filled. Wow. I didn't realize they grind away like half your tooth. That's nuts. Seems like a cavity = lobotomy for your tooth.

Brought this up at work. Guy who talks too much about stupid crap basically said he brushes once a week but 'never gets cavities and dentists love him' because you know, he's that guy that physics and biology and stuff just doesn't apply to. Today he was out getting a root canal. Lel.

Bought a waterpik yesterday. 50 bucks. Got it on a whim. It's pretty neat! I don't floss as much as I should so hopefully this motivates me to do it more. Water gets eeeeeverywhere though.

Anyways, what about you ATOT? Do you fit the stereotype of computer geek and have rot mouth in that code red mountain dew stained hole? Shiny veneers? Au natural pearly whites?

 

[Mixolydian]

I brush twice a day and use listerine. That's it. I was blessed with concrete-strength teeth.

 

[Ricochet]

I'm the guy with weak gums. Dental visit 3 to 4 times a year for maintenance.

 

[Sulaco]

Brush twice a day, morning after breakfast and night right before bed, no exceptions.
I also use mouthwash after each brush (crest whitening something or other)


I physically cannot stay asleep unless I brush my teeth first. I'll wake up within a few hours and go brush them.

 

[Captante]

Brush at least twice a day ... could floss more often.

 

[SKORPI0]

moshquerade would have been the perfect person to talk with about this.

 

[CZroe]

I brush once a day and use Cool Mint Listerene (not the tartar control). I'll floss when I feel something stuck, which is rare. If I see blood, I floss for several days and brush/swish morning and night until my gums are back to normal (usually takes only a day or two but I keep going). I'm 34, get my teeth professionally cleaned about once every two years, and have no cavities. A year ago my dentist said he wanted to swap teeth with me.

I recently read that it's bad to brush soon after you eat, so I think the "3 times a day" lot are doing it wrong. My coworkers all have terrible breath. Mine aren't bright white, but I actually get compliments on my teeth from other coworkers, and I can tell when I have morning breath or need some mouthwash, so I'm pretty sure my breath is fine.

Oh: I own a Waterpik but never use it.

 

[Strk]

Had a cavity filled few weeks ago. Bottom left molar. When I got home I watched some videos of cavities being filled. Wow. I didn't realize they grind away like half your tooth. That's nuts. Seems like a cavity = lobotomy for your tooth.

Brought this up at work. Guy who talks too much about stupid crap basically said he brushes once a week but 'never gets cavities and dentists love him' because you know, he's that guy that physics and biology and stuff just doesn't apply to. Today he was out getting a root canal. Lel.

Bought a waterpik yesterday. 50 bucks. Got it on a whim. It's pretty neat! I don't floss as much as I should so hopefully this motivates me to do it more. Water gets eeeeeverywhere though.

Anyways, what about you ATOT? Do you fit the stereotype of computer geek and have rot mouth in that code red mountain dew stained hole? Shiny veneers? Au natural pearly whites?

Some people can go a long time without brushing and not get cavities. The enamel is just stronger on some people. But since you have other things like periodontitis, you should brush and floss regularly. My guess is that guy's breath smells like he spends his days off licking a dog's ass.

 

[Attic]

I'd like to get the fake teeth or implants, whatever those that look the best are. That's damn funny about the coworker.


Sometimes I brush 1x, somedays 2x a day. I go back and forth between using Listerine for periods of time. Floss 3x a week.

I use a waterpik everytime I shower, those are awesome.

Also planning to get a Sonicare, no comparison for how clean this gets your teeth. Well worth it. They break after 2 years.

 

[boomerang]

My teeth are really, really close together. Flossing was such a chore that I virtually never did it. That changed when I tried those flosser things. Makes the job a piece of cake. The different brands are truly different so if you have teeth like mine you'll need to experiment. My wife uses a brand that has two strands of floss. I can barely get those between my teeth. When I get a cleaning done, the hygienist has to unwrap the floss from her fingers and pull it through my teeth to get it out.

I've been using a Sonicare for about 15 years. It has pretty much eliminated the scraping the hygienist had to do. It was suggested to me because I was brushing so aggressively that I was wearing grooves in my enamel.

My mouth is a garden. The Dentist has always got something he's watching. Lots of crowns, lots of fillings. No crown replacements yet but that day will come.

 

[Jeff7]

I had a cavity in a wisdom tooth, way the hell back there, right up at the gumline.
(I had four premolars removed when I was 15, and the wisdom teeth have still caused a bit of crowding in the rest of my teeth. How many damn teeth to I need?? Jesus...)

Oddly.....it wasn't bad. The needles they used are tiny and cause a feeling of uncomfortable pressure rather than pain, and the smell of freshly-ground tooth is a bit disconcerting. Oh, and waiting for the novocaine to kick in was rather dull.
But it wasn't a bad procedure.

I love the filling they use, too. It's one of those UV-cure epoxies. That stuff's just so cool. Liquid....then shine the right kind of light on it, and bam! Solid.

 

[Ken g6]

I brush once a day, before bed. Brushing in the morning never made sense to me.

My teeth are not in good shape. Two crowns, need a third, lots of filled cavities. Apparently acid reflux is bad for teeth, though that's not the entire cause. The crowns I have are working good though.

I heard somebody genetically engineered a bacteria that turns excess sugar in the mouth into alcohol (tiny amounts) instead of tooth-etching acid. Then they bred it to out-compete the bacteria in the mouth. But they can't get approval to use it because people are afraid of genetically engineered bacteria that out-compete other bacteria getting into the environment. And it wouldn't help my acid wear anyway.

 

[CZroe]

I brush once a day, before bed. Brushing in the morning never made sense to me.

My teeth are not in good shape. Two crowns, need a third, lots of filled cavities. Apparently acid reflux is bad for teeth, though that's not the entire cause. The crowns I have are working good though.

I heard somebody genetically engineered a bacteria that turns excess sugar in the mouth into alcohol (tiny amounts) instead of tooth-etching acid. Then they bred it to out-compete the bacteria in the mouth. But they can't get approval to use it because people are afraid of genetically engineered bacteria that out-compete other bacteria getting into the environment. And it wouldn't help my acid wear anyway.

If you only brush once per day then morning is the only time that makes sense thanks to morning breath. It's harder for bacteria to multiply fast enough to make your breath stink through the day as you eat, drink, talk, etc. Morning breath can happen whether you brush before sleep or not. In my case I actually seems less likely to have it if I didn't brush my teeth before sleep, like giving bad bacteria a clean slate lets them run rampant as I sleep.

 

[Hugh Jass]

http://rusnakfamilydentistry.com/th...ush-your-teeth-like-a-dentist-in-120-seconds/

 

[irishScott]

I had horrible dental hygiene as a kid (often only brushed once or twice a week) and that continued through the first couple of years of college. Had a few cavities over the years, but never more than once every 2-3 years so I didn't take it seriously. Then about 4 years ago a dentist advised me that my enamel was more degraded than it should be for someone of my age, and it appeared I had a tooth grinding problem. Since then I've worn a grind-guard at night, I brush every night, I floss at least 3-4 times a week, and I rinse with flouride mouthwash every night.

 

[irishScott]

If you only brush once per day then morning is the only time that makes sense thanks to morning breath. It's harder for bacteria to multiply fast enough to make your breath stink through the day as you eat, drink, talk, etc. Morning breath can happen whether you brush before sleep or not. In my case I actually seems less likely to have it if I didn't brush my teeth before sleep, like giving bad bacteria a clean slate lets them run rampant as I sleep.

Brushing isn't about your breath, it's about excess bacteria and the acid they produce. Depending on what you eat for dinner/desert, letting sugar from fruit, fruit juice, ice cream, soda and such sit on your teeth all night is asking for cavities.

I'll do a quick brush in the morning for breath control, but the main cleaning is always at night.

 

[Jodell88]

Brush, floss, go to the dentist every 6 months for teeth cleaning.

 

[tcG]

Sonicare, floss, tongue scraper, repeat every night. Oil pull with coconut oil occasionally. 3 fillings.

 

[Imp]

Used to have terrible dental hygiene, only started fixing it over the past few years. I was the kid with orange teeth and people thought I ate too many carrots. Instead of brushing, I'd make a game of using my finger nails to scratch the caked on stains on my teeth every so often. Tons of cavities. My canines have holes on the sides and staining -- that's where the orange stains collected the most.

...Then I started brushing once a day, then twice, a day, then I flossed once a week, and finally floss daily. I only started flossing daily at night because my dentists said the x-ray showed that my teeth were rotting away from between on one side. That's the only side that seems to collect shit on a daily basis -- flossing actually gets big chunks out.

 

[Nograts]

Used to have terrible dental hygiene, only started fixing it over the past few years. I was the kid with orange teeth and people thought I ate too many carrots. Instead of brushing, I'd make a game of using my finger nails to scratch the caked on stains on my teeth every so often. Tons of cavities. My canines have holes on the sides and staining -- that's where the orange stains collected the most.

...Then I started brushing once a day, then twice, a day, then I flossed once a week, and finally floss daily. I only started flossing daily at night because my dentists said the x-ray showed that my teeth were rotting away from between on one side. That's the only side that seems to collect shit on a daily basis -- flossing actually gets big chunks out.

What the fuck

 

[Murloc]

brush twice a day if getting out of the house (otherwise once), floss and mouthwash every night.

My gums are inflamed so I started doing this 6 months ago on advice of the hygienist but I haven't seen much progress. Before I just brushed.

I use an electric brush.

 

[CZroe]

Brushing isn't about your breath, it's about excess bacteria and the acid they produce. Depending on what you eat for dinner/desert, letting sugar from fruit, fruit juice, ice cream, soda and such sit on your teeth all night is asking for cavities.

I'll do a quick brush in the morning for breath control, but the main cleaning is always at night.

Of course, but the two are inexorably linked. If you have bad morning breath then you have a bacteria population explosion to thank. There is a reason they tell you to brush BEFORE breakfast and now suggest more than thirty minutes after eating/drinking. They say that eating promotes enzymes that can damage tooth enamel if you brush away the layer of film too soon. Of course, that same film is populated by good and bad bacteria. If I don't have time to brush a second time before bed (usually) and I have had something sugary/starchy, I swish a bit of mouthwash or water or even some sugar-free drink before sleep. Seems to work: Brushing before sleep actually seems to worsen morning breath for me, but that's anecdotal, of course.

 

[Rakehellion]

Had a cavity filled few weeks ago. Bottom left molar. When I got home I watched some videos of cavities being filled. Wow. I didn't realize they grind away like half your tooth. That's nuts. Seems like a cavity = lobotomy for your tooth.

Brought this up at work. Guy who talks too much about stupid crap basically said he brushes once a week but 'never gets cavities and dentists love him' because you know, he's that guy that physics and biology and stuff just doesn't apply to. Today he was out getting a root canal. Lel.

Bought a waterpik yesterday. 50 bucks. Got it on a whim. It's pretty neat! I don't floss as much as I should so hopefully this motivates me to do it more. Water gets eeeeeverywhere though.

Anyways, what about you ATOT? Do you fit the stereotype of computer geek and have rot mouth in that code red mountain dew stained hole? Shiny veneers? Au natural pearly whites?

I've had tons of holes in my teeth. My mother's an endodontist so I've gotten them all filled for free.

 

[KeithTalent]

I brush in the morning and before bed, also use Listerine and make sure to floss at least once per day. Super anal about it.

Unfortunately I had a whole bunch of cavities in my teeth when I was very young and the periodic replacing of those fillings over the years has made them huge, so while I've never had any further cavities after that first explosion, my teeth are in sort of rough shape now because the fillings have essentially grown over the years. Going to need crowns or something at some point I guess. :\

KT

 

[boomerang]

I brush in the morning and before bed, also use Listerine and make sure to floss at least once per day. Super anal about it.

Unfortunately I had a whole bunch of cavities in my teeth when I was very young and the periodic replacing of those fillings over the years has made them huge, so while I've never had any further cavities after that first explosion, my teeth are in sort of rough shape now because the fillings have essentially grown over the years. Going to need crowns or something at some point I guess. :\

KT

A lot of my crowns are due to cracks in my molars. The Dentist would stick his camera in there and show me a molar that had two cracks that could potentially split the tooth into four pieces. There was so much filling material in them that what little tooth was left developed cracks. Some of my molars had so much amalgam filling material in them that they appeared gray. Essentially translucent with the filling material showing through.

I had tons of fillings done as a child. All with the old, slow drill and no anesthetic of any kind. It was surely different times because I would walk alone down to the corner of the main cross street to where the Dentist's office was.