I must admit I’m fairly ignorant on all things dental. However, why is it that humans brush their teeth on a regular basis? While some other animals engage in some sort of teeth cleaning, to my knowledge it’s generally of the “get the chunks of food out from between your teeth” type; more of a picking or flossing action than the application of an abrasive to the surface of the teeth. We hear much about how plaque forms on our teeth, and that it must be removed. However, is plaque actually damaging to teeth? Or is it simply a coating which may actually be helpful in keeping bacteria and such off the surface of the tooth, and out of the gums?
Then, if toothbrushing twice a day is necessary to keeping your teeth intact, why is this so? I can think of two reasons; one, that animals don’t need to brush their teeth because they simply don’t live as long; the problem with this is that most tooth problems in humans don’t tend to manifest themselves in old age, other than general weakening of the bones. The second reason is that something (or things) in our diet is damaging to the surface of the tooth. Sugar is said to “promote tooth decay”, though I don’t know the science behind this oft-repeated claim. I assume acids might be harmful, but these don’t stick around on the surface of the tooth for long – and surely, they wouldn’t be any more damaging than the (mildly) abrasive action of toothpaste.
Ok, I feel like I’m sort of rambling here, so I’ll wrap this OP up here. I have nothing against toothbrushing, and I don’t want to earn the ire of any dentists that we might have amongst us, but I’m genuinely curious about this.
Whoa, whoooooa. Don’t even JOKE about this with me (as some of you may know, I have serious problems involving my overly porous enamel, acidic saliva aka cavity-prone teeth). In the wild, bad teeth fall out. I’m not sure most people would be happy with that.
On the one hand my dog still has pearly white teeth after ten years not brushing. On the other hand, dog breath.
Actually, if you look most animals have some sort of tooth cleaning instinct. Going back to dogs, they spend forever gnawing on chew-toys, or in the wild bones. Has a similiar effect to brushing.
It’s only important if you want to keep your teeth.
Look at this and you may not have to experience the joys of root planing. I am currently half way through my course. The good news is I won’t lose any teeth immediately.
Yeah, I know brushing your teeth makes your breath smell nice. Really, I’m not questioning that fact. I’m just asking whether the teeth themselves will decay if their surface isn’t cleaned regularly with an abrasive. As well, I know having teeth stuck in your gums and such is bad, but like I said, why not just floss and use mouthwash regularly?
I posted this before but it disappeared so I’m going to try again:
It’s our diets.
I recall a news item several years ago here in Australia about someone who had inadvertently dug up some old human skeletal remains. The forensic science people who looked at the bones eventually determined that they were from pre-european settlement (over 200 years old). One of the factors that led them to this conclusion was the state of the teeth - no cavities and quite worn down.
The pre-european diet had consisted mainly of whole grains and fruits and meats. There was virtually no sugar and very little processing.
You sure about that? I’ve had a bunch of bad teeth and none of them ever gave me the pleasure of simply falling out. I mean I had one tooth that had a cavity that went all the way down into the jaw that had to be surgically removed. Let me tell you the pain I’d occassionally get when I’d bite down and some how all that pressure went into the root would just paralyze me for a brief instant with a mind overwhelming sense of pain.
Yes, they will, depending on your diet. If you use your teeth really well, eating raw fruits and vegetables and have a good diet without processed sugar, you could probably get away without brushing your teeth.
If, however, you drink a few cans of acidic and sugar filled Mountain Dew every day, eat junk food, have the bacteria that cause cavities, and brush a lot less than twice a day, you’ll get cavities pretty much everywhere. I can show you the two fillings at the gum line in my two front teeth, if you’d like.
Flossing is definitely good. I still can’t force myself to do it regularly, even though I have small cavities between my teeth that could be avoided by flossing and will grow larger if I don’t.
Complex carbs will cause tooth decay also. Practically any diet is going to cause cavities and plaque. The bacteria also cause bone loss. As the supporting bone recedes the teeth have less support, until they fall out. I can show you: a) x-rays showing very substantial bone loss and b) huge dentist and periodontist bills. Believe me, you really don’t want that.
Not only do we take in more sugars and such which help the little beasties but have greatly reduced the amount of undigestable fiber which helped knock them off - justa wag