I went to the Dentist today

issy154 · Post by **issy154** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:30 am

My last checkup was last year and I moved to a different state for college, so I didn't get a cleaning till today.

It turns out I have 6 cavities (WTF) and need to get fillings next week.

My dentist said they were tiny, but it is SO depressing, and hard to believe, considering I floss and brush every single ****ing day of my life, while my sister, who HAS BRACES, can go like a few days without brushing or flossing, and her breath and teeth are both FINE!

And I am the most conscious about my breath and teeth! So frustrating, I swear.

Also, I have an isolated, resistant pocket and have to go see a periodontist to get parts of my gum cut out because it is overlapping my back tooth, not to mention making it hard to clean back there.

AND I have to get a freaking crown on my back upper tooth.

And I wonder why I have bad breath.......

hopeful · Post by **hopeful** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:10 am

I'm in the same boat as you. I brush and floss like crazy yet still end up with cavities(major and minor ones). I really think it has something to do with our body's immunity. We have a weaken immune system and this affects our oral environment. Most people who have a healthy immune system(like your sister) can go days not brushing and not suffer because they have stronger fighting bacteria than ours.

Really, with as much brushing as we do, we should die with zero cavities and all our natural teeth intact!

Larc400 · Post by **Larc400** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 11:15 am

Of course, if you overbrush = brush too much, it's not good.

But yeah, I also keep up excellent dental hygiene, more so than anyone I know, yet I get cavities and bits of filling coming off regularly

Nothing round the teeth has an aroma though so no bacterial collections in those areas.

Guess it's to do with our oral bacterial flora, causing the bb & other problems. Or the oral pH.

On the other hand, there are people on here who have never had a cavity, etc, so hard to draw any conclusions.

issy154 · Post by **issy154** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:13 pm

It's so frustrating too because my mom thinks I just don't brush my teeth, and I'm the only one who the dentist finds something wrong with almost EVERYTIME I go.

I've decided that I will never drink soda again. Or if I do, it'll only be in parties or when I'm dying of thirst.

Anyway, I'm hoping my bb is coming from my cavities (they're all pretty small), so hopefully once I get them filled next week it'll be gone.

Yeah, now looking back, I realized it runs in the family because my grandma wears dentures, and she told me my mom had bad teeth as a kid, and has dentures for her front top teeth.

Go figure.

thanatos · Post by **thanatos** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 4:46 am

We're literally brushing off the protective enamel from our teeth. Once we lose enough of that, our teeth basically rot faster.

What a sickening catch-22. Must brush constantly to try and relieve bad breath but at the cost of rotting out teeth away.

sweets07 · Post by **sweets07** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:08 pm

thanatos wrote:We're literally brushing off the protective enamel from our teeth. Once we lose enough of that, our teeth basically rot faster.

What a sickening catch-22. Must brush constantly to try and relieve bad breath but at the cost of rotting out teeth away.

not quite. everyone has a unique mouth environment shaped by our body chemistry, immune systems, and the structure of our teeth/gums/tongues.

issy, it is possible that your teeth are actually groovier than your sister's. so no matter how much you brush you may still be prone to cavities. especially if you eat a lot of foods with simple/refined sugar. i know people just like you. it's tough but it's reality.

also the flora of your sister's mouth may just be in healthier balance than yours. if you have too much l. salivarius for example, you are prone to getting cavities.

everyone keep your heads up. i'm doing everything i can to figure what's going on with me, not just for my sake but so that other's can get relief too. i'm actually a scientist and am getting a phd in immunology. so i'm trying really hard to pick up on as much info as i can from my professors about bacteria/probiotics and the immune system to get some clues.

jess · Post by **jess** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 11:13 pm

sweets07 wrote:
everyone keep your heads up. i'm doing everything i can to figure what's going on with me, not just for my sake but so that other's can get relief too. i'm actually a scientist and am getting a phd in immunology. so i'm trying really hard to pick up on as much info as i can from my professors about bacteria/probiotics and the immune system to get some clues.

You go sweets07. That's what we need. I'm also studying in the medical fiel and hopefully as I learn more about the body I'll be able to help myself and others better.

Larc400 · Post by **Larc400** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 11:57 pm

jess wrote:I'm also studying in the medical field and hopefully as I learn more about the body I'll be able to help myself and others better.

Likewise. Seems we will soon have our very own medic gang on this site. Hopefully we'll uncover relevant stuff

issy154 · Post by **issy154** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 1:55 am

sweets07 wrote:
thanatos wrote:
issy, it is possible that your teeth are actually groovier than your sister's. so no matter how much you brush you may still be prone to cavities. especially if you eat a lot of foods with simple/refined sugar. i know people just like you. it's tough but it's reality.

also the flora of your sister's mouth may just be in healthier balance than yours. if you have too much l. salivarius for example, you are prone to getting cavities.

Yeah, I was thinking about grooves on my teeth. I'm not sure what you mean by having too much salivarius. Is that the same thing as saliva?

Maybe I should just get fillings on all the grooves of my teeth just so I don't get anymore cavities.

issy154 · Post by **issy154** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 1:57 am

Also, I noticed I my mouth gets insanely dry whenever I'm at work or out, and I always have to drink tons of water, while my other family members seem to be fine and aren't as thirsty. Kind of makes me sad.....

sweets07 · Post by **sweets07** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:34 am

u get dry mouth

that's the worst thing for your breath obviously. i found drinking more water doesn't always do the trick. in my case, my body will only use the water to make more saliva if i'm going to use it by eating something. so i try to keep my mouth moist by eating something like apple sauce without the added sugar + vitamin c.

as for your question about l. salivarius. here's an article (not sure if it's peer reviewed) about this probiotic:

http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/pr ... ?Doi=88183

and here's some good info on cavities (or caries) and the bacteria that cause them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_caries

after reading the wiki article, i think i'm going to calm down on eating all this yogurt! moderation is key i guess :/

Larc400 · Post by **Larc400** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:49 am

Damn

I've been eating yoghurt daily for over a year, and yeah I've had more cavities lately. I even used yoghurt as mouthwash for a while. May not have been such a great idea.

issy154 · Post by **issy154** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:54 am

Whaa, I thought yogurt was supposed to be good for you. Man, I basically can't eat anything with these god damn teeth.

issy154 · Post by **issy154** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:00 am

sweets07 wrote:u get dry mouth that's the worst thing for your breath obviously.

Actually, I remember going to the movies with my sister like 3 weeks ago and didn't have anything to drink for a good 5 hrs. My mouth felt dry as hell, but she said my breath didn't smell at all.

I always feel like it does smell whenever it's dry though. That's why I drink so much water.

As far as chronic halitosis goes, I think the only reason I have bb is because my teeth are just too prone to bacteria.

My bb isn't constant either.

sweets07 · Post by **sweets07** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:17 am

issy154 wrote:
sweets07 wrote:u get dry mouth that's the worst thing for your breath obviously.
Actually, I remember going to the movies with my sister like 3 weeks ago and didn't have anything to drink for a good 5 hrs. My mouth felt dry as hell, but she said my breath didn't smell at all.

I always feel like it does smell whenever it's dry though. That's why I drink so much water.

As far as chronic halitosis goes, I think the only reason I have bb is because my teeth are just too prone to bacteria.

My bb isn't constant either.

man this will be my last post cuz i gotta go! this forum just gets you hooked tho.

anyway, i just say that because right now it seems like you are in good shape. sometimes people get fart breath on occasion but it's not chronic. i have friends like that and i pray i can get to that point someday.

at this point you want to take advantage of having a basically healthy mouth flora (in terms of breath odor, not necessary cavities lol

) by keeping your mouth moist. if you get lax on your routine and also let your mouth get dry too often you are likely to end up with the problem most of us here suffer with: a mouth that's a haven for anaerobic bacteria.

i've also been in that situation where my mouth was dry and tasted bad because it was dry. i was told that my breath was fine! i don't get this bb thing. i'll let you all know what my fam and the doctor says next week about my breath given my new routine and whatnot.... i'm kinda scared