Dental Health Advice

[LuMonty]

The dentist we had seen would not form a treatment plan until we have seen an orthodontist to discuss what kind of spacer to put in. So they referred us to one, and the whole consultation was basically just trying to persuade us to start orthodontic treatment on her since she was a narrow palate and crowding. I wasn't planning on doing anything on this front at all but I haven't thought much about it.

Orthodontics have changed a lot since my time, now they start at age 7 or 8??? I had four permanent teeth extracted for braces around age 11/12, and still didn't have space and had 3 more wisdom teeth extracted in my 20s. Now my teeth are sensitive and a dentist told me this was because I've had braces and sensitivity the long-term effect. Anyway, I am wondering what views you all have towards orthodontic treatment? I had listened to a podcast awhile ago by Dr Steven Lin about reversing dental problems and he mentioned widening the palate. Although clearly her current diet isn't enough to stop her cavities from progressing...

I had orthodontic work from age 8 to 18 and then a retainer and lower permanent retainer after that. This has left me with a very small mouth. I don't even have room for my tongue. My jaw is in a position where it would need to be broken and moved forward for proper placement (could have had it done when I was much younger, my mother decided against it). Because of all this, my lower teeth are all turning inwards except the retained ones in the front. And I'll still have to get some molars removed unless removing the bottom retainer will allow expansion. So except for a biteplate I had for a couple years to fix a crossbite, I can't say the decade of pain I went through was worth having really straight teeth. With the braces, there wasn't a way for my mouth to expand.

I'm not sensitive specifically with my teeth anymore, but I do often have migraines. I have sort of a pulsing feeling that goes through my gums. I'm already rambling a bit, but my point is that I have strong reason to believe I'm simply numb to the pain and it's a large part of my focus and sleep problems. I remember in middle school, 8th grade I think, I stopped using pain medication. I had grown tolerant of the doses allowed while in class, and then some. Since then, only vicodin and lidocaine help me with pain.

That said, if my palate had been expanded, I think everything would have been taken care of, and probably for a lot less money. Though they're supposed to be quite painful, I would only have orthodontic work done if that was the method.

 

[Bingo]

This gives me some hope. A mom I talked to recently said SDF is only used for minor cavities or cavities just starting to form, and not for bad ones.

I was told this too. Only for small cavities. Hopefully you can find a dentist willing to step outside their comfort zone and try something new.

 

[Bingo]

This gives me some hope. A mom I talked to recently said SDF is only used for minor cavities or cavities just starting to form, and not for bad ones.

"By incorporating these new options, I have reduced the number of sedations done in my practice by 67% since 2014."
"Clinical Uses for Silver Diamine Fluoride
1. Delay or Avoid the Need for Sedation to Treat Pediatric Patients"
From: Clinical Uses for Silver Diamine Fluoride - Oral Health Group

Catan: You may not have SDF in your area yet, but if you can find it, it arrests cavities unless there is pulp infection. Good Luck.

 

[jdrop]

The dentist we had seen would not form a treatment plan until we have seen an orthodontist to discuss what kind of spacer to put in. So they referred us to one, and the whole consultation was basically just trying to persuade us to start orthodontic treatment on her since she was a narrow palate and crowding. I wasn't planning on doing anything on this front at all but I haven't thought much about it.

Orthodontics have changed a lot since my time, now they start at age 7 or 8??? I had four permanent teeth extracted for braces around age 11/12, and still didn't have space and had 3 more wisdom teeth extracted in my 20s. Now my teeth are sensitive and a dentist told me this was because I've had braces and sensitivity the long-term effect. Anyway, I am wondering what views you all have towards orthodontic treatment? I had listened to a podcast awhile ago by Dr Steven Lin about reversing dental problems and he mentioned widening the palate. Although clearly her current diet isn't enough to stop her cavities from progressing...

Any updates in the last few years?

 

[catan]

Any updates in the last few years?

I ended up taking her to a ‘holistic’ dentist and they recommended extraction as they did not do root canals, believing them to be harmful. Would not discuss sdf. My daughter was in pain so she had two molars extracted. It was very traumatic. A spacer was put in, they said those adult molars wouldn’t come in for at least a few years.

They came in less than a year later and the spacer was removed. In hindsight it didn’t have to be put in at all.

I didn’t pursue further orthodontic treatment as of now.

Her teeth are ok now no further decay. She is a lot better now about consuming bone broth, milk, and cheese.

Since my last post my second child with perfect teeth at age 4 started having tooth decay and one of her baby molars decayed so much it broke off. Didn’t bother her at all though. She has got small cavities in the other molars but nothing bothering her. Also a lot of crowding teeth.

I read Ellie Phillip’s book and we’ve been trying xylitol.

 

[jdrop]

I ended up taking her to a ‘holistic’ dentist and they recommended extraction as they did not do root canals, believing them to be harmful. Would not discuss sdf. My daughter was in pain so she had two molars extracted. It was very traumatic. A spacer was put in, they said those adult molars wouldn’t come in for at least a few years.

They came in less than a year later and the spacer was removed. In hindsight it didn’t have to be put in at all.

I didn’t pursue further orthodontic treatment as of now.

Her teeth are ok now no further decay. She is a lot better now about consuming bone broth, milk, and cheese.

Since my last post my second child with perfect teeth at age 4 started having tooth decay and one of her baby molars decayed so much it broke off. Didn’t bother her at all though. She has got small cavities in the other molars but nothing bothering her. Also a lot of crowding teeth.

I read Ellie Phillip’s book and we’ve been trying xylitol.

Thank you, appreciate your reply. Going through a similar situation. The day after extraction our daughter is in better spirits, very springy despite not having any prior pain. Just back to an authentic childlike energy, after a few months of a sour attitude. So I think extraction was a good choice, it was a molar that had half broken off.

We found a very gentle dentist that made a low stress experience a priority - that was huge.

Not sure about some future work that they want to do, so we will buy some time and see what makes best sense.

 

[MayaPapaya]

I recently took my 7.5 year old to the dentist, and the dentist told me she would need to do root canal and fillings for two baby molars in the back. She even suggested sedation to get it all the work done at once.

I had not realized how much decay there was, as my daughter had only mentioned she felt that food sometimes got stuck in the back but does not have any pain nor discomfort. We use homemade toothpaste made of baking soda, calcium carbonate, xylitol, and coconut oil, although admittedly she could be better about brushing.

I am not sure what to do about the current decay-- is it possible to reverse this with diet and supplements? Or should I get a second opinion?

I'm sure her nutrition could be improved. She used to be eat quite a lot of eggs and liver, but that's decreased a lot in the past year, also refusing to drink milk and most dairy. She likes meat, potatoes, rice, fruit, dried fruit, and grains. I put bone broth into her food. She gets a lot of sun in the summer months but it's been challenging in the winter. People swear by fermented cod liver oil for dental health, but I thought fish oils were rancid? The dentist assumed she ate a lot of sweets and drank a lot of juice, but that's not the case. She is very skinny and has a huge appetite. I'm finding it challenging getting enough food in her so I don't restrict very much, and need more ideas for calorie-dense foods.

My 4 year old also had a checkup and her teeth are perfect. She had only weaned a few months ago, so that may be a reason for better teeth? (my older daughter weaned 1.5 years ago) This daughter drinks a lot of juice and loves anything sweet, in addition to more raw milk, cheese, chocolate, liver, eggs. She hardly ever brushes her teeth. Another reason I can think of is my older child had many more vaccines than her sister before I wised up to how harmful they are.

Anyhow, I would appreciate any advice to get started to helping my older daughter.

Another issue is, when I had my teeth cleaned this year, I was told I have moderate periodontitis. Because I'm currently pregnant, the dentist said any X-rays and work (cleaning out tartar from the gums, which would involve sedation) would need to wait. When I had my teeth cleaned last year with a different dentist, the dentist mentioned my gums looked inflamed, and sent me on my way with mouthwash. I can't really tell how much to trust this dentist, since I have no other symptoms except occasional bleeding gums (at the same spot) when I brush my teeth. Should I be looking for second opinion? My oral care routine consists of oil pulling with coconut oil, brushing with homemade toothpaste (same as my daughter), rinsing my mouth out after drinking orange juice... I don't floss regularly... Any nutritional deficiency I may have isn't readily apparent to me. My jaw does get very sore after eating too much meat, which I posted about before, and recently learned eating a lot veggies like cabbage has the same sore effect. I don't think it's related to chewing since chewing gum or anything tough does not have the same effect.

Also, how often are you supposed to get your teeth cleaned? The dentist last year said once a year is sufficient. The dentist this time said twice a year minimum.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading.

I add a few drops of Myrrh oil and Diatomaceous earth food grade powder to my (fluoride-free) tooth paste.