Dental Cleanings?

rbusby01
rbusby01 Posts: 115 ✭✭✭

Do ya'll still get dental cleanings or just use good oral care? I use my own toothpaste and oil pulling so not sure if it's necessary. What do ya'll do for teeth health?

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Comments

  • stephanie447
    stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭

    I definitely have to get professional teeth cleaning done. Genetically predisposed to gum issues. Neglected it for a few years and developed a gum abscess that I honestly think might have caused a bacterial infection that almost killed me a few years back. So personally, I will never put it off or skip it now.

  • stephanie447
    stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭

    In fact, I am going to the dentist tomorrow for a cleaning. Not looking forward to it but my gums are so much healthier since I have been going!

  • KimWilson
    KimWilson Posts: 197 ✭✭✭

    @stephanie447 I can relate to just what you are talking about. I just got over such an infection in combination with a sinus infection. It was actually painful enough that I was waking in the middle of the night crying. What was recommended to me was a water pick for better future gum health. Does anyone else have comments on gum health? My tooth contacts are now too tight for even my dentist to floss.

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Nope. I haven't been to a dentist in 30 years... and strangely enough I stopped getting cavities and other issues...

  • stephanie447
    stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭

    A water pick might be good then. I use gum picks or dental brushes as I always hated flossing. They seem to work just fine - though I will let you know what my dentist says after I see him tomorrow! :-)

  • marjstratton
    marjstratton Posts: 1,132 ✭✭✭✭

    I have been going to a new dentist as of before the Covid. I haven't been back for a cleaning since. I know I should as she ran tests on me and found some undesirable bacteria in my plaque and I used to have bleeding gums. The hygienist did a really deep cleaning and got well under the gum line. Since that I haven't had any bleeding gums. I have also changed my routine for cleaning my teeth. I brush with an over the counter fluoride free tooth paste and then usually use a water pick. Then I brush again with a combination of baking soda and charcoal. I also oil pull with coconut oil every other day in the morning. My teeth feel a lot cleaner now and my gums are a lot healthier.

  • Jannajo
    Jannajo Posts: 173 ✭✭✭

    @marjstratton -no dentist since March here, but then what is oil pull? & where to get the charcoal? I am starting with the baking soda, salt, and hydrogen peroxide-dipped toothbrush I read abt here! I was told -brush your gums! I want to do more...

  • rbusby01
    rbusby01 Posts: 115 ✭✭✭

    Oil pulling is aruyvedic. You swish coconut oil ( I add a couple drops cinnamon or clove EO) for a few minutes and spit out in trash and brush teeth. It is supposed to keep gums/teeth healthier :)

  • Linda Bittle
    Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I still do, when I have insurance though my job (starting next week, I'll have it again.)

    We didn't get good dental care when we were kids. Nor did we have good nutrition. My sister and I both suffer from dental issues, not sure about our brother. He doesn't share that sort of info.

    Even with insurance, I've chosen to get 3 teeth pulled in the past 5 years rather than get root canal work. Once I get an abscess, it seems it's only a matter of time until the tooth breaks and that is horribly painful!

    If I can catch the cracked tooth before it breaks, I can get a filling or crown. Regular cleanings make it easier to catch in time.

  • Annie Kate
    Annie Kate Posts: 680 ✭✭✭✭

    I do oil pulling too and it helps my teeth feel clean and does seem to reduce the need for tooth cleaning--but I still will need to go and get them cleaned.

    And today, of all crazy things, my teeth seem to hurt when I bite. Sometimes I wonder if I have an infection but that shouldn't be possible because I've never had a root canal...or is that not the way things work?

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Well, not much. I eat a lot of meat, including game and wild fish, shellfish... lots of garden and foraged plants... so lots of minerals. Plenty of rich broths made with bones. Plenty of natural fats. I am on a deep water well in the mountains, so plenty of minerals but no fluoride. I spend lots of tie in the sun and get regular exercise doing hard work, which is good for bone density, which I would assume includes teeth. I don't eat much sugar at all. I drink my whisky straight, so that would have the same effect as mouthwash. I brush twice daily with baking soda, which maintains an alkaline environment in the mouth. Lots of fermented foods and beverages may also help. The one tooth I had (un-necessarily) filled as a 10 year old kid... total scam to rip of my single mother... has broken. An entire side broke off about 4 years ago. I'll probably just have it pulled. I let my wisdom teeth grow in naturally; it was no big deal. Beyond that, well... nearly all of my ancestors lived to be in their 90s and 100s, in the era before modern dentistry. My great grandfathers probably didn't even brush their teeth - folks chewed on a sassafras root back then, if anything. So, good genetics is probably the biggest asset I have. Weston A. Price found that poor diet led to poor genes, which led to tooth decay.

  • marjstratton
    marjstratton Posts: 1,132 ✭✭✭✭

    When I was a kid, my dentist started filling everything in site. I think the whole thing was a total scam. And so I had to live with all that poison mercury in my system for the rest of my life until I went to a mercury free/safe dentist and had it all removed. Expensive, but I think it was so worth it. I had to pay out of pocket as my dental insurance didn't work with that dentist.

  • stephanie447
    stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭

    Genetics is definitely a big reason why some people get gum disease and some do not - but it's probably also related to overall health and immune system.

  • stephanie447
    stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭
    edited August 2020

    BTW, be careful with oil pulling if you have infected gums. I am pretty certain now that I almost accidentally killed myself by trying to self treat a gum abscess with oil pulling. I had fully intended to see a dentist but wanted to do something right away as soon as I noticed it was hurting. I was brand new to Ayurveda so didn't really know what I was doing.

    You're only supposed to do oil pulling for a couple of minutes. I forgot the time and had been swishing sesame oil in my mouth for 10-20 minutes before spitting it out. I think I might have sent that bacteria straight into my bloodstream and gave myself sepsis. Can't prove it but I almost died that night from something. It was like really bad food poisoning. Damaged my nerves and has taken me 3 years now to get better. Since they didn't know what it was I didn't get antibiotics until 2 years in.

    I will note that you don't instantly get sick like this unless you are already out of balance and at that time I was having a lot of personal stress I won't get into, and had not been feeling great in general.

    But the short version of my story is, if you have gum bleeding, go see a dentist right away and get your teeth and gums professionally taken care of...don't let it progress to full-blown periodontal disease, since that can affect your overall health and wellness.

  • Cornelius
    Cornelius Posts: 872 ✭✭✭✭

    I personally go to the dentist (except for covid). Something that is interesting is that technically brushing our teeth is actually helping out our microbiome. There are at least two bacteria that live in the mouth. One causes cavities by lowering the pH to kill of its competitor which is called plaque (this is what creates cavities). The other one in less acidic environments out competes plague. Toothpaste is really just raising the pH for the "good guy" to fight the plague.

  • JodieDownUnder
    JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

    Once a year I visit my holistic dentist. Have a check up and a clean. Usually nothing to report. I brush twice a day with a natural toothpaste. Never had flouride. This last 2 yrs, I've had all my amalgams replaced with white fillings, which are basically ceramic and safer. Tried oil pulling but takes some getting use to and I ditched it. I'm grateful to have a healthy mouth and teeth.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @stephanie447 As an Ayurvedic practitioner, I would like to know your thoughts on Auromere toothpaste. It has been recommended to my by a naturopath/TCM doc.

  • stephanie447
    stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭

    I don't know anything about it - not something that was covered in my training. From a quick glance at ingredients it looks like a modern formulation with some Ayurvedic herbs in it like Neem but a whole bunch of other ingredients that are not traditional Ayurveda. It's probably fine.

  • happy-trails
    happy-trails Posts: 170 ✭✭✭

    rbusby01 stephanie447

    Is the glycerin listed in the ingredients a concern? This is why I stopped using the Auromere toothpaste. I have heard over and over from experts that glycerin in toothpastes is very harmful because it puts a coating over our teeth, hindering the remineralization process. I was so disappointed, because all the other ingredients were great! But this makes me wonder why oil pulling is ok/advised, but glycerin is not ok in the mouth. Maybe something scientifically I am not understanding, I'm sure. =)

    I love the OraWellness remineralization tooth powder and EO Healthy Mouth oil for brushing. I have also read advice to chew on a RAW (unpasteurized) piece of cheese at bedtime to aid in remineralizing your teeth through the night. Interesting, but I have not tried it. What oils are best for oil pulling? I've heard that sunflower oil is best, as opposed to the popular coconut oil. Not sure though!

  • stephanie447
    stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭

    @happy-trails I can't speak to the glycerin issue. With oil, in Ayurveda we often recommend oils based on the person's dosha (constitution) or current imbalance. So if you have excess Pitta, coconut oil is a good choice. Sesame oil is generally good all around. (That would be the untoasted sesame oil, not the toasted sesame oil found in the Asian food section.)

  • rbusby01
    rbusby01 Posts: 115 ✭✭✭

    Thanks for the information! I don't know what constitution I am? I usually use coconut oil, but will try the sesame oil. :)

  • JodieDownUnder
    JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

    @rbusby01 only this week, had a clean at my dentist. They introduced noise cancelling headphones to wear, so you don't hear the stuff going on in your mouth. It was difficult to keep still when The Bee Gees, Staying Alive came on! Settled a bit for James Taylor and Cat Stevens though. I went and bought a Waterpik this week, an electric toothbrush and flosser. Takes a day or 2 to get used to, a little messy but gee my mouth and teeth feel good.

    @judsoncarroll4 I have to go back next week and get a crown replaced. What playlist should I ask for? I've got a 90 min appointment 😉

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin
    edited September 2020

    Hmm... I'd say a mix of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies, Hank Penny, Louis Armstrong, Eddie Condon, Louis Prima, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Pete Fountain and Al Hirt (and below, I'll post a link to an awesome concert - you could download the audio if you just want some stellar trad jazz), Hank William Sr. and Left Frizzell, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, The Bee Gees, Parliament/Funkadellic, James Brown, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Leon Redbone, The Velvet Underground, the Standells, THe Modern Lovers, Television, Robert Gordon, New York Dolls, Richard Heck, The Heartbreakers/Johnny Thunders, Patti Smith and the Ramones.... Hank Williams III, Rev Horton Heat and Junior Brown to round it all out. ...oops, almost forgot Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Cash, early Elvis and a rockabilly guy who did 3-4 odd songs named Jimmy Wages (who probably invented punk rock).... oh, and of course, Wanda Jackson! If you just want to groove on some great guitar playing, llook for the duet albums Merle Travis did with Chet Atkins and Joe Maphis.... Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West were Stellar, and you can't forget Jerry Reed. Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli/Hot Club of France and the Farr Brothers would be excellent choices, as well.


  • JodieDownUnder
    JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

    @judsoncarroll4 I just knew you'd come up with an eclectic list, some I've never heard of before, expanding my horizons!

  • karenjanicki
    karenjanicki Posts: 989 ✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2020

    No I personally do not go to the dentist anymore. Many of the procedures they use and push for are very dangerous. Flouride treatments, mercury fillings, root canals. There was an excellent documentary on the dangers of root canals that I watched about a year ago. It explained that there have been many very serious illness linked to root canals and people that have recovered from them once they were removed. Your teeth are alive and active. They actually clean themselves. I bought Marjories program on self care for teeth and I highly recommend it. I was diagnosed with a bad cavity about 5 years ago. I knew he would want me to get a root canal so I didn't go back. I can see it still on my molar. But it doesn't hurt anymore. I'm taking steps to try to heal it at home.

  • annflancan
    annflancan Posts: 84 ✭✭✭

    I am with you, oil pulling and homemade paste made for clay and charcoal.

  • Thomas
    Thomas Posts: 81 ✭✭✭

    I looked at Marjorie's program, but didn't follow through. More because I have a tendency to open to many tabs, and then close a bunch. Just never went back to the page.

    Thanks for giving Marjorie's program a thumbs up. Lets me know to go back to it!

  • karenjanicki
    karenjanicki Posts: 989 ✭✭✭✭

    You're welcome :). I'm glad. There are also several good books available about holistic dental care and healing cavities. If that happens to be an issue for you I would definately recommend them. They are very detailed and informative.