12 ms·

When I see old human skeletons always wonder how they kept their teeth so good. Without toothpaste, toothbrush or floss. What are we doing wrong?

djohnston 9y ago
I wonder if sugar's ubiquity has anything to say about this.
- awkwarddaturtle 9y ago
  My dentist said sugar laden soft-drinks and sugar-laden processed food are the worst culprits. Especially the soft drink. Apparently the acid and sugar in soda are the worst things you could put on your teeth. It's like a double whammy.
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    As soon as I quit soda in my 20s, my cavities stopped. My dentist said I could have as much water and beer as I wanted, but no more soda.
- azakai 9y ago
  They are relevant for cavities, but the article is talking about all the other issues with our teeth, like not being aligned properly. Sugar has nothing to do with those problems, according to the article.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
skyyler 9y ago
Read the article and find out :^)
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
dawhizkid 9y ago
Carbs
- jamesdftx 9y ago
  The only reason I can see you being down voted is because you're not providing a constructive argument in HN standards against carbs. But you do make an excellent point. I'd like to add that in addition to the dental antropologist listed in the article [0], Weston A. Price [1] is also very well known for the role of agriculture (more carbs) in human dental change. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Corruccini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Corruccini [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_Price https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_Price
wefarrell 9y ago
My driving instructor grew up on a farm in Portugal and claimed that he didn't brush his teeth until he was an adult. Shocked, I asked if he had many dental issues and he claimed that he had none because everything he ate came from the farm.
mrob 9y ago
There's evidence that cleaning with toothpaste is no better than cleaning with water alone (keyword for search "dentifrice": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27513809 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27513809 There's evidence that plant root fiber toothbrushes are at least as good as nylon bristle toothbrushes (keywords for search "miswak", "chewing stick"), eg: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15643758 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15643758 (in my personal experience they work just fine, but they are more hassle than nylon toothbrushes because the bristles point in the same direction as the handle instead of to the side) There's also evidence that flossing+brushing has no advantage over brushing alone: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19138178 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19138178 Of course, medical research is notoriously unreliable, but it's at least plausible that ancient humans had all the technology needed to keep their teeth in good condition.
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  Also, they didn't have refined sugar in their diet.
  - azm1 9y ago
    Id say this is the most important part.The sugar epidemic of our age is pretty crazy.
- jrimbault 9y ago
  Also, isn't the first medical surgery in history, we have evidence of, related to the teeth ?
  - dom0 9y ago
    Some of the earliest prosthetics are dentures as well.
- leksak 9y ago
  You can also use charcoal and salt to brush your teeth, apparently. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Colgates-charcoal-U-turn-irks-users/articleshow/49100310.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/C...
madaxe_again 9y ago
You're going to say "ewwwwww gross!", but: I do not brush my teeth. Haven't since I was 10 years old, I'm 34 now. The most I ever do is chew sugar free gum, or pick at my gum line with a fingernail in idle moments alone. You know, like humans did for a few million years. I have very little sugar in my diet. When I go to the dentist every five or so years, they say "gosh you take good care of your teeth" and I smirk. Never had a filling, never had gum disease. If I didn't chainsmoke and drink coffee like a gutter they'd not be slightly ivory coloured, as they are, rather white. I view the dental hygiene industry rather like the anti-spot creme industry - once you start screwing with something, you have to keep screwing with it. A final aside: I have 28 teeth, including wisdom teeth. Never had first molars, nor my mother or grandfather. Means the wisdom teeth fit just fine, and many a dentist who's not only convinced that I brush thrice daily but also had dental surgery. Apparently this isn't a common mutation.
- justinclift 9y ago
  This sounds like sure fire way to have Halitosis. :(
- cableshaft 9y ago
  Enamel can erode for years and still protect your teeth until suddenly it's worn away and doesn't protect your tooth anymore. I got similar feedback from dentists while not having great hygiene and suddenly in one visit after years and years of "doing great" I had four cavities. My girlfriend has been bragging in a similar way and I've been trying to warn her to be more careful, and she knows exactly what all I went though (fillings kept falling out, eventually lost the teeth and needed a bridge).
- bxrxaxdx 9y ago
  I bet that is not working out as well as you think.
TorKlingberg 9y ago
How many old skeletons do you see? Are they a representative sample?
smilelogicortho 9y ago
Pre-industrial skeletal remains are often seen with more teeth than we might expect. Here are the ways you lose a tooth: 1. Trauma, like a hit to the face, that knocks a tooth out. 2. Abrasion on the biting surfaces that wears teeth down to a stub over a lifetime. 3. An infectious disease that destroys the teeth (cavities). 4. An infectious disease that destroys the supporting bone around the teeth (periodontal disease). What we are doing wrong: 1. Not wearing mouthguards to play sports/drive cars (think about hockey players who are missing teeth). 2. Living longer means more wear (also the position of the teeth changed in a softer, post-industrial diet). 3. Fermentable carbohydrates are eaten more frequently throughout the day. Bacteria that cause cavities, like streptococcus mutans, ferment carbohydrates into lactic acid, dissolve the underlying surface of the tooth, and invade deeper into the tooth. 4. Periodontal disease typically starts to take its toll in the third decade of life. We live longer than our ancestors.

djohnston 9y ago

I wonder if sugar's ubiquity has anything to say about this.

awkwarddaturtle 9y ago
My dentist said sugar laden soft-drinks and sugar-laden processed food are the worst culprits. Especially the soft drink. Apparently the acid and sugar in soda are the worst things you could put on your teeth. It's like a double whammy.
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  As soon as I quit soda in my 20s, my cavities stopped. My dentist said I could have as much water and beer as I wanted, but no more soda.
azakai 9y ago
They are relevant for cavities, but the article is talking about all the other issues with our teeth, like not being aligned properly. Sugar has nothing to do with those problems, according to the article.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

skyyler 9y ago

Read the article and find out :^)

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

dawhizkid 9y ago

Carbs

jamesdftx 9y ago
The only reason I can see you being down voted is because you're not providing a constructive argument in HN standards against carbs. But you do make an excellent point. I'd like to add that in addition to the dental antropologist listed in the article [0], Weston A. Price [1] is also very well known for the role of agriculture (more carbs) in human dental change. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Corruccini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Corruccini [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_Price https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_Price

wefarrell 9y ago

My driving instructor grew up on a farm in Portugal and claimed that he didn't brush his teeth until he was an adult. Shocked, I asked if he had many dental issues and he claimed that he had none because everything he ate came from the farm.

mrob 9y ago

There's evidence that cleaning with toothpaste is no better than cleaning with water alone (keyword for search "dentifrice": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27513809 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27513809 There's evidence that plant root fiber toothbrushes are at least as good as nylon bristle toothbrushes (keywords for search "miswak", "chewing stick"), eg: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15643758 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15643758 (in my personal experience they work just fine, but they are more hassle than nylon toothbrushes because the bristles point in the same direction as the handle instead of to the side) There's also evidence that flossing+brushing has no advantage over brushing alone: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19138178 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19138178 Of course, medical research is notoriously unreliable, but it's at least plausible that ancient humans had all the technology needed to keep their teeth in good condition.

tonyedgecombe 9y ago
Also, they didn't have refined sugar in their diet.
- azm1 9y ago
  Id say this is the most important part.The sugar epidemic of our age is pretty crazy.
jrimbault 9y ago
Also, isn't the first medical surgery in history, we have evidence of, related to the teeth ?
- dom0 9y ago
  Some of the earliest prosthetics are dentures as well.
leksak 9y ago
You can also use charcoal and salt to brush your teeth, apparently. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Colgates-charcoal-U-turn-irks-users/articleshow/49100310.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/C...

madaxe_again 9y ago

You're going to say "ewwwwww gross!", but: I do not brush my teeth. Haven't since I was 10 years old, I'm 34 now. The most I ever do is chew sugar free gum, or pick at my gum line with a fingernail in idle moments alone. You know, like humans did for a few million years. I have very little sugar in my diet. When I go to the dentist every five or so years, they say "gosh you take good care of your teeth" and I smirk. Never had a filling, never had gum disease. If I didn't chainsmoke and drink coffee like a gutter they'd not be slightly ivory coloured, as they are, rather white. I view the dental hygiene industry rather like the anti-spot creme industry - once you start screwing with something, you have to keep screwing with it. A final aside: I have 28 teeth, including wisdom teeth. Never had first molars, nor my mother or grandfather. Means the wisdom teeth fit just fine, and many a dentist who's not only convinced that I brush thrice daily but also had dental surgery. Apparently this isn't a common mutation.

justinclift 9y ago
This sounds like sure fire way to have Halitosis. :(
cableshaft 9y ago
Enamel can erode for years and still protect your teeth until suddenly it's worn away and doesn't protect your tooth anymore. I got similar feedback from dentists while not having great hygiene and suddenly in one visit after years and years of "doing great" I had four cavities. My girlfriend has been bragging in a similar way and I've been trying to warn her to be more careful, and she knows exactly what all I went though (fillings kept falling out, eventually lost the teeth and needed a bridge).
bxrxaxdx 9y ago
I bet that is not working out as well as you think.

TorKlingberg 9y ago

How many old skeletons do you see? Are they a representative sample?

smilelogicortho 9y ago

Pre-industrial skeletal remains are often seen with more teeth than we might expect. Here are the ways you lose a tooth: 1. Trauma, like a hit to the face, that knocks a tooth out. 2. Abrasion on the biting surfaces that wears teeth down to a stub over a lifetime. 3. An infectious disease that destroys the teeth (cavities). 4. An infectious disease that destroys the supporting bone around the teeth (periodontal disease). What we are doing wrong: 1. Not wearing mouthguards to play sports/drive cars (think about hockey players who are missing teeth). 2. Living longer means more wear (also the position of the teeth changed in a softer, post-industrial diet). 3. Fermentable carbohydrates are eaten more frequently throughout the day. Bacteria that cause cavities, like streptococcus mutans, ferment carbohydrates into lactic acid, dissolve the underlying surface of the tooth, and invade deeper into the tooth. 4. Periodontal disease typically starts to take its toll in the third decade of life. We live longer than our ancestors.