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My wife had terrible acne for years - she tried every product under the sun, visited dermatologists, all of it. About nine months ago I persuaded her to try ab
by madaxe_again 6y ago
My wife had terrible acne for years - she tried every product under the sun, visited dermatologists, all of it.
About nine months ago I persuaded her to try absolutely nothing. Just wash her face with mild soap and water when she showers or after exercise. It was a hard sell. A really hard sell. It looked sinfully angry for the first few weeks, and then, bit by bit, started to fade.
Now... her skin is perfect, the scars are subsiding, and she hasn’t had even a hint of acne or so much as a zit in four months.
The crux of my hypothesis was that she was eradicating her skin microbiome over and over, and possibly breeding incredibly resistant bacteria with no competition.
I take a similar approach with oral hygiene - I don’t brush, I don’t use toothpaste or mouthwash, I just use a wooden toothpick to get anything stuck out. I started this in my teens at boarding school, as toothbrushes were often “borrowed” for cleaning rugby boots, and then replaced in the rack. At the time, I figured not brushing was better than god only knows what being rubbed into my gums. I had appalling breath and swollen gums for several months - but both just disappeared after adaptation.
I go to see a dentist every few years, mostly out of a sense of obligation, and have never had a carie, cavity, periodontal disease, or anything - I’m pushing 40. The most they’ve ever done is polish them. By my age my mother had lost half her molars, my father had a gobful of crowns and fillings, so it’s not genetics.
Maybe I’m talking crap, but I think we significantly underestimate our bodies abilities to maintain themselves, and buy into the idea that we require products to keep them working.
Unfortunately, weaning yourself off this stuff usually involves some degree of disruption, be it honking breath, or skin so angry you don’t want to be seen in public.
- kart23 6y agoI've heard that some people do indeed have better bacterial biomes than others, some will be fine without brushing or flossing, and others will have problems. Saliva has a large part to play in preventing caries and bad breath, dry mouth can cause a lot of the issues you describe. Also, water fluoridation has made quite a big impact in public dental health. Remember that most people used to lose teeth regularly before the advent of fluoride toothpaste, often very early in their lives. Do you think that these people's teeth were maintaining themselves? Looking at old WW2 videos made me realize this, where many soldiers in their 20s had completely black teeth or massive gaps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation#History
- joshspankit 6y agoI can’t find the name now, but there was a researcher who looked at crooked teeth and tooth decay in modern society, then started flying around the globe to see if the issue was the same in tribes. Turned out it wasn’t. What do you have to say to that?
- anonAndOn 6y agoThe beasties that make plaque thrive on sugar. Turns out refined sugar and processed foods made with sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup are really hard to come by out in the sticks.
- kart23 6y agoI'm not a dentist, but I do know that bacteria feed on sugar and carbohydrates. There's some info that says refined carbs are just as bad as candy. If all you eat is meat, vegetables, and some fruit, you're probably not gonna get as many cavities as a refined grain-based diet with more refined sugar.
- accounted 6y agoA similar, and perhaps better option: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miswak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miswak
- bserge 6y agoYeah, I'd say don't apply that thinking to everything.
- titzer 6y agoDid you have your wisdom teeth out? Are your teeth straight? That makes a huge difference.
- da_big_ghey 6y agoFor what it's worth, I've done the same, but it only worked because I wasn't eating a bunch of sugary garbage. Definitely nobody should try it who eats that sort of stuff even somewhat often.
- pengaru 6y agoExactly. A close friend of mine had horrible dental hygiene, rarely brushing, drank soda and beer as his water, and only went to the dentist after developing intolerable pain something like a decade into this mode. When he came to work the day after his dentist visit, he said the dentist told him "this is what we call mountain dew mouth" when examining his teeth. If you don't eat stuff that makes plaque thrive, the consequences of ignoring it are less severe.