I’ve been using those little flossers for a long time. I keep one with me at all times (in the car, in my wallet, beside my desk, etc). You gotta floss after every meal.
are 1mm pockets in your gums overly concerning?
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
And yes, I’m sure genetics play a role (my dad has great teeth, my mom’s are absolutely awful). But the role genetics plays is the same as with any other genetic predisposition. Lifestyle often presents risk factors that increase likelihood of a problem if one is so genetically inclined.[/quote]
Genetics do play a huge role considering there are three risk factors/causes of tooth decay; poor oral hygiene, aggressive bacterial strains, carb intake frequency. I have seen patients who claim they brush several times a day with decay so significant that it matches some meth addicts. The bacterial strains and their own body’s resistance to them mean that the oral hygiene strategy that may work for most people will not work for them.
If your body has a natural defense against the bacteria along with less aggressive strains, you will have less incidence of decay.
However, one thing that stood out was your insistence to your doc that you had no decay before he took x-rays. There is no way you can know this without x-ray vision and while I know many patients like that who do have great hygiene, their luck can run out eventually.
Believing you are immune to cavities is faulty thinking.
[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
are 1mm pockets in your gums overly concerning?[/quote]
Wrong question. The pocket around the teeth itself does not tell me if your gums are receding.
A patient could have 5mm of gum recession and only 1mm pockets around the teeth.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
are 1mm pockets in your gums overly concerning?[/quote]
Wrong question. The pocket around the teeth itself does not tell me if your gums are receding.
A patient could have 5mm of gum recession and only 1mm pockets around the teeth.[/quote]
Sorry, I meant recession. 1mm of recession. At least I think that’s what I mean. They poked and prodded each gum for what felt like an eternity, and at various points, said “1mm”, “1mm” maybe 4 times.
[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
are 1mm pockets in your gums overly concerning?[/quote]
Wrong question. The pocket around the teeth itself does not tell me if your gums are receding.
A patient could have 5mm of gum recession and only 1mm pockets around the teeth.[/quote]
Sorry, I meant recession. 1mm of recession. At least I think that’s what I mean. They poked and prodded each gum for what felt like an eternity, and at various points, said “1mm”, “1mm” maybe 4 times.[/quote]
What you were hearing were pocket depth readings. These are used to make sure that deep cleanings are working or to simply chart overall health of the gums. A 1mm reading in and of itself with no gum recession is not bad at all. Greater than 3mm is bad.
7mm and above likely means that tooth will be lost soon.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
are 1mm pockets in your gums overly concerning?[/quote]
Wrong question. The pocket around the teeth itself does not tell me if your gums are receding.
A patient could have 5mm of gum recession and only 1mm pockets around the teeth.[/quote]
Sorry, I meant recession. 1mm of recession. At least I think that’s what I mean. They poked and prodded each gum for what felt like an eternity, and at various points, said “1mm”, “1mm” maybe 4 times.[/quote]
What you were hearing were pocket depth readings. These are used to make sure that deep cleanings are working or to simply chart overall health of the gums. A 1mm reading in and of itself with no gum recession is not bad at all. Greater than 3mm is bad.
7mm and above likely means that tooth will be lost soon.[/quote]
Thanks ya big galoot
you guys hear about this study that shows correlation between having a tooth yanked and increased risk of heart attack?
I guess its that you have had inflammation long enough and bad enough to necessitate your tooth coming out and that can be bad news for the ol’ circulatory system.
Or maybe its the immune response to actually having the tooth pulled.
Either way, be true to your teeth and your teeth won’t be false to you.
[quote]Eli B wrote:
you guys hear about this study that shows correlation between having a tooth yanked and increased risk of heart attack?
I guess its that you have had inflammation long enough and bad enough to necessitate your tooth coming out and that can be bad news for the ol’ circulatory system.
Or maybe its the immune response to actually having the tooth pulled.
Either way, be true to your teeth and your teeth won’t be false to you.[/quote]
Any oral bacteria can find their way into the blood stream. This is why patients with heart defects are put on antibiotics prior to treatment. I have seen chronic infections so bad that the loss of bone around the base of the tooth now infects teeth on all sides. All of the pus being created is being filtered by the body constantly so finding out that this is a health risk is no surprise.
People with diabetes are at greater risk because of less diffuse circulation leading to even greater incidences of decay, bone loss and infection.
In other words, you overall health is related to every aspect about you.
Letting teeth rot in your head because of fear of going to the dentist could cause you to check out early.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Eli B wrote:
In other words, you overall health is related to every aspect about you.
[/quote]
Not to hijack, but this is why functional medicine should be a focus going forward.
[quote]Eli B wrote:
you guys hear about this study that shows correlation between having a tooth yanked and increased risk of heart attack?
I guess its that you have had inflammation long enough and bad enough to necessitate your tooth coming out and that can be bad news for the ol’ circulatory system.
Or maybe its the immune response to actually having the tooth pulled.
Either way, be true to your teeth and your teeth won’t be false to you.[/quote]
Well also there is a study about people who smoke crack have tooth decay and an increase in Prof X pulling out there teeth. You can find a study done by anybody for anything. Sorry been in the medical field for almost 20 years and every time I hear a lay person pull some study out of their ass it makes my Blood pressure go up.
[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
Not to hijack, but this is why functional medicine should be a focus going forward.[/quote]
That is what people say. It is NOT what people do.
People SAY they want “preventive medicine” while complaining that all doctors do is fix “symptoms”…yet most of my patients and most patients nationwide won’t pay to see a doctor unless they feel something is already wrong. They will complain about the cost of exams/x-rays and then only get whatever treatment is minimally covered by insurance whether that is the best treatment or not.
For all of the complaining in the political forum about our proposed health care changes, none seem to acknowledge the fact that insurance companies are in complete control right now of their treatment, not the doctor and usually not the patient.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
And yes, I’m sure genetics play a role (my dad has great teeth, my mom’s are absolutely awful). But the role genetics plays is the same as with any other genetic predisposition. Lifestyle often presents risk factors that increase likelihood of a problem if one is so genetically inclined.[/quote]
Genetics do play a huge role considering there are three risk factors/causes of tooth decay; poor oral hygiene, aggressive bacterial strains, carb intake frequency. I have seen patients who claim they brush several times a day with decay so significant that it matches some meth addicts. The bacterial strains and their own body’s resistance to them mean that the oral hygiene strategy that may work for most people will not work for them.
If your body has a natural defense against the bacteria along with less aggressive strains, you will have less incidence of decay.
However, one thing that stood out was your insistence to your doc that you had no decay before he took x-rays. There is no way you can know this without x-ray vision and while I know many patients like that who do have great hygiene, their luck can run out eventually.
Believing you are immune to cavities is faulty thinking. [/quote]
Yadda yadda… I AM invincible!
But seriously, as I was leaving after my cleaning, I apologized to the hygienist for my earlier bullheadedness. She replied, “If I had a teeth like yours, I’d have acted the same”.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
Not to hijack, but this is why functional medicine should be a focus going forward.[/quote]
That is what people say. It is NOT what people do.
People SAY they want “preventive medicine” while complaining that all doctors do is fix “symptoms”…yet most of my patients and most patients nationwide won’t pay to see a doctor unless they feel something is already wrong. They will complain about the cost of exams/x-rays and then only get whatever treatment is minimally covered by insurance whether that is the best treatment or not.
For all of the complaining in the political forum about our proposed health care changes, none seem to acknowledge the fact that insurance companies are in complete control right now of their treatment, not the doctor and usually not the patient.[/quote]
I suppose being Canadian I come from a different viewpoint.
Integrative medicine just seems to make sense to me from all perspectives, with the wrench in the equation being cost, I suppose.
Though that being said, we don’t have free reign up here, either. I walked into my GP’s office and requested a thorough thyroid analysis, and in the face of an “in-range” tsh reading, was told it would be an abuse of the system.
I honestly think health care is not a universally solvable issue.
[quote]DJHT wrote:
[quote]Eli B wrote:
you guys hear about this study that shows correlation between having a tooth yanked and increased risk of heart attack?
I guess its that you have had inflammation long enough and bad enough to necessitate your tooth coming out and that can be bad news for the ol’ circulatory system.
Or maybe its the immune response to actually having the tooth pulled.
Either way, be true to your teeth and your teeth won’t be false to you.[/quote]
Well also there is a study about people who smoke crack have tooth decay and an increase in Prof X pulling out there teeth. You can find a study done by anybody for anything. Sorry been in the medical field for almost 20 years and every time I hear a lay person pull some study out of their ass it makes my Blood pressure go up. [/quote]
Maybe the people who don’t take care of their teeth don’t take care of their health, and are therefore overrepresented among those who get heart attacks.
Maybe a lot of those who get heart attacks get them because they are fat, and maybe they are fat because they eat all the time, which is bad for their teeth.
Maybe the really poor are overrepresented in both groups.
Lots of possible explanations.
I use hydrogen peroxide when I have a bad sore throat. I love those floss picks, I always use them but espescially like the pointed part, it hurts when using it, but I kinda like it.
[quote]DJHT wrote:
every time I hear a lay person pull some study out of their ass it makes my Blood pressure go up. [/quote]
ha ha. fair enough. Especially because I butchered it.
So I go to the Old Navy site to get a couple of X’s workout shirts, saves me $5.
Shipping: $7.00
Fuck you Old Navy.
Go into Old Navy store today to get some because, buying 2 @ $10 is cheaper than the shipping total, right?
“Oh snap, sale? 2 for $16? Yes please.”
So if you missed out on the sale yesterday, go check that shit out in store today if you can, they have all kinds of shit on sale! T-shirts for $5, and shit.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
… told me I had the mouth of a 15 year old.
[/quote]
Your dentist is SickAbs?
[quote]NoWheyOut wrote:
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
… told me I had the mouth of a 15 year old.
[/quote]
Your dentist is SickAbs?[/quote]
LOL!