7 ms·

Dentistry seems like an extremely conservative profession, and one that received very little attention from outsiders. This story definitely makes me wonder if

by drcode 6y ago

Dentistry seems like an extremely conservative profession, and one that received very little attention from outsiders. This story definitely makes me wonder if there are still a lot of "low hanging fruit" in dentistry that have been left unexplored. It does seem rather strange that nearly be 100% of parents are told that their kids' mouths are terribly messed up and need expensive procedures. Never are parents offered any convincing scientific explanation for why everyone's mouth seems to go counter to all the usual biological rules of evolutionary adaptation.

dragonwriter 6y ago
> Never are parents offered any convincing scientific explanation for why everyone's mouth seems to go counter to all the usual biological rules of evolutionary adaptation. Dentists (like medical doctors) generally aren't evolutionary biologists, and even if they were that also, we (humanity collectively) know a lot more about function than the evolutionary pressures that produce it. That said, the contribution, the contribution of optimum tooth alignment over a modern lifespan to reproductive fitness is probably very low over most of human evolution.
klipt 6y ago
Implant dentistry seems to acknowledge that jawbones atrophy without exposure to bite forces, which is one reason they recommend implants over false teeth. False teeth don't transit enough bite force to the jawbone, which causes atrophy and leads to the recessed chins common in older toothless people.
- phkahler 6y ago
  Yes, diet is important. Feed young kids jerky and other things that take some effort to chew. It makes the jaw grow so there will be more room. Another thing told to me by a mechanical engineer who is the son of a dentist: people from different countries can have different characteristics and inter-breeding may cause problems. He said oh, German teeth in an Irish mouth - the kid in question is indeed a mix from those two places. My kids ortho said they do things differently depending on race too. Example they gave was that Chinese teeth tend to be more straight across the front as opposed to more arched, so they take that into account when doing braces.
  - modeless 6y ago
    Jerky sounds like it would work, but probably not a great idea to eat every day. I've heard a lot of people saying kids should eat harder to chew foods but not a lot of suggestions about what hard-to-chew foods would actually be appropriate, healthy, not a choking hazard, and palatable to a toddler.
    - dodobirdlord 6y ago
      Perhaps we should be giving children a lot of gum.
      - modeless 6y ago
        Gum makes you chew a lot but it doesn't seem hard to chew. Not sure if that fits the bill.
        fuzxi 6y ago
        Mastic gum requires much greater force to chew!
    - ibeckermayer 6y ago
      What’s wrong with eating jerky every day?
      - modeless 6y ago
        Nutrition is controversial, obviously. It depends how you feel about red meat and saturated fat, plus it's high in sodium. Depending on the brand it can have sugar added, nitrates, and it may be smoked which makes things carcinogenic. It's also quite expensive, and production is bad for the environment if you care about that. Fine in moderation IMO, but I wouldn't prescribe it for daily use.
      - kabouseng 6y ago
        Jerky easily gets stuck between the teeth, requiring flossing to get out. Children ain't great at daily flossing, leading to tooth cavities.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
marcus_holmes 6y ago
American teeth vs British teeth. In my (UK) childhood, my dentist told my parents that a little crookedness was acceptable, even attractive, in boy's teeth. So I didn't get braces and have weird British teeth. I gather this isn't acceptable any more, and all kids (even British ones) get braces. The cynic in me wonders if this is because dentistry is no longer covered by the NHS and can therefore be profitable.
bookofjoe 6y ago
I have long believed that orthodontia operates on the simple principle that anyone who can afford braces needs them.
ALittleLight 6y ago
My own experience (n=1) with orthodontists comes from when I was a child and watching my sister go through what seemed the misery of braces and orthodontics in general. My dentist referred me to the same orthodontist my sister went to, I was evaluated and the orthodontist determined that I needed braces too. Only, having witnessed my sister's unpleasant experience, I steadfastly refused and eventually persuaded my parents to wait until there were signs visible to us that I needed braces. The orthodontist assured us this was a terrible idea and we should act now to solve the problem early. Instead, we went with my plan and my teeth were fine and I never had braces or saw an orthodontist again.

by drcode 6y ago

dragonwriter 6y ago

> Never are parents offered any convincing scientific explanation for why everyone's mouth seems to go counter to all the usual biological rules of evolutionary adaptation. Dentists (like medical doctors) generally aren't evolutionary biologists, and even if they were that also, we (humanity collectively) know a lot more about function than the evolutionary pressures that produce it. That said, the contribution, the contribution of optimum tooth alignment over a modern lifespan to reproductive fitness is probably very low over most of human evolution.

klipt 6y ago

Implant dentistry seems to acknowledge that jawbones atrophy without exposure to bite forces, which is one reason they recommend implants over false teeth. False teeth don't transit enough bite force to the jawbone, which causes atrophy and leads to the recessed chins common in older toothless people.

phkahler 6y ago
Yes, diet is important. Feed young kids jerky and other things that take some effort to chew. It makes the jaw grow so there will be more room. Another thing told to me by a mechanical engineer who is the son of a dentist: people from different countries can have different characteristics and inter-breeding may cause problems. He said oh, German teeth in an Irish mouth - the kid in question is indeed a mix from those two places. My kids ortho said they do things differently depending on race too. Example they gave was that Chinese teeth tend to be more straight across the front as opposed to more arched, so they take that into account when doing braces.
- modeless 6y ago
  Jerky sounds like it would work, but probably not a great idea to eat every day. I've heard a lot of people saying kids should eat harder to chew foods but not a lot of suggestions about what hard-to-chew foods would actually be appropriate, healthy, not a choking hazard, and palatable to a toddler.
  - dodobirdlord 6y ago
    Perhaps we should be giving children a lot of gum.
    - modeless 6y ago
      Gum makes you chew a lot but it doesn't seem hard to chew. Not sure if that fits the bill.
      - fuzxi 6y ago
        Mastic gum requires much greater force to chew!
  - ibeckermayer 6y ago
    What’s wrong with eating jerky every day?
    - modeless 6y ago
      Nutrition is controversial, obviously. It depends how you feel about red meat and saturated fat, plus it's high in sodium. Depending on the brand it can have sugar added, nitrates, and it may be smoked which makes things carcinogenic. It's also quite expensive, and production is bad for the environment if you care about that. Fine in moderation IMO, but I wouldn't prescribe it for daily use.
    - kabouseng 6y ago
      Jerky easily gets stuck between the teeth, requiring flossing to get out. Children ain't great at daily flossing, leading to tooth cavities.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

marcus_holmes 6y ago

American teeth vs British teeth. In my (UK) childhood, my dentist told my parents that a little crookedness was acceptable, even attractive, in boy's teeth. So I didn't get braces and have weird British teeth. I gather this isn't acceptable any more, and all kids (even British ones) get braces. The cynic in me wonders if this is because dentistry is no longer covered by the NHS and can therefore be profitable.

bookofjoe 6y ago

I have long believed that orthodontia operates on the simple principle that anyone who can afford braces needs them.

ALittleLight 6y ago

My own experience (n=1) with orthodontists comes from when I was a child and watching my sister go through what seemed the misery of braces and orthodontics in general. My dentist referred me to the same orthodontist my sister went to, I was evaluated and the orthodontist determined that I needed braces too. Only, having witnessed my sister's unpleasant experience, I steadfastly refused and eventually persuaded my parents to wait until there were signs visible to us that I needed braces. The orthodontist assured us this was a terrible idea and we should act now to solve the problem early. Instead, we went with my plan and my teeth were fine and I never had braces or saw an orthodontist again.