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My wife was shocked to learn in dental school how many people were there focused on the money. From her experience I learned that dentistry in particular is a

by evmar 3y ago

My wife was shocked to learn in dental school how many people were there focused on the money. From her experience I learned that dentistry in particular is a profession that has a low investment / high payoff ratio. Relative to medical school dental school is easier to get into and shorter, and unscrupulous dentists can extract a lot of money out of patients. PS: I feel compelled to share her best advice re oral hygiene: "You only need to floss the teeth you want to keep."

fakedang 3y ago
Reminds me of that argument scene between Capt. Holt and the dentist from Brooklyn 99.
whatever1 3y ago
Ok sample of N = 1, but here it goes. Flossing daily was the single thing that imroved my dental hygiene more than anything else. Brushing, mouthwash, fluoride treatment, gum laser treatment, regular dentist visits, nothing worked. Still had bleeding gum, pain here and there, bad smell, unstopabble tooth decay. In my mid 20-s I started flossing daily (even multiple times when I feel like food is stuck). Really my mouth problems all went away. I wish someone had shown me in an earlier age the benefits. I would have saved a lot of my teeth.
- toxik 3y ago
  Have you tried a waterpik? Considering an investment there myself.
  - leviathant 3y ago
    My parents had a Waterpik in the 80s - it was okay, I guess, but my go-to are Plackers, have been for years. I can get to every little nook and cranny with those things. Ultimately, whatever you're using, I think the important part is that you're doing it daily, and being thorough.
  - tiahura 3y ago
    Got one a year ago. They seem effective, however they make a huge mess - it’s a pressure washer in your bathroom.
    - criddell 3y ago
      I just had a checkup and they mentioned Water Pik and recommended a cordless model you can use in the shower.
  - lost_tourist 3y ago
    Flossing&brushing is better than a waterpik, any dentist worth their salt will tell you that. I think it's a money grab. You don't need it.
    - wccrawford 3y ago
      I've never used one for its intended purpose, but my wife has one. I recently had some food stuck in my gums behind my back tooth, and it got infected. I was able to use the waterpik to remove the food when I wasn't able to get into a dentist for a cleaning right away, and by the time I got the cleaning, between the waterpik and the anti-viral medicine the dentist prescribed, the infection was gone. Having it around saved me quite a bit of pain over a few days. But I still haven't actually used it for cleaning what it's supposed to. :D
  - Groxx 3y ago
    I'll toss in that floss has done practically nothing for me for decades. Getting a waterpik immediately made a huge improvement in just about everything. (I can't speak to plaque because I can't really measure it myself. But dentists seem to think I'm flossing quite well now. ha.) I get so much more food junk out of my teeth with the waterpik. Floss never has and still never does remove much of it - even flossing, mouthwashing, and waiting until morning to try the waterpik consistently finds junk that isn't there if I waterpik. I still keep floss handy for getting truly wedged stuff out (it can provide much more force), but it's worthless for me otherwise. Start out with a cheap one, and start both gentle and pointed across your teeth, not into your gums. It can be much too harsh when you start out. And very clearly mouths vary a lot, so if it doesn't work, it doesn't work - hence, start cheap.
    - dave7 3y ago
      > I still keep floss handy for getting truly wedged stuff out (it can provide much more force), but it's worthless for me otherwise. One thing I wish I learned earlier on in life - flossing isn't to pull out chunks of food from in between the teeth (although it can do this too) - if you're flossing correctly you're breaking up biofilms formed by bacteria at the gumline.
- leviathant 3y ago
  +1 My gums had been bleeding enough during brushing that I decided to break my 14 year run without a dentist visit and get things checked out, but felt shame about the state of things, so I gave myself a month or two of runway - and adopted a daily flossing and mouthwash routine. By the time I got to the dentist, my gums were in good shape. They removed lot of plaque, but underneath, my teeth were pristine. In the 14 years since I'd been to the dentist, either the tools had become much more humane, or I just happened to be surrounded by sadists in the late 90s/early 2000s. Upgrading to an electric toothbrush was another revelation, and I also learned that a tongue scraper is the solution to tonsil stones. Genetics play a part, for sure, but flossing daily has been a total game changer.
- positr0n 3y ago
  My huge dental hygiene improvement anecdote is switching to an electronic vibrating toothbrush. My gums were always bad so I thought I needed to floss more. But once I started using an electronic tooth brush all my gum problems are gone.
- wahnfrieden 3y ago
  just don't use floss with PFAS / microplastics eg Oral B Glide tests at 248,900 ppm / 25% of volume for PFAS
  - moffkalast 3y ago
    Is there a comprehensive list of the ones with known PFAS content? I'm not finding much except one article with only like 10 listed.
jandrese 3y ago
I wonder if this is the reason dentists seem to be kooks more often than other types of doctors?
jccalhoun 3y ago
I always remember the advice that Lloyd Kaufman from Troma Films (makers of Toxic Avenger) gave in the book Make Your Own Damn Movie: If you are looking for funding for your movie, ask a dentist.

by evmar 3y ago

fakedang 3y ago

Reminds me of that argument scene between Capt. Holt and the dentist from Brooklyn 99.

whatever1 3y ago

Ok sample of N = 1, but here it goes. Flossing daily was the single thing that imroved my dental hygiene more than anything else. Brushing, mouthwash, fluoride treatment, gum laser treatment, regular dentist visits, nothing worked. Still had bleeding gum, pain here and there, bad smell, unstopabble tooth decay. In my mid 20-s I started flossing daily (even multiple times when I feel like food is stuck). Really my mouth problems all went away. I wish someone had shown me in an earlier age the benefits. I would have saved a lot of my teeth.

toxik 3y ago
Have you tried a waterpik? Considering an investment there myself.
- leviathant 3y ago
  My parents had a Waterpik in the 80s - it was okay, I guess, but my go-to are Plackers, have been for years. I can get to every little nook and cranny with those things. Ultimately, whatever you're using, I think the important part is that you're doing it daily, and being thorough.
- tiahura 3y ago
  Got one a year ago. They seem effective, however they make a huge mess - it’s a pressure washer in your bathroom.
  - criddell 3y ago
    I just had a checkup and they mentioned Water Pik and recommended a cordless model you can use in the shower.
- lost_tourist 3y ago
  Flossing&brushing is better than a waterpik, any dentist worth their salt will tell you that. I think it's a money grab. You don't need it.
  - wccrawford 3y ago
    I've never used one for its intended purpose, but my wife has one. I recently had some food stuck in my gums behind my back tooth, and it got infected. I was able to use the waterpik to remove the food when I wasn't able to get into a dentist for a cleaning right away, and by the time I got the cleaning, between the waterpik and the anti-viral medicine the dentist prescribed, the infection was gone. Having it around saved me quite a bit of pain over a few days. But I still haven't actually used it for cleaning what it's supposed to. :D
- Groxx 3y ago
  I'll toss in that floss has done practically nothing for me for decades. Getting a waterpik immediately made a huge improvement in just about everything. (I can't speak to plaque because I can't really measure it myself. But dentists seem to think I'm flossing quite well now. ha.) I get so much more food junk out of my teeth with the waterpik. Floss never has and still never does remove much of it - even flossing, mouthwashing, and waiting until morning to try the waterpik consistently finds junk that isn't there if I waterpik. I still keep floss handy for getting truly wedged stuff out (it can provide much more force), but it's worthless for me otherwise. Start out with a cheap one, and start both gentle and pointed across your teeth, not into your gums. It can be much too harsh when you start out. And very clearly mouths vary a lot, so if it doesn't work, it doesn't work - hence, start cheap.
  - dave7 3y ago
    > I still keep floss handy for getting truly wedged stuff out (it can provide much more force), but it's worthless for me otherwise. One thing I wish I learned earlier on in life - flossing isn't to pull out chunks of food from in between the teeth (although it can do this too) - if you're flossing correctly you're breaking up biofilms formed by bacteria at the gumline.
leviathant 3y ago
+1 My gums had been bleeding enough during brushing that I decided to break my 14 year run without a dentist visit and get things checked out, but felt shame about the state of things, so I gave myself a month or two of runway - and adopted a daily flossing and mouthwash routine. By the time I got to the dentist, my gums were in good shape. They removed lot of plaque, but underneath, my teeth were pristine. In the 14 years since I'd been to the dentist, either the tools had become much more humane, or I just happened to be surrounded by sadists in the late 90s/early 2000s. Upgrading to an electric toothbrush was another revelation, and I also learned that a tongue scraper is the solution to tonsil stones. Genetics play a part, for sure, but flossing daily has been a total game changer.
positr0n 3y ago
My huge dental hygiene improvement anecdote is switching to an electronic vibrating toothbrush. My gums were always bad so I thought I needed to floss more. But once I started using an electronic tooth brush all my gum problems are gone.
wahnfrieden 3y ago
just don't use floss with PFAS / microplastics eg Oral B Glide tests at 248,900 ppm / 25% of volume for PFAS
- moffkalast 3y ago
  Is there a comprehensive list of the ones with known PFAS content? I'm not finding much except one article with only like 10 listed.

jandrese 3y ago

I wonder if this is the reason dentists seem to be kooks more often than other types of doctors?

jccalhoun 3y ago

I always remember the advice that Lloyd Kaufman from Troma Films (makers of Toxic Avenger) gave in the book Make Your Own Damn Movie: If you are looking for funding for your movie, ask a dentist.