Rosy (accidentally deleted this)

[letsconnect]

Hi Rosy, I accidentally hit the delete button instead of the quote button and your post disappeared. I was able to get it by clicking the "back" button, so I'll cut and paste it below. Apologies!

"My teeth are not in real bad shape,but I keep getting cavities. It is not like I am not doing everything I can to take care of them. I have few teeth right now that are in trouble and I am afraid to go back to the dentist. I have not been to the dentist in a couple of years. I have a tooth where I had bond filling that has a cavity right where it was fixed. I think when it was fixed that it must have not been sealed up very well and that is why I have a cavity there. The tooth is broke there.

A few years ago I had to have two root canals done on my very back top teeth and you would think I would get over my fear of going to the dentist,but the fear still lingers no matter how many times I have been. It seems like everytime I go to the dentist they find more cavities in my mouth. I would just for once like to have a good check-up when I go.

I like drinking soft drinks and I know that can't be good for your teeth,but it hard to get off them. What would be good for your teeth to drink besides water.

I was wondering if there is some connection between stress and getting cavities in your mouth. I can't seem to find any information about this, but I really question if stress plays a role in how bad your teeth are.

The funny thing is my husband does not take as good of care of his teeth as I do mine and he does not have any problems with his teeth.

I on the other hand do everything I can to keep my teeth clean,but yet I am the one with problems I just don't understand it."

 

[letsconnect]

On to the reply ...

I like drinking soft drinks and I know that can't be good for your teeth,but it hard to get off them. What would be good for your teeth to drink besides water.

Tea is pretty good (unsweetened or with artificial sweetener), because it contains fluoride. If you find it difficult to stay away from the soft drinks, the diet versions can't cause tooth decay (but they do contain acid and can cause erosion).

I was wondering if there is some connection between stress and getting cavities in your mouth. I can't seem to find any information about this, but I really question if stress plays a role in how bad your teeth are.

There is a relationship between stress and cavities. Stress leads to an increased desire to sweeten our lives, resulting in greater frequency of sugar in the diet. The increased frequency of sugar intake leads to tooth decay. There are other factors in tooth decay (oral hygiene, dry mouth syndrome, not enough protective factors like fluoride, etc.), but frequency of sugar intake is the major factor.

The good news is that you do not need to give up sugars or even soft drinks. There is a simple trick:

There's a common misconception that the amount of sugar in the diet causes tooth decay. This is not so. It's the frequency with which sweet things are placed in the mouth. You should [highlight]leave 4 hours between consuming anything with sugar in it[/highlight]. This means that the teeth have time to recover from the effects of acid produced by sugars. They are then fully recovered before the next acid attack.

The problem with things like soft drinks is that people tend to sip them over a period of time, rather than gulp them down. It's also a good idea to eat and drink sugary stuff with main meals, because the saliva produced by eating also acts as a buffer. The worst offenders are sweets to suck on, because they stay in contact with your teeth for an extended period of time.

In summary, the advice for this Easter is: eat your Choccies in bulk ! (too late now, says she, munching away on her Easter eggs... ). OK, maybe we'll leave all this until after Easter ...

Anyway, welcome to the forum and apologies again for accidentally deleting your post !

 

[rosy]

Hi letsconnet,

Thank you for responding to my post. Are you saying tea naturally contains fluoride? I do not drink tea, but my husband does. I wonder if that plays a part in why he has fewer dental problems than me. Are you talking about like the kind you buy in the grocery store, like Lipton tea for instants?

I also have few white spots on my teeth which when I went to the dentist he did not make a big deal about. From what I read this because my teeth have decalcified there. Is there anything I can do to make them recalcify there. I know that these can turn into or are the beginning of a cavity. I am concerned about those white spots and want to do what I can to help them.

Thanks

 

[letsconnect]

Hi Rosy,

Are you saying tea naturally contains fluoride? I do not drink tea, but my husband does. I wonder if that plays a part in why he has fewer dental problems than me. Are you talking about like the kind you buy in the grocery store, like Lipton tea for instants?

Yes it does naturally contain fluoride. I'm talking about plain black teas and green teas (including Lipton tea bags), rather than say Lipton's iced tea (which is just another soft drink). So it might play a part in your husband having fewer problems (also, if he drinks that instead of soft drinks, he'd be exposed to sugar less often, assuming that he doesn't take sugar in his tea).

I also have few white spots on my teeth which when I went to the dentist he did not make a big deal about. From what I read this because my teeth have decalcified there. Is there anything I can do to make them recalcify there. I know that these can turn into or are the beginning of a cavity. I am concerned about those white spots and want to do what I can to help them.

Have you had those spots for a while? They're not necessarily a sign of decalcifcation - as far as I know, they can also occur because there's a lot of calcium in the one spot (rather than too little). So unless these have suddenly appeared in recent times, I wouldn't worry about it. A lot of people have them. But your dentist would be in a much better position to say what's going on .

 

[rosy]

Hi letsconnect,

He does drink tea more often than soft drinks. He does put sugar in his tea, but it only 1 cup to a gallon of tea.

I have had these white spots for a few years now. The tooth that needs to be fixed again is because I had a white spot there and a hole broke through it when I was brushing my teeth and ever since then I have had nothing but problems with that tooth. I think the white spots are because the enamel is thin there and they need to be recalcified.

I do not believe my problem with the white spots has anything to do with alot calcium in one spot.

 

[letsconnect]

Ah, OK.
There's the usual stuff like fluoride mouthwashes (don't rinse afterwards). There are also some more "esoteric" things like "tooth mousse" (not available in all countries - do a Google search for recaldent). It may also help to finish meals with cheese (e. g. cheddar). Xylitol-containing chewing gum or sweets after meals may also help.
The most important thing though is diet, and reducing the frequency of sugar intake. A lot of foods have "hidden" sugars, the link I gave earlier has quite a bit of info on the topic and also suggests alternatives for snacks in between mealtimes.

 

[letsconnect]

Another thing I just remembered, is this stuff called MI Paste (in the US), which is being "marketed" as GC Tooth Mousse in other parts of the world (I think it's an Australian invention, not too sure though). The reason I put marketed in brackets is that it seems to be pretty difficult to get hold of! You can order it via the internet though (in the US, I'd recommend dentist.net).
Apparently, it's pretty powerful and it's been well received by dentists/dental hygienists.

 

[rosy]

Hi letsconnect,

That paste sounds interesting. Have you tried it? From what I have read about it, it is not a toothpaste. You put it on your teeth after you brush and leave there for a few minutes and then spit it out. I have been using eco-dent to brush my teeth with for about eight months now and have been chewing xylitol gum and mints. My question how will you know when this stuff is helping your teeth? I might get some of that paste and try it out. Thanks for telling me about it.

 

[letsconnect]

No , I haven't tried it (mainly because it's so hard to get hold off - usually I try everything...). You'll know if the stuff is helping after a few check-ups, I suppose - I've read good reports about it on a dentists-only forum (errm, don't tell anyone )