But is that actually true? Has anyone actually confirmed it with replicable scientific studies? Did early human teeth rot to hell over the first 10 years of their lives? Why don't cats and monkeys need to brush and floss?

"please use your common sense"

The problem with common sense is that it can be deceptively nonsensical, and we tend to ignore that we haven't proven it because we "know" it's true already.

Looking at modern dog dental hygiene to learn about how wild animals’ teeth work is as silly as looking at our dental hygiene to see how a hunter gatherer’s teeth work.

Thanks to waterpicking, the gums in that area of the jaw have healed and I shouldn't experience any more bone loss as long as I waterpick or floss.

Works best with meat-flavored toothpaste.

Of course it is difficult to definitely prove whether or not vitamin C supplements reduce the duration of a cold. That doesn't mean that we should all just abandon empiricism and start gulping vitamins because it is "common sense."

What if someone's "common sense" leads them to believe that use of a an abrasive cleaning technique like flossing might damage their gums? I can think of any number of non-scientifically backed rationalizations one could use for or against flossing.

So, even if not-definitive, what research is there on whether flossing improves oral or overall health?

- It's irrelevant to know if flossing "improves" overall health...what is relevant is that it will not worsen it, and you are removing rotting stuff from your teeth, and worst case scenario you just waste 2-3 minutes and have a more pleasant breath..why overcomplicate things?

It doesn't worsen your health, it either does nothing or improve it, so it is reasonable to do it

Medical literature is full of these things: do you need people to prove it with several studies that it's good for you to go for a walk every day? Try to weight the cost-benefit of your actions...if the cost is small, the risk non-existant, and the potential benefit high, it's usually a good idea

There are thousands of wives tales and pseudoscience remedies I don't need to waste my time on. If not backed by actual science, this type of recommendation is no better than any of them.

Basically, good current dental hygiene practice is to brush and floss like the experts tell you.

It wasn't obvious to me that that would be true. Most cleaning tools aren't vibrating brushes.

I was actually concerned about damaging the teeth. You are effectively putting a power tool in your mouth.

2. I've heard that brushing teeth before sleeping, regardless of food consumption, is great because of reduced saliva during rest means reduced anti-bacterial effects of it. Any truth in that?

3. Last dentist appointment I got mentioned that my tooth will literally explode if I don't remove it. I've read there been odd cases of that happening in history, but is there realistic chance of that happening? How would that even come to pass?

[1] https://www.splatoralcare.uk/products/biomed-charcoal-toothp...

P.S. Thanks for doing AMA. I've had nothing but horrible experience talking with dentists, or even bad experiences in general.

I’m not afraid of needles. I’ve had plenty of uncomfortable medical procedures. I can tolerate all other kinds of pain. But why doesn’t local anesthetic work on me for dentistry?

It's a known syndrome, and may be associated with ADHD symptoms, episodes of intense skin flushing or redness (erythromelalgia) and epilepsy.

0. https://www.healthbusinessgroup.com/2008/01/11/what-causes-a...

Other medical sources:

  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1163/
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK481553/

Lower molars receive 2-3 different innervations and it is sometimes hard for a dentist to get all of them numb

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1362956/

I don't have the paperwork but I've always been curious what is was that he gave me/if it was common practice. Also, if it was purely a sort of amnesia, was I in excruciating pain during the time?

I have since moved away and not been back to a dentist. If it is common, I can only imagine the stupid things I would have said or done during the procedure since during the onset I remember being extremely high. It kind of made me embarrassed to return the couple of times I did only because I don't remember what I could have done.

Also I don't rinse after brushing my teeth, to keep the toothpaste in place so it acts as protection all the night, is it useful too?

A great resource for these questions is nutritionfacts.org (free and full of references to scientific studies)

On the other hand, what are your thoughts about the relation between the type of foods we eat and dental health?

My understanding is that sugar, and (complex?) carbs in general have a massive toll on teeth. Admittedly I'm no expert, but it would seem that eating the food we evolved to eat (vegetables and meat mainly) should not damage our teeth in a significant and therefore would be no need for dental health practices.

Whether or not that is feasible on a population level is another question, but I'm fairly convinced at this point that the garbage food is wrecking our health and that includes teeth.

https://nutritionfacts.org/2013/07/25/do-vegans-get-more-cav...

From my not-a-dentist :) perspective, the concept sounds workable.

eg creation of the 3D model from scans, using a CNC machine to create the object from Zirconium, etc.

But I've no idea what other parts would need evaluating to make real sense of it. :)

1- You actually need a CAT scan of the tooth you want to replace beforehand..sometimes it's not possible (i.e. people who lost their teeth years ago, and now want to replace them)

2- Costs are probably significantly higher for everyone

3- Normal implants are more versatile, as they are basically hollow screws where you can mount a second screw shaped however you want (a tooth abutment, an attachment, etc) so they are also used to stabilize dentures, to create full mouth reconstructions such as all-on-four etc..this is not possible with these zirconia implants

1. my hygienist said it made no difference in plaque formation on my teeth (I did A-B experiments)

2. I was concerned it was abrading the enamel.

I'm old, btw, and am mostly concerned about receding gums and bone loss. I brush, floss, use the pipe cleaners for between teeth, and run one of those pointy rubber things along the gum line, and still get gingivitis. My dentist says there's nothing more I can do about it.

I've also tried various mouthwashes, which made no difference.

Anything else I can try?

2. enamel is far too strong to be abraded by the brush, what does get abraded is the dentin (the yellowish part closer to your gums, that's why sometimes you can see small dent-like abrasions there) so try to focus on brushing softly in those areas. A good idea is to use soft bristles

All you do is good and you're probably already doing 95% of what can be done, the other risk factors are smoking, female hormones, stress and diet. If you are not stressed, don't smoke, are male and eat mostly plant-based whole foods you can't do much more than that

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/best-food-for-periodontal-d...

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/plant-based-diets-dental-he...

Click on "sources cited" to find plenty of research

I am not a dentist but have similar issues:

Consider wearing a mouthguard at night? Grinding teeth during sleep can contribute hugely to bone loss.

Also make sure you're using the rubbertip correctly. It's supposed to massage the gum with the flat part, not poke with the pointy part.

Teeth are pretty hard on the Moh's scale relative to bristles. If you're abrading enamel, it's from something in the toothpaste (which has all kinds of mineral abrasives), or tooth-tooth contact from chewing/grinding.