Woo-woo dental care

[godlytomatosoup]

http://inashoe.com/2012/04/4-moms-qa-co ... 0-diapers/

LiaS are exploring alternatives to conventional dentistry, although they haven't given it up yet.

One of her commenters writes:

I had a lot of dental fillings (still do), and some of my kids have had cavities. I *hate* both the amalgam fillings, AND the composite risks/side effects, so have pursued some Weston Price recommendations. I wish I knew a little more about what I have seen/experienced, but I’ll put it out there for you anyway. I started taking green pasture’s fermented cod liver oil and butter oil last fall. Within 2 weeks, I had a (very small, composite) filling come out. I didn’t know that’s what had happened, but finally realized it. I have *no idea* if these 2 things are connected, but it has been about 7 months and I have no sensitivity or ‘problem’ in the area the filling came from. I can still feel a little edge or whatever in that spot, but it seems to be functional and fine. We haven’t always been consistent in the FCLO/butter stuff, but we’re doing better nowadays. Last night my 10yo lost one of her ‘big’ teeth – on the surface there was a tiny cavity visible. On the edge was a considerably noticeable ‘hole’. Held up to the light you could see a darkness in that whole area (connecting the surface cavity to the side decay). From the root-side, where the ‘dark’ part was visible, it was a clear ‘spot’ – delineating an obvious difference between this part and the surrounding white tooth. I wondered if it would be mushy or differently textured. I spent some time poking at all the parts with a needle; scratching out [decay?] on the side, etc. the discolored part along the root side was NOT soft at all; it felt like the rest of the tooth. I am no dentist; I have no idea if this is absolutely normal or if any of this hints at ‘regeneration’. I will ask our dentist someday; he already thinks we’re crazy for some of our dental choices. :)

:o

[nomi]

psh at least she isn't mud/clay packing or oil pulling

[GeoBQn]

This can't possibly end well. Is she aware of the fact that cavities, if left untreated, can lead to heart problems?

[fluttershies]

Uhhh why did her 10 year old lose one of her adult teeth? And why are they taking butter as a supplement?

[lilwriter85]

Uhhh why did her 10 year old lose one of her adult teeth? And why are they taking butter as a supplement?

I wonder about that. That sounds really weird.

[constantgardener]

Ugh, the very idea of poking about your teeth with a needle. I am no fan of going to the dentist but DIY dentistry sounds a lot worse.

I seem to remember an episode of American Wife Swap where some completely nuts family that ate raw chicken also cleaned their teeth with a butter-based concoction. Their teeth did not look very good.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

I hate the Weston Price Foundation with a burning passion.

It's good - very, very good - for your body, brain, bones, etc. to supplement with rich fats (which can be had from non-animal sources too, though even I will admit that organ meats can be very good for you). But it will not cure a dental problem! It sounds like they are severely neglecting the dental health of their children. My mom, a dental hygienist and a big advocate of naturopathy whenever possible, would have a meltdown if she saw this shit. She'll ask the dentist "someday"? When, during their once-a-decade visit? When all her kids are toothless? Fucking idiot.

Constantgardener, I think I may have seen that episode of Wife Swap. Didn't the crunchy family's daughter get really sick at McDonald's when the new wife brought the family there? And did the crunchy mom have a big epiphany at the end about how she needed to take care of her appearance?

[Spider Burps]

Ugh, the very idea of poking about your teeth with a needle. I am no fan of going to the dentist but DIY dentistry sounds a lot worse.

I seem to remember an episode of American Wife Swap where some completely nuts family that ate raw chicken also cleaned their teeth with a butter-based concoction. Their teeth did not look very good.

Ohhhhh man I remember that family. They were disgusting. Their teeth were BLACK around their gums! Also, I was googling them just now because I wanted to find a photo of their teeth, and I found a blog that mentioned them and compared them to Emily and Dna! Gave me a good giggle.

"It reminded me of that blog I told you about a couple weeks ago where the young Quiverfull couple lived on nothing in a tiny, dirty apartment and ate a bunch of fermented stuff all made in a crockpot in order to save money. That girl isn't as bad as these people, but she's young yet. I could see her thinking the Haigwoods were pretty cool. She shut down her blog by the way. I don't know why, but I suspect too many people were calling her out on endangering her kids (because she was) and it got too uncomfortable."

widelawns.blogspot.com/2010/03/wife-swap.html

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I think the needle poking and scraping was on the tooth that had already fallen out?

But "big teeth" in US English means adult supposedly permanent teeth, yeah? So why is a 10 year old losing those? And if mom pokes with the needle around the fallen out tooth and sees it's not "mushy" does it matter? It fell out already! That's not a good thing!!

This is the first I'm hearing of woo-woo dentistry (anything other than just brushing with baking soda, anyway) and I'm :shock:

Brushing your teeth with BUTTER? WTF?

[fluttershies]

I will be the first to admit to not seeing the dentist more than I have to, but the moment something is obviously wrong, I get my ass there pronto. My teeth might not be that pretty but they're healthy and they work, and I'm not dumb enough to brush my teeth with butter.

[dairyfreelife]

Since I doubt anyone here has the fear of modern medicine, I'll tell a dentist horror story. My family used to go to a certain dentist. Dr. L I'll call him. Before I got any permanent teeth, I had a few cavities. Since I've gotten my permanent teeth, I was lucky to not have any cavities or work done at Dr. L's office. However, all other family members did have a few fillings. When my mother started to work for a new dentist, Dr. S, we went there. I was fine, but everyone else who'd had fillings were not. My father almost needed a root canal. Turns out Dr. L has messed up all the fillings, some cavities weren't even filled and it took a lot of work and money to get my family members fixed up. I was just super lucky to have needed a filling while there or I would've been in the same boat. Dr. L was later sued by a couple other patients and he lost his license.

So, this is not to scare anyone off, but to remind of the importance of getting fillings and getting them done right. Make sure it's a good, reputable dentist and get a second opinion if necessary. Thankfully what happened to my family isn't common. Most dentists wouldn't be so careless as to mess up a filling.

Also, I have to get numbed and often gassed to get basic cleaning because I have a super sensitive gag reflex that makes it impossible to get cleaning done. Despite the horror story and gag issue, I still get my teeth cleaned and if there's a problem, I go more than that. Refusing modern meds isn't an excuse.

[Jessica]

Thank God for modern medicine and denistry practices.... Otherwise one of my teeth in back would have grown forward under all my other teeth (imagine the cartoon image of dirt trails above wherever a mole has burrowed--and think of the mole as that tooth).

[lilwriter85]

I think the needle poking and scraping was on the tooth that had already fallen out?

But "big teeth" in US English means adult supposedly permanent teeth, yeah? So why is a 10 year old losing those? And if mom pokes with the needle around the fallen out tooth and sees it's not "mushy" does it matter? It fell out already! That's not a good thing!!

This is the first I'm hearing of woo-woo dentistry (anything other than just brushing with baking soda, anyway) and I'm :shock:

Brushing your teeth with BUTTER? WTF?

My guess is that the 10 year old might already have some form of gum disease or another severe oral health issue. Her losing a tooth could be a sign of that. I have a family friend who is a dentist and I remember during a conservation about gum disease, he mentioned a few cases in which people had a tooth fall out suddenly and when they visited him, he diagnosed severe gum disease due to poor oral care and not getting cleanings for several years. These cases were adults though. He had a 23 year old patient who ended up getting top dentures due to severe gum disease which brought on due to poor oral health and the young man's family rarely took him in for cleanings as a child.

Edited to fix a word.

[Deleted03]

ugh I just got a root canal last august, and really no. I did not know you had to floss every day or that using mouthwash was not really optional. I was very ashamed to have this root canal, but I hadn't gone to the dentist in a long time because I did not have money... well let's just say I paid more than a month rent in repairing this tooth. And that's because I went to a dental school... dentists around wanted to charge me 2000$ minimum for the work.

In the end it will be so much cheaper to get her kids to the dentist on a regular basis, rather than not. Plus root canals suck. Particularly when your tooth wakes up in the middle of it and it takes 10 min for the dentist to understand you want more anesthesia...

[Black Aliss]

I think she meant that her 10 year old lost one of her baby molars. I hope so, anyway. But 10 YOs who are eating a healthful natural diet should not be having cavities, anyway, should they? Given that seafood is naturally quite high in fluoride, is it possible that FCLO is also a source of the evil fluoride? Even if it is, I'd rather get my fluoride with a nice piece of salmon any day.

[tabitha2]

They do go to the dentist regularly-She writes about getting the childrens teeth cleaned often,getting X rays so on she has to mean a baby molar.

Q. How do you cover the dental bills?

We have a group policy with United Healthcare through Perry’s employer, but I just got an online quote and it looks like our policy only costs about 25% more when you purchase as an individual. Unlike medical insurance, dental insurance is quite affordable and an excellent investment if you’re the type to have regular cleanings, x-rays, etc. The price of the policy we use doesn’t change for a big family even though there are proportionately more claims, and I feel confident that UH is losing money on us. From our side, that’s good.

Since I have had a propensity to cavities all my life (and a couple of the kids seem to have inherited my weak enamel) we do regular cleanings, sealants, etc. for the entire family and it all costs very little out of pocket aside from our monthly premium.

Recently we’ve become aware of the idea that teeth, like the rest of the body, may be capable of healing, but this is entirely new territory and we’re far from giving up our semiannual cleanings. We haven’t really even begun to look into it, although I know that the name Weston A. Price comes up a lot when people are discussing these things. What do you think of the theory? Sensible, quackery, or are you withholding judgment until you know more?

[Kaylee]

If the 10 year old lost an adult tooth, she needs to get her to the dentist now and ask him, not someday and just let it go. I'm pretty sure that losing a tooth and leaving a gap can make the rest space it and get all messed up (isn't that why they do crowns when a person has a root canal?).

As far as the "hole"/dark spot, I don't know what it's called put it is possible to have a discolored spot that looks like a hole or major cavity but that isn't mushy or affecting the rest of the tooth. I've had one of those since I was a pre-teen (a tiny dark spot near the gumline of my first molar) and every dentist that has looked at it has said it's nothing to worry about - then again, my tooth hasn't fallen out either. It doesn't mean that it's any sort of regeneration from the magic butter oil, just that that spot wasn't the problem.

[lilwriter85]

They do go to the dentist regularly-She writes about getting the childrens teeth cleaned often,getting X rays so on she has to mean a baby molar.

The person whose daughter lost a tooth wasn't Kim. It was one of Kim's commenters.

[theologygeek]

But "big teeth" in US English means adult supposedly permanent teeth, yeah? So why is a 10 year old losing those?

Yes, in the US, "big teeth" is what you say when you're referring to kids' adult teeth. The comment was very odd, especially when the woman said "I will ask the dentist someday." The mother sounds very nonchalant like "kid lost big tooth, oh well, no big deal." If her daughter lost her adult tooth, the tooth should have been put in milk and someone should have rushed that child to the dentist.

[theologygeek]

I think she meant that her 10 year old lost one of her baby molars. I hope so, anyway. But 10 YOs who are eating a healthful natural diet should not be having cavities, anyway, should they? Given that seafood is naturally quite high in fluoride, is it possible that FCLO is also a source of the evil fluoride? Even if it is, I'd rather get my fluoride with a nice piece of salmon any day.

My mother was and still is obsessed with dentists. She was also fanatical when it came to our teeth. My poor sister had a mouth full of cavities. The rest of my siblings didn't. My sister just had soft teeth. We ate very well growing up, but some people are just plagued with dental problems.

[lilwriter85]

My mother was and still is obsessed with dentists. She was also fanatical when it came to our teeth. My poor sister had a mouth full of cavities. The rest of my siblings didn't. My sister just had soft teeth. We ate very well growing up, but some people are just plagued with dental problems.

Good point there. Weak enamel/soft teeth plague some people quite a bit. My nephew is one of those people. He had several cavities and he is 8.

[uncreative]

Since I doubt anyone here has the fear of modern medicine, I'll tell a dentist horror story. My family used to go to a certain dentist. Dr. L I'll call him. Before I got any permanent teeth, I had a few cavities. Since I've gotten my permanent teeth, I was lucky to not have any cavities or work done at Dr. L's office. However, all other family members did have a few fillings. When my mother started to work for a new dentist, Dr. S, we went there. I was fine, but everyone else who'd had fillings were not. My father almost needed a root canal. Turns out Dr. L has messed up all the fillings, some cavities weren't even filled and it took a lot of work and money to get my family members fixed up. I was just super lucky to have needed a filling while there or I would've been in the same boat. Dr. L was later sued by a couple other patients and he lost his license.

So, this is not to scare anyone off, but to remind of the importance of getting fillings and getting them done right. Make sure it's a good, reputable dentist and get a second opinion if necessary. Thankfully what happened to my family isn't common. Most dentists wouldn't be so careless as to mess up a filling.

Also, I have to get numbed and often gassed to get basic cleaning because I have a super sensitive gag reflex that makes it impossible to get cleaning done. Despite the horror story and gag issue, I still get my teeth cleaned and if there's a problem, I go more than that. Refusing modern meds isn't an excuse.

Dairyfree, are you in Washington state, by any chance? That sounds suspiciously like my old dentist.

[browngrl]

If I could tell the life in a shoe lady one thing it would be: the reason your dentist thinks you are crazy is because you are crazy.

[Mama Mia]

I don't think you can blame all cavities on bad dental care/ food choices. As a kid growing up I never had a single cavity - my sister ( younger by a year ) always had a ton. Same healthy diet, same dental care. However my teeth went to hell when I had a series of pregnancies with severe sickness. A couple of my kids had perfect teeth with zero cavities and one had a ton.

My daughter had extremely severe hyperemises gravidium and her young daughter has a mouth full of cavities at barely three despite her really obsessive tooth brushing, minimal sweets etc.

As a side note my dentist recently told me he is seeing tons of young adults with completely rotted teeth due to the various energy drinks ( Red Bull, Monster, etc. ). He said they look like they are on meth.

[BelieveinScience]

Good point there. Weak enamel/soft teeth plague some people quite a bit. My nephew is one of those people. He had several cavities and he is 8.

I've had over 10k worth of dental care done in the past 2 years. The cause? undiagnosed acid reflux that has rotted out all my teeth. My old dentist missed it for years but 3 montsh later I had sensitive teeth went to this new guy and first thing he asked about was acid reflux. I know have two dentist doubling up on my care- I have bonding on all my teeth now and have had 2 root canals. I now use two different tooth pastes (one is 20 dollar prescription paste I leave on over night) to save whats left of my teeth. Any dentist (or even dental hygenist) worth their weight in gold can spot something like acid reflux on someone's teeth.