6 ms·

> The current conservative treatment for white spot lesions is to be judicious with cleaning And I'll point out that my current dentist is the only one I've ev

> The current conservative treatment for white spot lesions is to be judicious with cleaning And I'll point out that my current dentist is the only one I've ever had (or known of) who actually bothers to rigorously teach his patients how to clean their teeth well. Most apparently don't believe this is possible or worth their time. Obviously that's not going to take with every patient, but it's really quite amazing the difference between thinking you're doing what needs done (yet having the hygienist grumble all the same), and actually getting the plaque off every time. Put another way, diligence != skill when it comes to dental hygiene.

e40 11y ago
Care to elaborate what the techniques your current dentist taught you?
- saidajigumi 11y ago
  Sorry, should have included that in my original post. The basic protocol is here: http://www.7dentalsteps.com/7steps.htm http://www.7dentalsteps.com/7steps.htm The key premise is roughly: disrupt the plaque biofilm every 24 hours. The rest of the protocol is a method for doing that. The change in my gum health was profound after only about three days. Working with Dr. Nigrelle, you get a "process checkup" via plaque staining dye every time you go in. So you get feedback as to where you need to improve technique. I also got some extra dye swabs so I could do self-checks more frequently. The visual feedback is super-useful for dialing in technique, but not critical for that initial baseline boost in dental health. A big tip for the stim-u-dents or similar cleaning aids. Don't think of them as "toothpicks". Think of them and use them like tiny tootbrushes that can work around the teeth near the gumline and in-between the teeth. It's the lateral faces of the picks that act as scrubbing tools. Also, the parts about lathering with toothpaste are important. The dye tells the story, and Dr. Nigrelle does this comparison with his patients: you learn that you can spend a long, long time scrubbing with a stim-u-dent or toothbrush without toothpaste and kinda sorta get the plaque, or you can lather up some toothpaste and obliterate it in short order.
  - scrollaway 11y ago
    The graphics on that page are adorably cheesy. I haven't heard of stimudents before, the principle seems to be the same as the tepe interdental brushes which are more popular here in europe (http://www.tepe.com/products/interdental-brushes/how-to-use/ http://www.tepe.com/products/interdental-brushes/how-to-use/)
- roel_v 11y ago
  With the regular 'brush compliance checks' mine does, an electrical toothbrush made significant difference. And it's not because I spend longer brushing, I even think I brush less in wall-clock time. The electrical one just seems to be more thorough ('seems' as in 'confirmed with dentist-administered plaque and gum health measurements', not 'I really want to believe so in my mind I make it so').
  - tripzilch 11y ago
    Electrical brush was night and day for me. Until I was 19 or so, I used to have a cavity nearly every check-up. Then, I got an electrical toothbrush, and it just stopped. Now most of the work is maintenance on all those fillings, damage had been done, unfortunately.
- nommm-nommm 11y ago
  I think the most important thing is teeth take a lot of time to properly clean. An electric tooth brush is also extremely helpful.
- devbug 11y ago
  Off the top of my head: * Modified Stillman's * Floss properly; "scrape" gently with the floss. * Water rinse after acidic drinks (like red wine). Brush a half hour after that.
  - lukeschlather 11y ago
    One thing that has done a lot for me is I've been doing more brushing without toothpaste. I do use toothpaste, but when I do it I treat it more as a fluoride treatment than as a tool to get off plaque. When I'm trying to get off plaque I use a dry brush.
    - Scoundreller 11y ago
      Toothpaste is more than fluoride, it contains surfactants and mild abrasives to aid in the cleaning process.
      - saidajigumi 11y ago
        As my post above indicates, this effect is really important. The plaque biofilm is really sticky. I'm not sure what's going on in GP's case, but when using a plaque staining dye to see what's going on, it's clear that toothpaste makes a huge difference in the ability to mechanically disrupt plaque. It's amazingly hard to do without toothpaste.
      - dualogy 11y ago
        Abrasives on enamel! Yay..
        Scoundreller 11y ago
        It's all about differences in hardness. If everything goes as planned: The abrasive is more likely to scratch what's on the teeth; and the teeth are more likely to scratch the toothpaste if everything goes as planned.
    - yogipatel 11y ago
userbinator 11y ago
Most apparently don't believe this is possible or worth their time. Or perhaps they would rather their patients come back with cavities so he/she can charge more to fix them? Here's an experience of mine that's relevant: I once had a dentist who told me I had a cavity and showed me a little black spot on one of my teeth; for whatever reason I declined that day and said I'd come sometime in the future when it was convenient, to fix it. In the meantime I was introduced by a friend to another dentist who was recommended because he was much cheaper, and so I went to him to fix the cavity - to which his response was, "that ain't no cavity", and promptly scraped the spot away with a pick. He also did an x-ray and showed my teeth were in perfect condition with no signs of any decay. This was a few years ago and I've not had any problems with my teeth since.
petercooper 11y ago
I recently switched dentist and my new dentist requires that you also have a six monthly appointment with a full-time hygienist also at the same site. I was very skeptical about this but ultimately learnt a lot and my teeth are becoming a lot better for it. I am not entirely sure if most dentists would be good at delivering hygiene advice to the level of the hygienist (it's a special skill, after all), but I'm also not sure most patients would voluntarily see a hygienist, so it's a tricky problem.

e40 11y ago

Care to elaborate what the techniques your current dentist taught you?

saidajigumi 11y ago
Sorry, should have included that in my original post. The basic protocol is here: http://www.7dentalsteps.com/7steps.htm http://www.7dentalsteps.com/7steps.htm The key premise is roughly: disrupt the plaque biofilm every 24 hours. The rest of the protocol is a method for doing that. The change in my gum health was profound after only about three days. Working with Dr. Nigrelle, you get a "process checkup" via plaque staining dye every time you go in. So you get feedback as to where you need to improve technique. I also got some extra dye swabs so I could do self-checks more frequently. The visual feedback is super-useful for dialing in technique, but not critical for that initial baseline boost in dental health. A big tip for the stim-u-dents or similar cleaning aids. Don't think of them as "toothpicks". Think of them and use them like tiny tootbrushes that can work around the teeth near the gumline and in-between the teeth. It's the lateral faces of the picks that act as scrubbing tools. Also, the parts about lathering with toothpaste are important. The dye tells the story, and Dr. Nigrelle does this comparison with his patients: you learn that you can spend a long, long time scrubbing with a stim-u-dent or toothbrush without toothpaste and kinda sorta get the plaque, or you can lather up some toothpaste and obliterate it in short order.
- scrollaway 11y ago
  The graphics on that page are adorably cheesy. I haven't heard of stimudents before, the principle seems to be the same as the tepe interdental brushes which are more popular here in europe (http://www.tepe.com/products/interdental-brushes/how-to-use/ http://www.tepe.com/products/interdental-brushes/how-to-use/)
roel_v 11y ago
With the regular 'brush compliance checks' mine does, an electrical toothbrush made significant difference. And it's not because I spend longer brushing, I even think I brush less in wall-clock time. The electrical one just seems to be more thorough ('seems' as in 'confirmed with dentist-administered plaque and gum health measurements', not 'I really want to believe so in my mind I make it so').
- tripzilch 11y ago
  Electrical brush was night and day for me. Until I was 19 or so, I used to have a cavity nearly every check-up. Then, I got an electrical toothbrush, and it just stopped. Now most of the work is maintenance on all those fillings, damage had been done, unfortunately.
nommm-nommm 11y ago
I think the most important thing is teeth take a lot of time to properly clean. An electric tooth brush is also extremely helpful.
devbug 11y ago
Off the top of my head: * Modified Stillman's * Floss properly; "scrape" gently with the floss. * Water rinse after acidic drinks (like red wine). Brush a half hour after that.
- lukeschlather 11y ago
  One thing that has done a lot for me is I've been doing more brushing without toothpaste. I do use toothpaste, but when I do it I treat it more as a fluoride treatment than as a tool to get off plaque. When I'm trying to get off plaque I use a dry brush.
  - Scoundreller 11y ago
    Toothpaste is more than fluoride, it contains surfactants and mild abrasives to aid in the cleaning process.
    - saidajigumi 11y ago
      As my post above indicates, this effect is really important. The plaque biofilm is really sticky. I'm not sure what's going on in GP's case, but when using a plaque staining dye to see what's going on, it's clear that toothpaste makes a huge difference in the ability to mechanically disrupt plaque. It's amazingly hard to do without toothpaste.
    - dualogy 11y ago
      Abrasives on enamel! Yay..
      - Scoundreller 11y ago
        It's all about differences in hardness. If everything goes as planned: The abrasive is more likely to scratch what's on the teeth; and the teeth are more likely to scratch the toothpaste if everything goes as planned.
  - yogipatel 11y ago

userbinator 11y ago

Most apparently don't believe this is possible or worth their time. Or perhaps they would rather their patients come back with cavities so he/she can charge more to fix them? Here's an experience of mine that's relevant: I once had a dentist who told me I had a cavity and showed me a little black spot on one of my teeth; for whatever reason I declined that day and said I'd come sometime in the future when it was convenient, to fix it. In the meantime I was introduced by a friend to another dentist who was recommended because he was much cheaper, and so I went to him to fix the cavity - to which his response was, "that ain't no cavity", and promptly scraped the spot away with a pick. He also did an x-ray and showed my teeth were in perfect condition with no signs of any decay. This was a few years ago and I've not had any problems with my teeth since.

petercooper 11y ago

I recently switched dentist and my new dentist requires that you also have a six monthly appointment with a full-time hygienist also at the same site. I was very skeptical about this but ultimately learnt a lot and my teeth are becoming a lot better for it. I am not entirely sure if most dentists would be good at delivering hygiene advice to the level of the hygienist (it's a special skill, after all), but I'm also not sure most patients would voluntarily see a hygienist, so it's a tricky problem.