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Brush your teeth regularly, eat decent foods, user a waterpick and/or floss a couple times a week, and get a dental cleaning periodically. You can find out mor

Brush your teeth regularly, eat decent foods, user a waterpick and/or floss a couple times a week, and get a dental cleaning periodically. You can find out more about my theories here: www.stopfallingforshittybiomestartups.com

david_l_lin 5y ago
Regular oral hygiene is a decent predictor of oral health. However this does not explain why the incidence of caries and irreversible gum disease are so high. Almost half of all Americans have some form of gum disease, which we can predict using the oral microbiome, which are the same people that regularly see a dentist and have “normal” hygiene habits. Let’s stop normalizing reactive medicine and start thinking about personalized preventive approaches to health. There is no one size fits all approach to your systemic health, and the same applies to oral health.
- plasticchris 5y ago
  I was in my thirties before I was taught to floss halfway correctly, and since then my gums have sorted themselves out great. I think we just don’t educate people enough on this.
  - luckman212 5y ago
    Please share the correct way! I didn't realize I'd been doing it wrong all these years.
    - bmau5 5y ago
      A link to brushing and flossing correctly is below! In summary: - Brushing: Hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle. This is the best angle for cleaning both the surface of your teeth and inside the gumline (killing two birds with one stone). - Flossing: Use the "C Technique". Wrap the floss around the side of your tooth in a C-shape, and gently guide it up and down the length of your tooth and softly below your gum line. [1] https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/brush-and-floss-correctly https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/brush-and-floss-correctly
- dazc 5y ago
  If you're regularly seeing a dentist and still develop gum disease then you really ought to find another dentist.
sizzle 5y ago
doesn't the alcohol content in listerine increase the risk of oral cancers I read somewhere?
- buildbot 5y ago
  Any alcohol would most likely, it is not very good for you. Really, anything that causes a lot of repair to be needed due to cell death. For example, hot drinks, smoking, hydrogen peroxide, life.
- technothrasher 5y ago
  Maybe? There seems to be evidence that alcohol based mouthwash is an increased risk when associated with other factors (most notably smoking, drinking, and betel nut chewing), but not much data to show it is an independent risk factor in itself. Here is one study and a meta-analysis for reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1368837514000657 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S13688... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6982979/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6982979/

david_l_lin 5y ago

Regular oral hygiene is a decent predictor of oral health. However this does not explain why the incidence of caries and irreversible gum disease are so high. Almost half of all Americans have some form of gum disease, which we can predict using the oral microbiome, which are the same people that regularly see a dentist and have “normal” hygiene habits. Let’s stop normalizing reactive medicine and start thinking about personalized preventive approaches to health. There is no one size fits all approach to your systemic health, and the same applies to oral health.

plasticchris 5y ago
I was in my thirties before I was taught to floss halfway correctly, and since then my gums have sorted themselves out great. I think we just don’t educate people enough on this.
- luckman212 5y ago
  Please share the correct way! I didn't realize I'd been doing it wrong all these years.
  - bmau5 5y ago
    A link to brushing and flossing correctly is below! In summary: - Brushing: Hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle. This is the best angle for cleaning both the surface of your teeth and inside the gumline (killing two birds with one stone). - Flossing: Use the "C Technique". Wrap the floss around the side of your tooth in a C-shape, and gently guide it up and down the length of your tooth and softly below your gum line. [1] https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/brush-and-floss-correctly https://www.bristlehealth.com/post/brush-and-floss-correctly
dazc 5y ago
If you're regularly seeing a dentist and still develop gum disease then you really ought to find another dentist.

sizzle 5y ago

doesn't the alcohol content in listerine increase the risk of oral cancers I read somewhere?

buildbot 5y ago
Any alcohol would most likely, it is not very good for you. Really, anything that causes a lot of repair to be needed due to cell death. For example, hot drinks, smoking, hydrogen peroxide, life.
technothrasher 5y ago
Maybe? There seems to be evidence that alcohol based mouthwash is an increased risk when associated with other factors (most notably smoking, drinking, and betel nut chewing), but not much data to show it is an independent risk factor in itself. Here is one study and a meta-analysis for reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1368837514000657 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S13688... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6982979/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6982979/