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by yuye2 days ago |

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by pkos986 hours ago|

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Sorry to hear, my story resembles yours, might be helpful for you:

Despite proper oral hygiene, I've got 3 infections this year alone, including 2 abscesses while being < 30.

Asking the doctor for a possible systemic reason, she said "must've been pretty stressful period for you, hasn't it?"

Also experiencing lots of cavity problems since childhood and being unsatisfied by the doctor's root cause analysis, I finally found out the root cause for the dental problems 2 months ago myself: "Hypermobility" due to a connective tissue disorder. I was diagnosed with weak connective tissue in an orthopedic context years ago, but desperation and LLM-assisted research made the connection!

Finally found people like me at r/eds and r/hypermobile. Basically, connective tissue disorder means weaker collagen in the dentin, rwhich esults in being much more prone to cavity.

by ram1500natrluvr5 hours ago|

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I went my entire childhood and into early 20s before a new (to me) hygienist explained that most tooth decay is essentially an integral of PH level. The accumulation of how acidic your mouth is and for how long. They also explained that avoiding acidic foods and drinks is not enough, because bacteria that feeds on sugar produces an acidic byproduct. I adjusted my behavior based on that (consume way less sugar, and when having anything sugary or acidic, have it with hot water/tea/coffee) and my dental visits changed entirely since then.

by cole-k5 hours ago|

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Can I have more details about this? I also have been told I have an acidic mouth. One dentist straight up suggested drinking alkaline water and I couldn't tell if that was quackery but the science sort of checks out I guess.

by ram1500natrluvr5 hours ago|

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Try to build an understanding of which foods/drinks are acidic, and always have them with something that can wash your mouth out right away. Or reduce/stop having them.

Then also build an understanding of which foods/drinks are sugary, and similarly have them with something that can wash your mouth our right away, because sugary things sitting in your mouth makes your mouth acidic. Even more than acidic stuff, try to reduce how much you consume. In US grocery stores at least, it is incredible how much sugar is dumped into everything, and there seem to be general health benefits to reducing sugar intake.

I'm not sure how this applies to things that break down into sugar (carbs). I don't think they start breaking down until they're being digested, but I'm not positive on that.

But yea, overall it's fairly simple. Minimize the time your mouth is acidic based on what you eat and drink by washing it out soon after having anything that makes it acidic. If you have sticky stuff that doesn't dissolve or wash out easily, brush/floss afterwards. It's all about minimizing the duration.

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I have no idea if drinking alkaline water can help at all. Kinda makes sense? Hot water seems to do the trick for me though, just dissolve/wash out the sugars/acids. Anywhere alkaline water will reach, hot water will reach as well, and almost everyone has access to hot water.

by hirvi745 hours ago|

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I believe when medical professionals make comments like your dentist, what they are truly trying to say is that investigating the cause is likely a moot effort.

However, many patients would probably be even more dissatisfied with such an answer. Sadly, knowing the underlying cause of a condition does not always translate into a better treatment protocol or prognosis.

by avadodin2 days ago|

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> bro carbmaxxing

just gargle some tap water

by brador2 days ago|

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I saw and replied to this post 2 days ago (my user area confirms this). I don’t know why this OP is now showing as a fresh newly submitted post.

Something at HN has broken.

by OkayPhysicist6 hours ago|

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.That's not fair to assume. Different people have wildly different poracity in their enamel. You can be a health nut who brushes obsessively, forgoes all soda, and still gets cavities, or numbskull who does the bare minimum and is never punished. That's not to say oral hygiene isn't important, since for everyone in between you can improve your outcomes by taking better care of your teeth, but don't make the mistake of assuming that someone with shit teeth doesn't even try to take care of them

by sokka_h2otribe6 hours ago|

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Kind of rude. This person clearly had some crowded teeth that started the problem, then likely cavities from surgery that would have been challenging to perfectly clean & twice a day may not have solved anything. Plus just had a shit experience, so while your statement may apply in a large group it doesn't apply here.