[HN Gopher] First 'tooth regrowth' medicine moves toward clinica...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       First 'tooth regrowth' medicine moves toward clinical trials in
       Japan
        
       Author : elorant
       Score  : 921 points
       Date   : 2023-07-02 17:33 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (mainichi.jp)
 (TXT) w3m dump (mainichi.jp)
        
       | cwkoss wrote:
       | I want to be able to regrow a new set of teeth every ~5-10 years.
       | Why stop at 2?
       | 
       | Could be funded by tooth fairy receivables.
        
       | rilindo wrote:
       | [flagged]
        
         | jimlongton wrote:
         | > A new UCL paper has revealed that the wide-spread belief that
         | the British have poorer teeth than our American cousins is, in
         | fact, a myth.
         | 
         | > The research led by Richard Watt, Professor of Dental Public
         | Health in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health,
         | found that the mean number of missing teeth a person has is
         | significantly higher in the US.
         | 
         | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/eastman/news/2015/dec/us-vs-uk-who-has...
        
           | blcknight wrote:
           | [flagged]
        
           | rilindo wrote:
           | Given the health care in the US, that isn't surprising.
        
             | [deleted]
        
           | dan-robertson wrote:
           | I think the idea that people have in terrible teeth in the UK
           | is a bit outdated, but did you look carefully at the study?
           | 
           | The 'better teeth' you report is 7 missing teeth on average
           | in the uk vs 7.3 in the US. Both of those numbers seem high
           | to me: you'd need to have all wisdom teeth plus three more
           | removed for example. It made me wonder whether that average
           | was biased by old people[1] with many missing teeth[2], who I
           | think aren't that relevant to the idea about teeth being bad
           | in one country rather than another.
           | 
           | For the 'oral health impacts' measure, which corresponds to a
           | questionnaire, OHIP-14[3], with questions like 'have you been
           | self-conscious because of your teeth, mouth or dentures?' The
           | score for the UK is lower than the US here, though I guess
           | the measure is less objective and you can imagine cultural
           | factors would impact the answers (eg maybe people from one
           | country would downplay things more, or if worse teeth are
           | more socially acceptable in the country, people there may be
           | less likely to be embarrassed about their teeth.
           | 
           | I think the kind of 'bad teeth' more common in the U.K. is
           | crookedness (eg overlapping incisors or over/underbite) and
           | teeth being more yellow. The paper notes that they weren't
           | able to measure things like that.
           | 
           | My general impression is that bad teeth in the US (on someone
           | who grew up there) are a pretty strong signal that someone
           | grew up poor, and this is a little less the case for the UK.
           | 
           | [1] the paper claims these are 'age-standardised' numbers. I
           | don't really know what that means but I guess that it means
           | the number is mostly meaningful for comparing the countries
           | rather than what people in those countries are like. For ages
           | 25-44, they report averages of 3.7(UK) vs 4.6, which still
           | looks a bit high to me. There's about five times the rate of
           | toothless mess in the US for that age group which made me
           | think there might be some small population in the US with
           | many missing teeth that isn't so large in the UK, but the
           | paper found the same income-based inequality in number of
           | missing teeth
           | 
           | [2] The paper claims to have gotten similar results when
           | excluding the toothless
           | 
           | [3] Slade GD; Derivation and validation of a short-fortn oral
           | health impact profile. Community Dentistry and Oral
           | Epidemiology 1997; 25; 284-90.
        
           | mejutoco wrote:
           | I looked it up, because I was curious about the ranking per
           | country, not only US vs UK.
           | 
           | Uk is 4th best according to this ranking
           | 
           | https://www.yongeeglintondental.com/2018/07/23/healthy-
           | prima...
        
           | xeromal wrote:
           | Missing teeth != Poor teeth.
           | 
           | Pretty sure the joke is just that british have tea-stained
           | brown teeth.
           | 
           | Also, pretty sure it's just a joke in the same realm that
           | rednecks from appalachia carry a piece of hay in their mouth.
        
             | [deleted]
        
           | wpietri wrote:
           | I am glad they did this work, but I don't think it gets at
           | what's behind the joke about British teeth.
           | 
           | For me, the exemplar is the Austin Powers jokes about his
           | teeth. It's not that the average Brit has fewer teeth than
           | the average American. It's that a person who American would
           | expect, for reasons of class and style, to have an engineered
           | smile (very white, very even teeth) instead had a perfectly
           | natural one. Even the movie suggested that the stereotype was
           | somewhat outdated. But to the extent we still have the
           | stereotype, it's about upper- and upper-middle-class use of
           | orthodontia and whitening. Plus the distinctive American
           | emphasis on the big smile, which to a lot of non-Americans
           | can seem mildly deranged.
        
           | catiopatio wrote:
           | I always assumed this was a comment on the level of dental
           | care provided by the NHS.
           | 
           | For example, they'll happily provide you a root canal without
           | a crown - a crown costs significantly extra.
           | 
           | I doubt many dentists in the US would be comfortable
           | providing that standard of care.
        
             | pessimizer wrote:
             | I'm pretty sure it's now based on the observation that very
             | wealthy and important people in Britain don't have giant
             | blinding veneers.
             | 
             | Americans think that the class terror that forces them to
             | spend thousands or tens of thousands on their children's
             | teeth (and their own) is universal, rather than a norm that
             | we find ourselves locked into now. Americans with anything
             | going on with their teeth look poor or disreputable, and it
             | severely hurts your job chances.
             | 
             | Rich British people are just like _" do you know who I
             | am?"_
        
             | jahnu wrote:
             | https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/what-dental-
             | service...
             | 
             | PS300 seems not very significant if we are comparing the US
             | to the UK in this discussion.
        
               | catiopatio wrote:
               | A PS300 optional surcharge to perform what US dentistry
               | rightfully considers the baseline standard of care is
               | going to result in a lot of people's teeth having subpar
               | function and appearance.
        
               | jahnu wrote:
               | But they don't pay for almost anything routine in the UK.
               | In the US my understanding is you are not typically
               | getting any free dental care. PS300 is not a major
               | expense for a typical person in the UK.
        
               | catiopatio wrote:
               | I didn't claim it was an unaffordable expense.
               | 
               | I claimed that treating it as an opt-in extra, for
               | additional charge -- instead of the baseline standard of
               | care -- results in a lot fewer people receiving it, and
               | thus, a lot more people with subpar dental function and
               | appearance.
               | 
               | In other words, to save money, the NHS provides a lower
               | standard of care as its baseline. Hence the popular idea
               | that British dentistry is subpar.
        
               | throwaway3618 wrote:
               | I haven't tried to push the subject too hard but NHS
               | dentists will at least in some cases just say "you'll
               | need a crown afterwards" and that's that.
               | 
               | Also
               | 
               | > If you need treatment from more than 1 dental band as
               | part of your treatment plan, you will only be charged the
               | cost of the highest band. You will not be charged for
               | each individual treatment.
        
       | timonoko wrote:
       | In medieval times they used to rob teeth from healthy young
       | subjects. It was possible to "implant" those teeth just by
       | jamming them by force into gums. Success rate unknown.
       | 
       | So you could grow teeth in-vitro from patient's own stemcells and
       | then implant those. I would be safer and not much testing needed.
        
         | jamal-kumar wrote:
         | Medieval times?
         | 
         | How about as recent as George Washington? [1]
         | 
         | [1] https://www.mountvernon.org/george-
         | washington/health/washing...
        
         | maxloh wrote:
         | Does our technology advanced enough to grow teeth from stem
         | cells?
        
           | dt3ft wrote:
           | There seems to be more useful info here:
           | https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/dental-
           | visits/can-...
        
           | timonoko wrote:
           | Dedicated teeth farming is little difficult I reckon. But we
           | can clone a whole body just for spare parts. I bet some rich
           | bastard is already doing that.
        
             | Mayzie wrote:
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_(2005_film)
        
         | reportgunner wrote:
         | Reminds me of Walton Goggins' story[0] of how he lost his front
         | teeth.
         | 
         | [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CxApTXyTxU
        
         | borissk wrote:
         | Interesting. Why do you think it's not being done?
        
           | timonoko wrote:
           | Dont know. Few years back there was even talk about growing
           | new fingers by preventing the growth of scarring tissue. What
           | ever happened to that project?
        
             | fractallyte wrote:
             | The tip of my finger was cut off a few months ago in an
             | accident.
             | 
             | Treatment consisted of a breathable dressing which sealed
             | the fingertip around the stump, thereby prevented it from
             | drying out and scarring.
             | 
             | It was very smelly and messy for a few weeks, but it worked
             | - my fingertip grew back.
             | 
             | It's a bit deformed (because the emergency doctor gave me a
             | 'manicure' before dressing the wound), but it's there.
             | 
             | Lots of results on Google if you search for "fingertip
             | regeneration". Otherwise, I can provide academic/medical
             | references.
        
               | raisedbyninjas wrote:
               | I'd read that children could regrow fingertips. This
               | article suggests that just having the base of the
               | fingernail is what's needed.
               | https://www.npr.org/sections/health-
               | shots/2013/06/10/1903854...
        
             | ecuaflo wrote:
             | Longaker lab is at the forefront of anti-scarring from what
             | I know with their verteporfin research around blocking
             | engrailed 1 gene expression during wound healing to prevent
             | fibrosing and encourage perfect wound healing. They've only
             | done it on skin though, haven't seen anything about fingers
             | or limbs
        
         | YetAnotherNick wrote:
         | > Success rate unknown.
         | 
         | Is there any known successful case?
        
           | timonoko wrote:
           | _In May of 1784, Washington paid several unnamed slaves 122
           | shillings (PS6.10, equivalent to PS794 in 2021) for a total
           | of nine teeth to be implanted by a French doctor._
           | 
           | Unless you install into fresh socket, the success must have
           | been because of bone-to-bone adhesion.
        
             | YetAnotherNick wrote:
             | Paid != success. For all we know it could have 0 success
             | rate. We had lot of meaningless or harmful surgeries in the
             | past. I want to know how well it worked in the cases it
             | worked.
        
       | penguin_booze wrote:
       | Oh, good. Now, do 'hair'.
        
         | pknomad wrote:
         | People are making progress on that front too:
         | https://news.uci.edu/2022/06/30/uci-led-team-discovers-signa...
        
       | Croftengea wrote:
       | This is the key sentence, IMHO:
       | 
       | > Once confirmed to have no ill effects on the human body, it
       | will be aimed at treating children aged 2 to 6 who exhibit
       | anodontia.
       | 
       | This greatly limits usefulness of the whole enterprise. The
       | problem is that this condition is not likely to be found at that
       | age, it's found later when the problem is evident to parents.
       | What is actually needed is some treatment for teenagers or young
       | adults.
        
       | w4lker wrote:
       | Wow, I 've never thought that I would see that in life
        
       | issafram wrote:
       | Cool we can regrow teeth, but hair regrowth is fucking impossible
       | because God hates me.
        
         | tjpnz wrote:
         | Just get rid of it. You'll feel so much more confident.
        
           | crossroadsguy wrote:
           | Actually I get bruises and scratches on my scalp when my head
           | is clean shaven. With hair? Rarely if never. And as for
           | confidence and looks, nothing beats with hair. So technically
           | yeah that's a escape it would be better to have them back.
           | And in my case the decline is actually due to local water
           | quality and pollution (3rd world).
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | bot12345 wrote:
       | This is a very interesting development in dental care. Looking
       | forward to seeing the results of the clinical trials.
        
       | uniformlyrandom wrote:
       | > The tooth regrowth medicine is intended for people who lack a
       | full set of adult teeth due to congenital factors.
       | 
       | congenital = abnormal.
       | 
       | Mean it only works if you never had teeth, not when you had yours
       | removed.
        
       | EMM_386 wrote:
       | Please, I beg science ... anything like this.
       | 
       | I do what I'm told to do. Yet as the years pass it's been
       | cavities, root canals, extractions, crowns, and everything else.
       | 
       | The worst part isn't even the procedure, it's the cost (in the
       | U.S. at least!). Thousands and thousands of dollars any time they
       | need to do anything. And that's _with_ dental insurance. They
       | like to deny claims.
       | 
       | Dental should be covered under medical but that's an entirely
       | different story. For now, I hope science keeps working on this.
        
         | troft wrote:
         | [dead]
        
         | jiggywiggy wrote:
         | It's weird to me. We've had hundreds of thousands of years with
         | no dentists and toothpaste and now I'm told only way to keep
         | teeth healthy is to brush twice a day with chemicals and an
         | electric tool.
        
           | vineyardmike wrote:
           | For hundreds of thousands of years people had bad teeth and
           | died before they're 35.
        
             | mixmastamyk wrote:
             | True, also ate a lot less sugar.
        
         | pzo wrote:
         | Why not take a longer holiday to Turkey or Thailand once a year
         | and do all dental appointments ? Should be much cheaper even
         | with a flight and accomodation. I know some of people from UK
         | doing this and flying to Turkey for yearly dental check. Dental
         | clinics very professional there and you have English speaking
         | staff.
         | 
         | If USA based maybe Mexico or Colombia also a good closer
         | choice?
        
           | ripper1138 wrote:
           | Dental insurance is usually pretty decent in the US, probably
           | not worth leaving the country unless it's significant work. I
           | have no idea with OP is getting done that costs thousands of
           | dollars. Certainly that's an outlier.
        
             | ridgeguy wrote:
             | Not so. Anecdata point: My wife and I dropped our Delta
             | Dental insurance this year. We reviewed what we'd paid in
             | premiums over the prior 5 years vs. the full cost of
             | procedures we'd had done in that time. Full cost would have
             | been ~40% of our premiums + residuals. In this aspect of
             | life, we've decided to self-insure.
        
               | argonaut wrote:
               | Yeah, dental insurance is primarily a tool for companies
               | to provide a tax free benefit to employees. It doesn't
               | make much sense to buy dental insurance yourself, unless
               | you're high risk (get lots of cavities, etc.)
        
             | grepfru_it wrote:
             | No way, I have to get an implant and I was just quoted $4k
             | with insurance.
        
               | ripper1138 wrote:
               | An implant is certainly "significant work".
        
               | throwaway290 wrote:
               | Once a year trip sounds totally fine for significant work
        
               | nanidin wrote:
               | An implant involves multiple appointments over like 2-4
               | months.
        
               | clort wrote:
               | Makes me wonder what the insurance company is paying, how
               | much you pay them and if its even worth it.
               | 
               | My dentist (in UK) charges PS2500 for an implant. I don't
               | have insurance.
               | 
               | (technically I do have insurance, since NHS dentistry
               | exists which I pay for in my taxes. However I had an NHS
               | dentist and when they got sold on to Bupa they would
               | simply not do things which would be expensive for them,
               | meaning after some years I had fillings falling out and
               | broken teeth all over)
        
             | flanaganse wrote:
             | Without insurance you can often get reasonably priced
             | dental care at dental universities if you have one local.
             | 
             | At least for anything students can work on (fillings,
             | extractions, etc). If you need a root canal, ortho, jaw
             | surgery, or etc then I doubt it'll be a great option.
        
               | throwawaaarrgh wrote:
               | I strongly urge people to avoid regular dentists for
               | serious work that there are specialists for. They don't
               | have the tools or expertise, and often leave people with
               | broken jaws and infections that lead to more surgeries.
               | Pay the extra; you'll wish you did when your jaw is wired
               | shut, or you have to pay again to re-do a root canal, or
               | go to emergency due to infection.
        
             | andrei_says_ wrote:
             | I'm an outlier. An implant was around $7000 out of pocket,
             | with insurance.
        
               | nanidin wrote:
               | I have had an implant and for me it was around $2.5k with
               | insurance in the midwest.
        
           | petesergeant wrote:
           | You also have plenty of American-trained dentists, at least
           | in Thailand, although I'm not sure they're any better than
           | the locally trained ones.
        
           | nanidin wrote:
           | One of my front teeth got broken at a pool party in Thailand.
           | I was able to get it fixed the next day with a walk-in
           | appointment for $75. The fix lasted for something like 5
           | years.
        
         | mbrochh wrote:
         | This is not normal. It is 100% your diet.
         | 
         | Eat a carnivore diet and your tooth issues will go away. At
         | least try to eat only real foods, never add any added sugar
         | into anything and avoid all processed foods (treat rice and
         | pasta as processed foods as well, they are not real foods!).
         | 
         | There are plenty of books out there that show that for all
         | indigenous tribes, as soon as they got into contact with
         | western civilization and started eating a carb heavy diet (beer
         | & grains), their teeth rotted away within one generation.
        
           | nanidin wrote:
           | Is the diet angle related to the contact of the food with the
           | teeth, or is the related to something that happens after
           | digestion?
           | 
           | If it were only related to contact of food with teeth,
           | wouldn't rinsing your mouth after eating achieve the same
           | effect as any diet like "carnivore diet"?
        
             | abecedarius wrote:
             | I believe it's much more about nutrition, though there is a
             | difference in oral microbiome too. Explanation at
             | https://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/12/dr-
             | mellanbys-... (The author, Stephan Guyenet, is not a
             | carnivore-diet proponent afaik.)
        
             | mixmastamyk wrote:
             | Immediate contact and for quite a while until you brush
             | again. Leftover sugars are turned to acid by mouth
             | bacteria.
        
             | argonaut wrote:
             | The diet angle is just sugar and carbs.
        
           | froddd wrote:
           | Any examples of those books?
           | 
           | And by "carnivore", do you mean specifically including meat?
           | Or do you mean something completely different, like a 'varied
           | & balanced' diet?
           | 
           | I find it odd to list the biggest change in a move from a
           | more tribal to a more westernised diet as being "beer &
           | grains". I would have expected the increase in sugar and
           | chemicals/preservatives to be the relevant factor.
        
         | no_wizard wrote:
         | The best dentist I ever had was the one we had at the Apple
         | campus. He was paid by Apple and everything was covered by
         | corporate, more or less (whatever the insurance didn't cover
         | beyond copay was paid by Apple if I recall correctly).
         | 
         | I saw them for awhile and we got friendly. He was a younger guy
         | and told me that he was probably one of the few honest dentists
         | in the area because his pay wasn't dependent on high dollar
         | procedure to make enough to keep a practice open. Apparently,
         | unlike medical insurance, dental insurance pays pittance for
         | most things, so upselling procedures is how dentists really
         | make money, usually.
         | 
         | Best dentist I ever had. Rarely did I need more than regularly
         | scheduled cleanings and when I did he always started with the
         | least invasive options (I grind my teeth in my sleep and before
         | I realized it and got a guard there were complications)
         | 
         | I miss that guy. I've been suspicious of dentists ever since
         | and look for signs.
        
           | jiggywiggy wrote:
           | I also grind me teeth. One dentist recommended me a guard.
           | Just really don't like the idea of sleeping with plastics in
           | my mouth 8 hours a day. What type do you have?
        
             | geokon wrote:
             | I had one dentist put some kind of lacquer type of thing on
             | my molars (so that this material is ground down instead).
             | But I've never been able to find another dentist that does
             | it
             | 
             | Maybe somebody knows what this procedure is called?
        
               | TheSpiceIsLife wrote:
               | Fissure seals?
        
               | joncrocks wrote:
               | Fissure sealant was what I think I had as a kid. Teeth
               | were cleaned + dried with air + sealant was `painted on`
               | + cured with UV I think.
        
           | darkclouds wrote:
           | My dentist had a Harley Street branch, they were expensive
           | even for a routine check up, but they were the best I ever
           | had, honest, didnt try to push additional treatments on to
           | you, could discuss different treatments and they would
           | explain the pro's and con's of the different treatments. They
           | knew I didnt mind spending money on my teeth and it was out
           | of my pocket not insurance schemes, but they were perfectly
           | frank and honest which was a rarity and much valued quality.
           | 
           | There was no waiting around in waiting rooms, it was a top
           | notch service in every way.
           | 
           | My only concern which I found out recently, was the increased
           | used of xrays to check the teeth can increase the incidence
           | of thyroid cancer.
           | 
           | Another dentist I knew who wrote their own software even said
           | my dentist was expensive.
           | 
           | You get what you pay for.
        
           | 3rd3 wrote:
           | > regularly scheduled cleanings
           | 
           | Which appears to be a purely aesthetic procedure.
           | 
           | https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD.
           | ..
        
             | cstejerean wrote:
             | Over 2-3 years, which isn't insignificant, and does suggest
             | cleanings can be done less frequently, but it isn't
             | particularly long term.
             | 
             | I'm curious if that still holds over say 5 years. And how
             | does it intersect with other practices. For example are
             | people who don't floss religiously more likely to benefit
             | from more frequent cleanings, etc.
        
             | devX3 wrote:
             | From personal experience I need a regular cleaning every
             | year and since I'm not cheaping out anymore on this as I
             | did as student my teeth related health problems went to 0.
             | I think it is useful if you aren't that disciplined with
             | taking care of it yourself. I forget to floss every other
             | time or simply forget to brush at times when I sit at a
             | longer coding session and might eat during it but then
             | forget to brush teeth afterwards. Procedure always removes
             | plenty of scale/tartar.
        
             | bondarchuk wrote:
             | That paper only looks at the effects on gum health, not
             | cavities.
        
               | 3rd3 wrote:
               | Dental calculus also seems unrelated to cavities. It may
               | even have a (slight) protective effect.
               | 
               | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4950958/
               | 
               | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9776022/
        
               | bondarchuk wrote:
               | The first one is about just 1 tooth they found in a pool
               | of 1000 extracted teeth. The second one says "there was a
               | high association between gingivitis and plaque status
               | with calculus accumulation" in the abstract, thus
               | contradicting your earlier comment.
        
               | 3rd3 wrote:
               | The one from my earlier comment is a meta study, so it
               | bears more weight.
        
           | partiallypro wrote:
           | I am very suspicious of dentists; I recently went to one
           | because an old filling fell out and suddenly, they wanted to
           | do tons of new fillings. I had only 1 visible cavity, but the
           | x-ray showed some decay on the sides of the teeth of others.
           | I had the visible cavity filled and booked to do the rest,
           | but I cancelled it. With the new filling I'm having mild
           | discomfort that comes and goes, but I think that's mostly
           | because I hate how fillings feel. I am still procrastinating
           | on getting a second opinion. The thing is that fillings
           | eventually will fail after 10-20 years, so they are not only
           | getting that business up front they are setting up a future
           | revenue stream. It's hard to know who to trust, even from
           | highly rated dentists.
        
           | tangjurine wrote:
           | When I first got to the Bay area I saw three dentists, and
           | gave them the same x-rays.
           | 
           | The first recommended I get eight fillings (which is why I
           | went to the others).
           | 
           | The second recommended I get two fillings (which I did get).
           | 
           | And then the third recommended I get none.
           | 
           | Needless to say I'm now also suspicious of dentists.
        
             | tlavoie wrote:
             | In Canada, they're essentially running a business, and one
             | which (decades ago) specifically avoided the socialized
             | health system which we have for regular doctors and such
             | now.
             | 
             | I've got pretty good teeth, but am certainly wary of some
             | of the recommendations I've had. Did have to have a molar
             | out (hole all the way to sinus), no doubts there. The
             | regular dentist said, "hey, you should get a bridge!" The
             | specialist who did the removal and bone graft let me know
             | that was the worst possible choice. Better to leave a gap,
             | or get an implant if I want, but a bridge is caps on the
             | adjacent teeth that will eventually wreck those teeth too.
             | So him, I trust.
        
               | moneywoes wrote:
               | CBC marketplace had a great special going to different
               | dentists.
               | 
               | They found all had widely different recommendations on
               | the number of fillings required.
        
               | flakeoil wrote:
               | Making a bridge is considered malpractice now. This is
               | what my younger dentist told me. I had an older dentist
               | in the past who recommended a bridge.
               | 
               | Making a titanium implant or just leave it is the best
               | option. Only if you are over 80 years or have some other
               | issues (making it more risky to do the implant operation)
               | should you go the bridge route instead of making an
               | titanium implant.
               | 
               | To make a bridge you have to destroy (grind down into
               | cones) two teeth adjacent to the bad/missing tooth onto
               | which they glue the bridge. Crazy. On top of that you
               | will forever have issues cleaning below the bridge which
               | probably also causes your other good teeth to decay as
               | more food and bacterias are sticking around.
        
             | dagurp wrote:
             | https://www.rd.com/article/how-honest-are-dentists/
        
             | roolah wrote:
             | Similar story. Moved to Bay Area, coworker recommended
             | dentist told me I need to pull all 3 wisdom teeth left and
             | get a night guard. Quotes me >$3500.
             | 
             | Funny that I went to the dentist in my home country just
             | before I moved and they said all good. Went to another
             | dentist (which I'm still with and absolutely love) and over
             | past 4 years we haven't pulled a single wisdom tooth and I
             | still don't have a night guard.
        
               | flakeoil wrote:
               | I have a bad experience with night guards and it seems to
               | be something dentists like to prescribe unfortunately. I
               | got one as I had pain in one tooth and it was due to
               | grinding and closing my mouth hard in the nights.
               | 
               | Once I started with the night guard I got even more pain
               | and after a month or two my tooth cracked and had to be
               | repaired.
               | 
               | As there is even less space (as you have the plastic
               | stuff between your teeth now) it seems you press even
               | harder which damages the teeth even more. Maybe against
               | light grinding movement it can help, but against pressing
               | your teeth hard together at night it does definitely not
               | help.
               | 
               | The best advice I got was to remind yourself at night
               | when going to bed (and during the night when you notice
               | it) to open your mouth a little (still with the lips
               | closed) so that the teeth do not touch. It's a habit
               | thing. I also noticed I grinded/pressed my jaws together
               | more if I went to bed late.
        
               | dsego wrote:
               | Maybe the pressing the tongue against the palate and
               | practicing proper tongue posture (so called mewing) isn't
               | without merit. The force of the tongue counteracts the
               | jaw muscles.
        
               | teekert wrote:
               | And the piece has at the very beginning: _" The idea of
               | growing new teeth is every dentist's dream. I've been
               | working on this since I was a graduate student. ..."_
               | 
               | I'm not sure how involved this new teeth growing process
               | is, but I can imagine it's not going to suck as much
               | value out of you as a dentist can. Perhaps this isn't
               | even done at the dentist (I hope so actually.)
               | 
               | I always felt like I was getting screwed by my dentist,
               | but then I walked through a, what we'd here call a
               | "volksbuurt", a neighborhood that isn't particularly
               | rich. Saw a dentist, and it seemed more like a community
               | place. I walked in, registered and have loved it ever
               | since. They think along with me, tell me to get insured
               | because something big is coming up next year and they can
               | shift the current work to January (when the new insurance
               | starts), they are very transparent about cost, explain
               | why things are needed. I really appreciate that. They
               | even told me that the pain I experience can go away
               | without any major intervention if I really started to
               | floss daily, it worked indeed.
               | 
               | Similar stories exist for garages (the place where they
               | fix your car).
        
             | nvarsj wrote:
             | Similar. I saw a dentist in SoCal when I was visiting my
             | family (I live in the UK) and I was under some misguided
             | impression dentistry was better in the US. Very fancy
             | office, took colour X-rays, then told me I needed all 6 of
             | my fillings redone and a mouth solution to protect my gums.
             | Total amount around 3k.
             | 
             | I decided just to go see my local UK dentist. Shabby
             | office, black and white x-rays. They said all my fillings
             | were perfectly fine and showed me on the X-ray what they
             | look at. They also told me the gum wash (which cost $150)
             | was unnecessary.
             | 
             | That was 6 years ago and I haven't had any issues with my
             | teeth.
        
             | CameronNemo wrote:
             | Ugh I feel like I got so many fillings prematurely due to
             | trusting a doctor when I was young and timid.
        
           | argonaut wrote:
           | There are plenty of honest dentists in the Bay Area (and
           | America). If you're well informed, it's easy to tell based on
           | a combination of Yelp reviews and what they recommend when
           | you come in for an exam. Most of them only take higher paying
           | PPO insurance, or don't take insurance at all (well, they're
           | out of network).
        
           | intelVISA wrote:
           | > his pay wasn't dependent on high dollar procedure to make
           | enough to keep a practice open
           | 
           | > I miss that guy. I've been suspicious of dentists ever
           | since and look for signs.
           | 
           | Now you can imagine how the avg person sees the cloud
           | spaghetti coming out of a trendy boutique - being informed
           | their 'perfectly fine' BSD box and ZFS setup needs to become
           | a latent chain of 900ms microservices.
           | 
           | Some cases it is the play, but often it's RDD from new hires
           | or grifters.
        
         | quadrature wrote:
         | The incentives in oral care actively work against the patient.
         | Our current system focuses on treating the symptoms instead of
         | the root cause.
         | 
         | You should have the knowledge required to advocate for your own
         | outcomes.
         | 
         | I'm not affiliated with them, but I think that bristle health
         | is a step towards that reality.
         | 
         | They offer oral microbiome testing and suggest personalized
         | treatments to fix issues like cavities.
        
           | wingworks wrote:
           | Allot of it is also education. I grew up thinking, if you get
           | a cavity the dentist will fix it, no worries. But you're
           | teeth can only be repaired so much, and every time it's more
           | expensive.
           | 
           | I never asked any questions or tried to understand why I got
           | cavities (in part cos of the cost). It was just... I have bad
           | teeth, it is what it is. But it's not. there is allot you can
           | do, foods to avoid, drinks to avoid (beyond the obvious). But
           | things are getting better, some dental hygienists are on
           | YouTube now, who teach how to look after your teeth.
        
             | quadrature wrote:
             | Definitely, you can also add in foods and supplements to
             | promote beneficial bacteria. But until recently finding
             | objective measures of your interventions was hard.
        
             | v4dok wrote:
             | Can you suggests some names? Unbiased (or some kind of
             | polyphony) information on dental is so scarse its crazy
        
               | wingworks wrote:
               | I came across Teeth Talk Girl a few months ago, allot of
               | informative content, and seems pretty unbiased. There is
               | also "Baseline Dental" and "Dr. Brett Langston" channels.
               | Quality a bit mixed and somewhat promoting there place of
               | work.
               | 
               | But yeah, still pretty dry out there, but better then a
               | few years ago. Probably more on tiktok... but that's
               | tiktok.
        
         | wkat4242 wrote:
         | In Holland we (used to?) get these fluoride paste treatments
         | when we're young. They reinforce the enamel and it works really
         | well. I've had like 2 cavities and I'm in my late 40s. And I
         | drink a ton of sodas.
         | 
         | That paste used to make me really sick but wow it does work.
         | 
         | Not sure if they still have this though because the neolibs
         | have destroyed the state health system and replaced it with
         | mandatory private insurance that doesn't include dental
         | anymore.
        
           | tacotacotaco wrote:
           | It's called fluoride varnish. The ADA use to recommend it
           | only for children but in the last decade they updated their
           | guidelines to include all ages. My dentist applies it now but
           | my insurance does not cover it.
        
             | ukd1 wrote:
             | At least at my place, whilst also not covered, it's a $10
             | surcharge.
        
             | wkat4242 wrote:
             | It wasn't applied like varnish though, it was gel in trays
             | that we had to bite on for 5 minutes. Yuck.
             | 
             | It was indeed only for kids, the dentist said the enamel no
             | longer absorbs it when the teeth are fully grown. But
             | perhaps this has been disproven now. I'll ask my current
             | dentist about it.
        
               | tacotacotaco wrote:
               | I completely forgot about those trays. Yuck!
        
           | robbintt wrote:
           | The US has this as well :)
        
           | vibrio wrote:
           | I know many in the US that fluoride treatments that are
           | ridden with fillings. I think you have a tooth shape and oral
           | microbiome, that is resistant to cavities, rather than the
           | fluoride treatments. How can we know what the provided the
           | benefit based on n=1?
           | 
           | Also General Jack D Ripper has concerns about the impact to
           | P.O.E. ;)
        
             | wkat4242 wrote:
             | Because it's not n=1. Most people from my generation have
             | really strong teeth.
             | 
             | It's something that really helped, my dentist joked about
             | being put out of business :P My parents' generation have
             | really bad teeth that started going bad in their teens
             | already.
        
           | flanaganse wrote:
           | As a US kid in the 2000s my dentist would give some kind of
           | foam fluroide treatment. Foam would be put into two trays and
           | you'd have to keep them on your teeth for two minutes. I
           | remember hating it because it made me nervous I'd swallow
           | some.
           | 
           | I still get fluoride treatments from my dentist but now it's
           | something he paints on, perhaps the same as what you've
           | described.
           | 
           | Anyway, according to a dentist friend, whether you get
           | cavities is also dependent on the natural groves in your
           | teeth. Some people's genetics cause them to have more cavity
           | prone teeth than others.
        
             | wkat4242 wrote:
             | Yes that's the stuff though for me it was gel in trays, not
             | foam.
             | 
             | I was worried too about swallowing it but it was also the
             | smell of it that made me sick. It was very strong. I really
             | hated it.
             | 
             | And yeah I guess I'm not very prone to them, but it's very
             | clear that the generations before me had much worse teeth
             | than we do.
        
         | kderbyma wrote:
         | I hope this doesn't come across as poorly stated, but I would
         | highly recommend looking into possible dietary causes. I don't
         | mean you are eating like a slob, but rather you are eating
         | something which you are not supposed to eat either because it
         | is too processed for your body or it is an allergen. Tooth
         | decay can be cause by the diet you are consuming and if you are
         | not consuming the correct nutrients( bioavailability is based
         | on your genetics and not just the source of food)
        
           | wingworks wrote:
           | To add to this, sugar/sweets aren't the only thing bad for
           | your teeth. Other less obvious things like bread or pasta are
           | terrible for the teeth. Basically the "simple carbohydrates"
           | group of foods. Also acidity matters, try to keep it neutral
           | like water/milk. (things like coffee or wine should be
           | avoided).
           | 
           | Brushing times can also help and always floss at least daily.
           | 
           | If you're interested in learning more I would check out the
           | teethtalkgirl YT channel. It's a great way to learn a heaps
           | about teeth without paying $$$ at the dentist asking
           | questions. (but you should still go to the dentist)
           | 
           | Anyway, that's my 2c, best of luck, teeth are the worst.
        
         | royarthur wrote:
         | What are you told to do?
         | 
         | To f*ck your oral health, you need carbohydrate + an acidic
         | environment.
        
         | Hnrobert42 wrote:
         | If this is all at one dentist, you may want to get a second
         | opinion. It is very rare, but some dentists do more work than
         | is necessary.
        
           | ripper1138 wrote:
           | OP must have a disease or something. According to some brief
           | research, $25B spent on out-of-pocket dental work in 2021,
           | which averages out to like $70 per person. And I'd guess that
           | a significant number of people don't spend a dime.
        
         | anmukha wrote:
         | It's not a science problem. The system just robes you. For
         | example, to replace one tooth with implant you need about 700$
         | in Belarus or about 1000$ in Poland. Ok, in these countries
         | dentist has 1800$-3000$ netto. When I installed implant in
         | Belarus, my dentist spent 30 minutes to remove tooth, make
         | surgery to overgrow part of gum and install implant and then 20
         | minutes (after 3 month) to install new tooth. Let's imagine
         | than in US doctor is few time slower. That means he need 4
         | hours for this. And let's imagine that ha want 100$ in hour.
         | That still 400$ - nothing special. But I guess that in USA you
         | will pay more then 3000$. As for materials and equipment, in US
         | all this even chipper than in west Europe because all this is
         | produced is US. And at the end you pay for unnecessary thinks
         | like ad.
        
         | ornel wrote:
         | Do consider travelling to Mexico. There are many first rate
         | dentists at a fraction of the cost in the US
        
         | rjzzleep wrote:
         | First I'll say that I agree with you, there have been various
         | treatments that never seemed to have made it into clinical
         | trial and one that did make it but never became a treatment.
         | Some where laser causing dentine to regenerate, one I remember
         | was a certain kind of sponge filling made with an Alzheimer
         | related treatment that would actually regenerate as the filling
         | itself turned into dentine over time.
         | 
         | But what do you mean with do as your told? What do you use to
         | clean your teeth? What toothbrush to do you use? What are the
         | ingredients of your toothpaste?
         | 
         | What is the average PH of your mouth? Do you have acid reflux
         | often? Do you eat sweet foods or flour i.e. simple carbs often?
         | Do you eat a lot of fruits or salads before sleep?
         | 
         | I've had a long history of cavities until I actually started
         | paying more detailed attention to what I eat, what tooth paste
         | I use etc. None of that is stuff any of the dentists I went to
         | ever told me. I panicked when a piece of my tooth broke off
         | almost a decade ago.
         | 
         | BTW there is a treatment before you have to do root canals, I
         | forgot the name, and most dentists don't do them. There is also
         | a chance that it doesn't work and I assume that that's the
         | reason why dentists don't generally offer it. I forgot the name
         | but you can surely find it by googling. For a lot of people
         | myself included don't an artificial gum transplant for receded
         | gums also massively reduces exposure to dental issues.
         | 
         | There are certain calcium phosphote combinations like the
         | Novamin thing that GSK bought and then forbade everyone else to
         | use or Hydroxyapatite, which is sort of artificial dentine.
        
           | zargon wrote:
           | Pulp capping is probably what you're referring to about more
           | conservative treatment before a root canal.
        
           | free_energy_min wrote:
           | What toothpaste do you use? Does it have Hydroxyapatite?
        
             | rjzzleep wrote:
             | I use the Biorepair night creme(it's actually
             | Hydroxyapatite and Xylitol) and sometimes the sensodyne
             | repair & protect(keep in mind that the German version does
             | not include novamin)
             | 
             | When my root was exposed I did apply clove oil and
             | completely refrained from simple carbs for the treatment
             | and after until it healed.
             | 
             | EDIT: a lot of Japanese tooth pastes also have it by the
             | way and there is no real guarantee that it works, but
             | theoretically it's supposed to fill microabrasions
             | temporarily.
        
         | safety1st wrote:
         | There's also the question of how much dental "care" is really
         | that. I will just throw some random stuff out there.
         | 
         | * It used to be more popular to remove wisdom teeth. Opinions
         | seem to have changed on this over time, I've never had mine
         | removed, in my 40s now and so far so good.
         | 
         | * I had a small crack in one of my molars and saw a dentist who
         | said a crown would be necessary. I was skeptical and got a
         | second opinion. The second dentist immediately said "It's small
         | and I don't think you need a crown for this" and did a filling
         | instead. Eight years later, so far so good!
         | 
         | * Even FLOSSING was removed from the U.S. Department of
         | Health's recommendations several years ago because there is a
         | lack of evidence that it's effective! (I still floss around a
         | couple of teeth every day in places where food likes to get
         | stuck.)
         | 
         | To do a crown the dentist has to grind down your tooth into a
         | stub and irrevocably destroys the enamel in the process. To me
         | an unnecessary crown sounds like borderline malpractice. I
         | wonder how many other unnecessary procedures dentists are doing
         | for the $$$$.
        
           | danielscrubs wrote:
           | Flossing definitely works against bad breath. If you feel
           | that you get bad breath at the end of the work day it might
           | be a good enough reason for that alone.
           | 
           | I do the whole shebang as a curtesy to others, and I hope
           | they will return the favour.
        
           | crossroadsguy wrote:
           | > more popular to remove wisdom teeth
           | 
           | Even the pushy dentists have rarely recommended removal of
           | wisdom teeth unless they are trouble. I mean if it's pushing
           | inside the muscle area towards bones or screwing up things
           | for other teeth you have to. If it's forming a cavity area
           | (like in my case) you definitely should get rid of it.
           | 
           | Wisdom tooth removal is not rite of passage. It's need based
           | and often the needs are real and very much "needed".
           | 
           | > Even FLOSSING was removed from the U.S. Department of
           | Health's recommendations several years ago because there is a
           | lack of evidence that it's effective
           | 
           | This is bizarre because I can feel the change in my mouth
           | everyday with and without flossing. I am not sure there is a
           | need for some kind of empirical evidence here. Especially if
           | there are not gigantic mountain pass like gaps between your
           | teeth.
           | 
           | Yeah the crown job recos are often con jobs. Whenever I have
           | been advised a drastic dental job I visit a Govt or a
           | charitable medical college dental hospital here (India) and
           | get a consultation. I do not get "polite" or "sophisticated"
           | service there :D but I get honest and expert to the point
           | advice.
        
             | safety1st wrote:
             | I'm not suggesting that no one should floss. The
             | opportunity cost is low. You have nothing to lose by doing
             | it, other than a couple bucks spent on floss. It's similar
             | to multivitamins, the evidence on the benefits of those is
             | also low quality, but the most you have to lose is a couple
             | of bucks.
             | 
             | In theory if you think in an evidence-based way your
             | positions on flossing and multivitamins should be about the
             | same, which is interesting.
             | 
             | What's really important though is that the profession of
             | dentistry has not felt the need to fully study and
             | establish the benefits of one of their most foundational
             | recommendations.
             | 
             | Every dentist tells you to floss yet they have not bothered
             | to establish reliable evidentiary proof that it works. If
             | they don't care about evidence when it comes to flossing,
             | what other procedures are they pushing without solid
             | evidence of benefits?
             | 
             | The hot take way of saying this (and I do kind of believe
             | this) is that dentistry as a medical science is in its
             | infancy, and as a result, dentistry as a
             | profession/business is _partially_ snake oil.
             | 
             | All that said I have had one crown including a root canal
             | done in my life, the need was clear and it was done well
             | and professionally and I'm happy with it. So I'm not saying
             | that everyone should ignore dentists but this imho is an
             | important place in your life to consider getting second
             | opinions and steer towards professionals who are less
             | profit-driven when you can.
        
               | strokirk wrote:
               | Plenty of other professions have these kind of best-
               | practise recommendations that are not based on quantative
               | data, so it's likely something more universally human
               | rather than a function of the profession's age.
        
               | Qwertious wrote:
               | > The opportunity cost is low. You have nothing to lose
               | by doing it, other than a couple bucks spent on floss.
               | 
               | I have ADHD. I hate flossing, and I'd put off flossing to
               | the point where I wrecked my sleep cycle and tended to
               | end up just not brushing my teeth before bed.
               | 
               | Ever since I stopped flossing, I've basically always
               | brushed my teeth and have kept my sleep cycle more
               | successfully.
               | 
               | Yes, I know this is potentially _very bad dentally_ , but
               | frankly I'm sick of having a catastrophically unreliable
               | sleep cycle due to my mental illness and I'm willing to
               | accept half-assing it if it means it doesn't destroy my
               | life.
               | 
               | That said, I have no particular opinion on the
               | evidentiary base of flossing - my dentist has always
               | recommended I floss, and I believe his recommendation. I
               | would floss if I could.
        
               | mabcat wrote:
               | My situation somewhat overlaps with yours. I ordered a
               | "water flosser" from everyone's favourite ecommerce site,
               | and use it daily in the shower.
               | 
               | It seems to be doing something, and can't possibly be
               | worse than my previous flossing regime which was: "twice
               | a year the day before a dentist visit".
               | 
               | I wasn't willing to shell out for the name-brand water
               | flosser, other options do the same job at the same water
               | pressure for 1/4 the cost.
               | 
               | It took about a month to move up through the power
               | settings. Start on the lowest and click it up when that
               | starts to feel a bit tame.
               | 
               | I've now been using this thing for 6 months, it's just
               | about time to find out whether I get my bi-annual nagging
               | about the importance of flossing. My personal opinion:
               | Cochrane's probably right, flossing is most likely bunk,
               | but I'm pleased to have found a way to do it that I can
               | stand
        
               | b1zguy wrote:
               | Sorry, how does flossing impact?
        
           | __MatrixMan__ wrote:
           | Your first two points seem legit, but if you pay attention to
           | the measurements they're taking it's pretty easy to notice
           | that your periodontal pocket depths increase or decrease
           | based on whether you've been flossing or not (mine do at
           | least). And it's pretty obvious that deep pockets are a decay
           | precursor.
        
           | rdn wrote:
           | Once I went to a new dentist in a new area to do a teeth
           | cleaning. He told me I had 4 cavities that needed filling. I
           | was skeptical so I went to another one the next week. He said
           | 2 cavities. I went to two more that month to see what else
           | they'd say: one said no cavities, the other said 6. That was
           | 8 years ago, I still don't have any cavities.
        
             | bestnameever wrote:
             | I know my dentist sees cavities that he just lets be
             | because they are not an issue.
             | 
             | It seems a lot in dentistry of what does or does not need
             | to be done is subjective.
        
           | ransom1538 wrote:
           | Exactly. IMHO, dentistry has been a scam for 100 years. Every
           | 80 year old I know doesn't have teeth. Anytime you ask for
           | another opinion they act like the last dentist was an alien.
           | I think flossing is important, but when they tried to do a
           | study, nothing worked because all the dentists are lying scam
           | artists -- so if you floss or not is irrelevant.
        
             | function_seven wrote:
             | The lack of evidence for flossing astounds me.
             | 
             | I know that when I don't floss, my gums will bleed
             | sometimes during brushing and/or they'll get inflamed. When
             | I _do_ floss regularly, absolutely no issue with bleeding
             | or inflammation.
             | 
             | It's so clear to me that I can't imagine what the
             | difference is between my anecdata and whatever actual data
             | is coming from these studies.
        
               | wesapien wrote:
               | In my observation, flossing does work . The toothbrush
               | can't get to the crevices that a floss can. My gum
               | bleeding only happens when I'm flossing too rough or when
               | I'm starting to floss after a few days of skipping it.
        
               | safety1st wrote:
               | One of the issues in the now infamous meta analysis was
               | that many of the studies analyzed found some benefit, but
               | they were low quality studies.
               | 
               | So this doesn't necessarily mean that flossing doesn't
               | work. It may just mean that dentists are already making
               | money hand over fist and don't care enough to do good
               | studies and validate that.
               | 
               | BTW what was specifically looked at was whether
               | _unsupervised_ flossing works. So another possibility is
               | that flossing properly works but a lot of people do it
               | ineffectively.
               | 
               | All things you would want a conscientious, science-based
               | ADA to care about
        
               | zzbn00 wrote:
               | Also surprised, it seems to make such a big subjective
               | difference. One tip I got from a busy dentist who did not
               | want more business: smear a little toothpaste on the
               | floss before using it, work through all the places where
               | teeth contact. Gets flouride in places where it normally
               | would not get to.
        
               | Aerroon wrote:
               | > _When I do floss regularly, absolutely no issue with
               | bleeding or inflammation._
               | 
               | Do they bleed during flossing though? I used to get
               | bleeding gums after brushing teeth, but switching to a
               | softer toothbrush stopped it. Flossing, at the start,
               | does cause my gums to bleed though.
        
               | stephen_g wrote:
               | Yeah, that went away pretty quickly when I started
               | flossing regularly really for the first time, a year or
               | two ago (my dentist having strongly advised that I need
               | to). I do feel like it has made a positive difference,
               | but I have also cut back very significantly on sugary
               | drinks over roughly the same period, having improved my
               | diet a lot, so maybe that made more of a difference...
        
               | cstejerean wrote:
               | Flossing or brushing only causes bleeding for me when my
               | gums aren't healthy. For example after getting a proper
               | cleaning my gums won't bleed for weeks or months.
               | 
               | If they start bleeding again it's a sign I've not been
               | doing a good job staying on top of keeping them healthy.
        
               | function_seven wrote:
               | Only during the first 2-4 times (and lessening each day)
               | after having not flossed for a while.
               | 
               | After that, I never bleed during flossing. And I make
               | sure to get it up between the gum and each tooth, so
               | there's a decent (but appropriate) amount of floss/gum
               | friction.
        
               | alvarezbjm-hn wrote:
               | For me, flossing causes bleeding during the first week.
               | Afterwards, the bleeding stop and my sensitivity to
               | temperature improves greatly. My halitosis goes away on
               | most days, too.
               | 
               | My dental hygienist knows when I have been flossing and
               | when I haven't.
        
             | wesapien wrote:
             | The high priests of dental religion er.. science is
             | currently holding a trial over evolutionary dentistry
             | 
             | Dr Mike Mew, of 'Mewing', faces misconduct hearing - https:
             | //www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/14/orthodontist...
        
         | wesleyoneal wrote:
         | I used to have all sorts of issues with my teeth, and ended up
         | with 2 root canals, and crowns, and had 1 of them go bad. Ended
         | up with an implanted tooth. Yikes.
         | 
         | Learned later about how cavities work and figured out the best
         | routine for my teeth - floss and then brush (Philips electric
         | toothbrush) every morning. Brush and then fluoride rinse every
         | night. I always floss/brush before breakfast, and wait at least
         | 30 min after dinner to brush/fluoride rinse.
         | 
         | I haven't even had a cavity in 5+years, and my dentist always
         | says I don't even have any plaque to scrape off - "you have
         | good dental hygiene, and I don't say that very often"
        
           | kbutler wrote:
           | Sounds like you're doing great! But why floss in the morning
           | instead of at night to give the longest time without food
           | particles between your teeth?
        
         | beenBoutIT wrote:
         | This is expected in the US, the kicker is that even in the
         | comfortably socialist EU dentists generally aren't included in
         | the state healthcare unless it becomes an emergency room issue.
         | 
         | The dentist is in this regard a unique animal.
        
         | s5300 wrote:
         | [dead]
        
         | gumby wrote:
         | If you don't get dental insurance through work it's generally
         | not worth it (premiums > typical expense).
         | 
         | That doesn't sound necessarily bad -- insurance is for the
         | extraordinary events anyway, right? But when my kid had his
         | wisdom teeth out or I was hit by a car and needed a crown to
         | hold a damaged tooth together, my regular health insurance
         | covered it, not dental insurance.
        
         | spdustin wrote:
         | Also in the US, and also frustrated with the cost of dental
         | care. I was poor growing up, so the solution to major dental
         | issues was an emergency extraction. And I'm not exactly rolling
         | in it now, and having to deal with several missing fillings,
         | all uppers needing considerable work after an ill-informed
         | "LVI" veneer experience ~20 years ago, and a decade old
         | temporary implant that I could never afford to have finished
         | with the permanent. And yes, I do my damnedest to take care of
         | my teeth. Issues just keep piling up, and just one procedure
         | for one crown--with dental insurance--would still be >$1k.
         | 
         | It's depressing, honestly.
        
           | olliej wrote:
           | It's super rough in NZ as well.
           | 
           | Dentistry (though not optional orthodontics like cosmetic
           | braces) in NZ is free until you turn 18.
           | 
           | The _day_ you turn 18, it becomes private care only, and it
           | 's entirely out of pocket - just as you go off to university
           | and have no money for 3+ years.
        
             | midoridensha wrote:
             | Unlike the Anglosphere countries apparently, here in Japan
             | dental care is considered "medical" and an essential part
             | of healthcare, and is covered by medical insurance just
             | like any other medical problem. Cosmetic stuff of course is
             | extra, but the essentials are covered no differently than
             | any other procedure.
        
               | olliej wrote:
               | Health insurance in the US makes it super explicit:
               | "health insurance" does not cover dentistry or anything
               | vision related. Because being unable to eat or see is not
               | a health issue?
        
               | midoridensha wrote:
               | It's worse than that. Of course, you don't actually
               | "need" teeth to eat: you can just eat baby food all the
               | time I suppose. But a lot of infections in people start
               | in the mouth, and historically tooth infections were the
               | cause of early death for countless people. There's a
               | reason people needed bad teeth pulled in the days before
               | modern dentistry.
               | 
               | And yeah, vision checkups are pretty important to:
               | regular checkups find problems inside your eyes that will
               | cause blindness later.
               | 
               | The US seems to do an absolutely horrible job of
               | preventative healthcare. Here in Japan, everyone gets a
               | free yearly health checkup that looks for all kinds of
               | issues; it includes blood, urine, and stool testing, and
               | also includes hearing and vision checks, abdominal
               | ultrasounds, a chest x-ray, etc.
        
               | chefandy wrote:
               | Yeah-- the distinction strikes me as vestigial.
        
               | rjzzleep wrote:
               | In Germany it used to be that way a long time ago. Then
               | it went into base treatment free(amalgam fillings) and
               | rest paid. Having been in the backend of health policy in
               | Germany I can tell you that German current health
               | leadership has been pushing to move normal care in the
               | same direction as dental care to make more money.
        
             | wingworks wrote:
             | Yep, we get such a good start, then it's all downhill. At
             | 18 you're hardly a responsible adult.. And it's not exactly
             | cheap out of pocket here either. (though maybe better then
             | the US? maybe)
        
       | amelius wrote:
       | Can't we somehow transplant the gene from rodents that makes
       | their teeth regrow during their entire lives?
        
       | TheAceOfHearts wrote:
       | Hopefully this ends up going somewhere. We've been hearing for
       | decades how there's certain bacteria that nearly removes the
       | requirement to brush your teeth regularly, but it never seems to
       | reach the general public. Exciting times ahead if we can
       | ultimately destroy the need for the dental care industry. In a
       | few decades having to brush your teeth regularly will probably be
       | regarded as an antiquated practice.
        
         | andyjohnson0 wrote:
         | There would preaumably still be a need for brushing for hygiene
         | reasons, as well as gum health, even if tooth decay was a
         | solved problem.
        
           | letitbeirie wrote:
           | Yeah even if the bacterium magically took care of gum health,
           | it would need to somehow be able to dissolve tartar (calcium
           | phosphate) without dissolving teeth (also calcium phosphate).
        
       | westurner wrote:
       | "Anti-USAG-1 therapy for tooth regeneration through enhanced BMP"
       | (2021) https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abf1798
       | 
       | https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=6855835701389665111...
        
         | westurner wrote:
         | From "Reactivating Dormant Cells in the Retina Brings New Hope
         | for Vision Regeneration" (2023)
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35871917: direct neuronal
         | reprogramming (for retinal growth), Tissue NanoTransfection,
         | Muller glia
         | 
         | "TNT" out of Ohio State:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tissue_nanotransfection ; direct
         | (epithelial,) stroma reprogramming
         | 
         | Regenerative medicine:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_medicine
         | 
         | From https://www.ada.org/en/resources/research/health-policy-
         | inst... :
         | 
         | > _What share of U.S. children and adults have dental
         | benefits?_
         | 
         | > _Dental benefits coverage varies by age. For children ages
         | 2-18, 51.3 percent have private dental benefits, 38.5 percent
         | have dental benefits through Medicaid or the Children's Health
         | Insurance Program (CHIP), and 10.3 percent do not have dental
         | benefits. For adults ages 19-64, 59.0 percent have private
         | dental benefits, 7.4 percent have dental benefits through
         | Medicaid, and 33.6 percent do not have dental benefits. Source:
         | Dental Benefits Coverage in the U.S._
         | 
         | TIL about Dental lasers:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_laser
         | 
         | What percentage of dentists offices have lasers in the United
         | States?
         | https://www.google.com/search?q=what+percentage+of+dentist+o...
         | 
         | FWIU, dental lasers cost from $4-40K per unit, per station in
         | the office; and they may be tuned for specific applications or
         | general purpose. There's a waveguide to guide the beam; and
         | there are new waveguide methods for steering photon beams
         | through opaque tissue (with e.g. dual beams).
         | 
         | "Scientists Have Discovered a Drug [Tideglusib] That Fixes
         | Cavities and Regrows Teeth" (2017) that's already FDA approved
         | for Alzheimer's but there are yet no clinical trials of it as a
         | cavity fill?? https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-have-
         | discovered-thi...
         | 
         | Tideglusib: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tideglusib
         | 
         | Can teeth be grown in molds from e.g. stem cells, or
         | nanotransfected tissue with/without a 3-d printed scaffold or
         | [...]?
         | 
         | Dental care probably has direct returns in labor productivity?
        
       | bilekas wrote:
       | I misunderstood this article. I read that yes, they can trigger
       | new teeth to grow. For some reason I thought they nailed how to
       | regrow tooth enamel for example. My thinking was, if you can grow
       | a tooth, you can regrow the current. THAT is the dream. But this
       | super amazing study and experiment isn't going to change the
       | world of orthodonti.
       | 
       | Brush your teeth and keep the floss handy!
        
       | orcul wrote:
       | Long overdue.
        
       | myself248 wrote:
       | On the other side of things, why don't we use little bits of
       | botox to prevent wisdom teeth from growing in the first place?
        
         | spartanatreyu wrote:
         | Wisdom teeth aren't the problem, they're supposed to be there.
         | Wisdom teeth getting compacted are a symptom of a larger
         | problem.
         | 
         | If a child is not fed enough tough foods, then they end up not
         | using and developing their facial muscles correctly.
         | 
         | If those muscles which should be guiding the jaw into it's
         | correct position aren't being used correctly, they end up
         | causing the jaw to not develop properly. Now you end up with a
         | mouth-breathing child who has a reverse swallow, crowded teeth,
         | and is going to need braces, a retainer, and possibly a CPAP
         | machine.
        
           | jvidalv wrote:
           | Can you back this data up with any source?
           | 
           | Afaik here in Spain is rather common to have your wisdom
           | teeth pullet out (I have), and it's the first time I hear
           | this theory.
        
             | tomjakubowski wrote:
             | It's based on this hypothesis that bone growth, including
             | in the jaw, is determined by the exercise of soft tissues.
             | 
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_matrix_hypothesis
        
         | jurassicfoxy wrote:
         | Maybe you just came up with a good idea for a PhD in dentistry.
        
           | myself248 wrote:
           | I'm already full-up on hobbies, jobs, and callings,
           | thankyouverymuch!
        
       | tgv wrote:
       | Don't get your hopes up, and keep brushing your teeth: "The tooth
       | regrowth medicine is intended for people who lack a full set of
       | adult teeth due to congenital factors (anodontia)". There is a
       | vague hope to develop it so that people who lose teeth can use it
       | to regrow, but that seems to be another ball game.
        
         | XorNot wrote:
         | It does perhaps change the ball game though I would presume -
         | if the goal is to grow a tooth which didn't develop, it changes
         | the requirement to regrow a tooth to just regenerating whatever
         | root structure you need to trigger that (which I would assume
         | is a collection of specialized cells/nerves etc. which you
         | could imagine maybe assembling from stem cells in a scaffold
         | and implanting).
        
         | troft wrote:
         | [flagged]
        
           | RajT88 wrote:
           | Sharks in general don't need therapy.
           | 
           | Their primary problem solving method is biting stuff. As long
           | as those keep growing they can keep solving all of life's
           | problems.
        
         | swayvil wrote:
         | I have a friend with notoothia. Only in one tooth tho. And ya,
         | it's weird looking. She got an implant. One of those titanium
         | screws. It works but the gum is weird and the tooth is
         | missized.
         | 
         | Would she switch it for a grown tooth given the option? I
         | dunno.
        
         | abwizz wrote:
         | > There is a vague hope to develop it so that people who lose
         | teeth can use it to regrow, but that seems to be another ball
         | game.
         | 
         | why does this seem to be another ball game?
        
         | mnau wrote:
         | Certain-not-to-be-named-due-to-spam-filter-medicament-on-V was
         | intended for heart related chest pain.
         | 
         | My wallet doesn't ask for who it was intended. It asks: Will it
         | work and can I buy it?
        
           | Y_Y wrote:
           | You've just got to format it as an email address: vi@g.ra
        
         | momirlan wrote:
         | Once the technology is public, anyone can use it for whatever
         | purpose. Research direction is not the same as commercial
         | application.
        
         | pengaru wrote:
         | I get the impression that they're targeting the easy case first
         | since stimulating tooth growth there is causing what was
         | supposed to happen anyways, with less likelihood of conflict
         | with the existing teeth.
         | 
         | But the article makes it sound plausible that it'd work for
         | normal adults too in that new tooth growth would occur. It's
         | just unclear how/if they guide that growth to a specific area,
         | or if it has to be wholesale replacement of the set of teeth
         | like losing your baby teeth.
         | 
         | Maybe what will happen is once you get to a certain point of
         | dental misery you just get on the medicine blocking USAG-1 and
         | have all the remaining teeth pulled, then wait for the new
         | teeth to grow in...
        
           | mcswell wrote:
           | This is all hypothetical, of course, but: you don't have to
           | lose all your baby teeth in order for your adult teeth to
           | come in. Somehow an adult tooth coming in causes the baby
           | tooth's root to dissolve (if that's the right word) and then
           | pushes the remaining baby tooth out of the way. So you might
           | not need to lose your adult teeth in order for the next-gen
           | teeth to come in.
        
           | im3w1l wrote:
           | Some animals have continuosly growing teeth. Maybe with the
           | right chemicals that could be encouraged in humans too.
        
             | Loughla wrote:
             | It seems like turning on a switch for continuously growing
             | anything is a recipe for cancer. Modern medicine and what
             | it accomplishes continues to absolutely astound me with
             | what is possible.
        
               | therein wrote:
               | An unconditional one is but selectivity and reversibility
               | is the key. Nothing makes that unachievable, just more
               | complicated.
               | 
               | Teeth growth is a good target for such experimentation.
               | Given its relatively easily operable nature allowing
               | convenient observation of progress and intervention if
               | needed.
               | 
               | We already can accelerate the regrowth of fingernails
               | after losing one. This is the next easiest target if you
               | ask me.
        
               | pengaru wrote:
               | A shorter path to market might be to grow replacements in
               | a sacrificial host using harvested stem cells from the
               | recipient. Transplanting into the socket once
               | sufficiently developed, with some of the magic sauce
               | topically applied at the interface to promote it all
               | taking root and growing into its new home...
               | 
               | It sounded like they were doing experiments with
               | transplants as well in one of the papers I skimmed.
               | 
               | I might actually prefer that approach if it had a high
               | success rate, to replace a thoroughly trashed tooth.
               | Seems preferable to exposing oneself to the new treatment
               | for the entire duration of tooth development. Especially
               | if all you need is one replacement...
        
           | fendy3002 wrote:
           | CMIIW, but when baby teeth is already grown (appear), the
           | other adult set is actually kept hidden inside, not that it
           | grow.
           | 
           | I guess it won't be simply as stimulate teeth growth like
           | nail.
        
             | lelanthran wrote:
             | > CMIIW, but when baby teeth is already grown (appear), the
             | other adult set is actually kept hidden inside, not that it
             | grow.
             | 
             | Yup. See this skull of a child with the adult teeth ready
             | to come out and push the baby teeth out of the way
             | (warning, some people find the image very repulsive, even
             | though it's basically a textbook picture of a skull):
             | 
             | https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/9541/is-this-
             | im...
        
               | dotnet00 wrote:
               | I think it comes off as more repulsive because we're not
               | used to seeing those parts of the skull cut away, putting
               | it in the uncanny valley. What helped me to not be as
               | repulsed by it was realizing that those parts of the
               | skull aren't meant to be "uncovered" to show the adult
               | teeth in the first place.
        
               | toyg wrote:
               | The human body is so amazing... It evolved to ship ready-
               | made replacement parts to ensure the product would
               | complete its deployment (reaching puberty and reproducing
               | for a decade or two).
        
         | dghughes wrote:
         | I have GERD and the only reason I found out was my dentist told
         | me. It was because my teeth became so sensitive a room
         | temperature banana was too cold. Lots of pain and still. It's
         | from coughing due to acid reflux and acid splash up onto my
         | teeth. It can also get into my lungs and over time damage them
         | too by causing scarring.
        
           | manmal wrote:
           | Did you have no idea at all, as in, you never felt heartburn
           | in the evening? I wonder if eating the last meal at eg 4PM
           | wouldn't improve this considerably.
        
             | withinboredom wrote:
             | As someone else who has some serious GERD, no, you don't
             | really notice. It's like boiling a frog (unless you get an
             | acute version). You just suddenly realize: hey, I seem to
             | be having heartburn all the time, I don't remember it being
             | like this... maybe I should go to the doc? And then you're
             | fine for a few days and put it off.
             | 
             | And no, eating at different times won't magically make your
             | sphincter to your stomach close any tighter.
        
               | manmal wrote:
               | > eating at different times won't magically make your
               | sphincter to your stomach close any tighter
               | 
               | Stomach acid is also produced as reaction to food intake
               | and other signals. Less acid => less reflux?
               | 
               | BTW probiotics have been found potentially effective by
               | this systematic review:
               | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7019778/
               | 
               | This is probably not as simple as blaming the
               | dysfunctional sphincter.
               | 
               | IMO early time restricted feeding shouldn't be dismissed
               | so quickly, it's potentially a fix for a number of
               | systemic and gastric/enteric issues. The evidence is
               | still weak but promising. The most important part here is
               | ,,early" - intermittent fasting usually has an eating
               | window in the afternoon and maybe right until bed time.
               | According to some (weak) studies, moving the eating
               | window to the morning and early afternoon has vastly
               | different effects.
        
               | ajolly wrote:
               | There are exercises you can do that help with acid reflux
               | - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9550520/
               | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9106553/
               | 
               | Also alginate based products create a raft that block the
               | acid from physically coming up.
               | 
               | The early time restricted feeding stuff is very
               | interesting, and new to me - but I did learn a lot about
               | it reading this guys blog
               | -https://caloriesproper.com/etrf-2022/
        
               | szopa wrote:
               | Thanks for sharing the exercises! What seems to have
               | helped me was losing weight (not easy at all, but has
               | many additional benefits). There are some additional
               | exercises (look for "hiatal hernia exercises" on
               | YouTube), which are very simple and sometimes can get you
               | instant relief. It's surprising so few people know about
               | them. The comments section under those videos is often
               | full of messages along the lines of "I've been suffering
               | for years, this video changed my life." It's really
               | helpful to know you can do _something_ about it that does
               | not involve taking PPIs every single day.
        
               | ajolly wrote:
               | One other hugely useful change has been drinking alkaline
               | water - it immediately stops the burning in the back of
               | my throat, and is useful even if your issues are pepsin
               | based and not just acid reflux. It should be good for
               | dental/esophageal health as well.
               | 
               | I'll check out the hiatal hernia exercises, thanks!
               | 
               | Other possible solutions: d-limone In one unpublished
               | trial, subjects took one gram of d-limonene every other
               | day for 20 days, on an empty stomach (that is, half an
               | hour before eating or an hour afterward). A third of them
               | experienced relief from their heartburn after a single
               | capsule, and within two weeks 90 percent had relief.
               | After a single course of treatment, relief lasted for up
               | to six months.
               | 
               | Licorice The natural solution for ulcers,
               | deglycyrrhizinated licorice root (DGL), can also be an
               | effective acid reflux treatment. The suggested dose of
               | DGL is two tablets, chewed about 20 minutes before meals,
               | three times a day, or it can be taken shortly before
               | bedtime if you suffer mostly from nighttime acid reflux.
               | Use only chewable DGL--it must be mixed with saliva in
               | order to be effective.
               | 
               | IQORO - It's like a pacifier put behind lips and pull.
               | 
               | inspiratory muscle training
               | 
               | Throat Band https://blog.fauquierent.net/2014/05/cricoid-
               | pressure-may-mi... https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_do
               | cs/reviews/DEN130046.p...
               | 
               | and then the standard advice of inclining your bed /
               | sleep on your left side.
        
               | jaggederest wrote:
               | > Less acid => less reflux?
               | 
               | Weirdly, I've also heard from people in that situation
               | that more acid => less reflux because the sphincter only
               | closes in high-pH environments. So one of the things
               | prescribed can be hydrochloric acid supplements. Some
               | people swear by them.
        
               | dkersten wrote:
               | Symptoms of chronic acid reflux, laryngopharyngeal reflux
               | and heartburn can also be caused by hypochlorhydria (low
               | stomach acid), in which case taking hydrochloric acid
               | will obviously also reduce the symptoms in that case.
        
               | withinboredom wrote:
               | Yep, chugging some lemon juice can be instant pain, but
               | makes it go away in seconds. Apples also work amazingly.
        
               | withinboredom wrote:
               | > This is probably not as simple as blaming the
               | dysfunctional sphincter.
               | 
               | In my case, that is exactly what it is (a hernia). Other
               | people may have different reasons for it.
        
               | refulgentis wrote:
               | You're 100% right, I got the doctor rush to prescribe
               | treatment on this when I was 24. Was never enough
               | 
               | Finally instilled some healthy habits by 32, namely no
               | excessively large meals and no eating big meals ~3 hours
               | before bed and it magically disappeared.
               | 
               | I just had my first bout in a while yesterday - 2 smalls
               | pizza is still 2 pizzas folks!
        
             | dghughes wrote:
             | No I mean I had heartburn sometimes but who hasn't but
             | really I didn't think it was unusually bad. Of all my
             | symptoms the one that should have stood out was coughing.
             | Acid splashes up and gets into your airway and you cough.
             | There may not even be any heartburn feeling. I had that for
             | years even as a teenager. I thought I was smart because I
             | figured out as a teen an antacid would make my weird cough
             | go away but I had never heard of GERD what teen has? This
             | was well before the Internet age.
             | 
             | My issue is I can stop eating at 5pm or even 4pm but at
             | night if I roll over on my stomach it pushes on it and I
             | vomit up digest food. There's nothing like sitting bolt
             | upright from that feeling as you aspirate into your lungs
             | at 3am! Even lying on my side doesn't help I can feel acid
             | pour into my throat.
             | 
             | PPI meds like Prevacid make me feel bad just an all around
             | blah feeling. they are not supposed to be taken long term
             | and I've read ppi medications may damage kidneys. I think
             | similar to high blood pressure medicine it has some effect
             | on kidneys and can even cause coughing due to it.
             | 
             | One weird quirk though is at my worst if I got sick with
             | the flu my acid reflux went away.
             | 
             | So for now watch my diet, eat somewhat sensibly (almost
             | impossible since everything is a trigger), and try not to
             | eat too late.
        
           | xupybd wrote:
           | My reflux seems to have gone now that I'm on CPAP for my
           | Apnea. No idea if that would apply to anyone else but I still
           | thought it was worth sharing.
        
             | squarefoot wrote:
             | Same here, the CPAP did wonders for treating apnea, and I
             | also stopped snoring, to my fiancee's joy. About the
             | reflux, the CPAP seems to have helped, although I already
             | reduced it by a lot by anticipating dinner so that I would
             | go to bed long after digestion was complete.
        
               | xupybd wrote:
               | My wife couldn't sleep through my snoring after we had
               | our first child. Her hormone changes gave her trouble
               | sleeping and the extra tiredness, from a baby, meant my
               | snoring got worse. She demanded that I go to a doctor to
               | sort it out. I thought there was nothing they could do.
               | Turns out a CPAP stopped my snoring. It's amazing what an
               | impact treating the apnea has had. My mind is clear, my
               | memory is back and I can focus like I did in university.
               | Truly life changing.
        
             | 1letterunixname wrote:
             | It makes sense because the oral cavity (no pun intended) is
             | under positive pressure with CPAP. Not everyone has sleep
             | apnea and not everyone can tolerate CPAP, so it's not a
             | universal solution to GERD. My GERD would be solvable
             | during hiatal hernia surgery.
        
           | DropInIn wrote:
           | I had bad undiagnosed allergies for years that made me vomit
           | for hours a day every day (amount many other things).
           | 
           | Cost the 4 rearmost teeth on the top side not including the
           | wisdom teeth which were prob gonna need to go anyways.
           | 
           | They got eaten away because doctors were negligent and now
           | every time I move and get a new dentist they treat me like I
           | treat my mouth like shit.... Nah, I just had most of them
           | damaged by literally thousands of liters of stomach acid,
           | bile, and black stuff which was apparently blood from
           | somewhere they can't see scarring on now... thanks doc.
           | 
           | Anyways I guess that my way of saying I sympathize.
        
             | themitigating wrote:
             | What were you allergic too?
        
               | DropInIn wrote:
               | Oh boy, "the list"... Here goes a simplified version:
               | 
               | Beef chicken and pork (other meats untested, manual
               | exposure testing required) ALL nightshades (potato's
               | tomatoes peppers etc) the Entire Carrot/Celery/Parsley
               | family (it's big) Lettuces (ridiculous, it's just water!)
               | Rice Oats All berries All tree pollens including that
               | contaminating food.... (This is the real kicker, as it
               | hurt worst when ingested) And some uncommon stuff is
               | honestly always forget even existed and then get freaked
               | out when I realized I missed it on the list
               | 
               | Thankfully they all went away, supposedly due to age
               | related changes to body chemistry.
        
               | DropInIn wrote:
               | HN won't let me edit or delete the first time I replied
               | and I don't like how its formatted. Though I just tested
               | and am adding this sentence as an edit, strange site
               | behavior... Sorry for repost folks but need to:
               | 
               | Oh boy, "the list"... Here goes a simplified version:
               | 
               | Beef chicken and pork (other meats untested, manual
               | exposure testing required)
               | 
               | ALL nightshades (potato's tomatoes peppers etc)
               | 
               | the Entire Carrot/Celery/Parsley family (it's big)
               | 
               | Lettuces (ridiculous, it's just water!)
               | 
               | Rice (and related)
               | 
               | Oats (and related)
               | 
               | All berries
               | 
               | All tree pollens including that contaminating food....
               | (This is the real kicker, as it hurt worst when ingested)
               | 
               | And some uncommon stuff is honestly always forget even
               | existed and then get freaked out when I realized I missed
               | it on the list
               | 
               | Thankfully they all went away, supposedly due to age
               | related changes to body chemistry.
        
         | water-data-dude wrote:
         | Bummer, I was hoping for shark teeth powers
        
           | minibrusp163 wrote:
           | [flagged]
        
           | Tagbert wrote:
           | This will give you the regrowth but the teeth will look like
           | shark teeth. That might cause some odd looks and be careful
           | not to bite your tongue. You'll only be able to do that once!
           | :-)
        
             | Electricniko wrote:
             | Tongue replacement is already a thing, oddly enough.
        
               | withinboredom wrote:
               | Ha! I bit off my tongue from falling a pretty good
               | height. My knee came up and hit my chin, forcibly closing
               | my mouth on my screaming face.
               | 
               | When I could finally move again (was paralyzed for a
               | bit), and got to the hospital, they just told me to keep
               | my mouth shut. Apparently, your tongue is just a muscle,
               | so it will reattach itself.
               | 
               | It was a shitty few weeks, but at least I didn't break
               | any bones or land on my head.
        
               | codethief wrote:
               | > Apparently, your tongue is just a muscle, so it will
               | reattach itself.
               | 
               | Wait, what? Could you elaborate? How does that work?
        
               | withinboredom wrote:
               | I couldn't move my tongue for a few days (to let it
               | reattach) then it was painful for a few more days, then
               | some of it turned white and rotted off over a few weeks.
               | But other than some gnarly teeth shaped scars, it works
               | and functions like a normal tongue after 20 years.
               | 
               | Carrying around a note explaining why I couldn't talk was
               | also entertaining.
        
               | Reason077 wrote:
               | Ouch! I did something similar snowboarding in my early
               | 20s. Landed a badly timed jump on to hard, flat snow and
               | slammed my knee into my chin. Thankfully did not catch my
               | tongue, but shattered several teeth!
               | 
               | I remember wondering how I'd ended up with a mouthful of
               | sand and grit. It wasn't sand.
        
               | ClumsyPilot wrote:
               | > Thankfully did not catch my tongue, but shattered
               | several teeth!
               | 
               | Not sure whats worse.
        
             | ooterness wrote:
             | I'm fine with this.
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | eikenberry wrote:
         | Seems like it shouldn't be referred to as a "regrowth" medicine
         | when you're talking about something that didn't grow in the
         | first place.
        
           | MagicMoonlight wrote:
           | It's talking about growing a third set of teeth so it is
           | regrowth
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | refulgentis wrote:
           | That has a fascinating answer but requires R, no TL;DR from
           | me :)
        
           | sigstoat wrote:
           | some newspaper translator had to figure out how to translate
           | the novel(ish?) phrase Chi Sheng eYao . what do you want?
           | it's not like this is FDA-approved marketing materials for
           | something that's actually available.
        
             | userbinator wrote:
             | It's not exactly difficult:                   Chi  - tooth
             | Sheng e - grow         Yao  - medicine
             | 
             | Doesn't say anything about "regrowth" though.
        
         | pessimizer wrote:
         | > for people who lack a full set of adult teeth due to
         | congenital factors (anodontia)
         | 
         | I've got this, and 1% of people have this. I'd have to imagine
         | that most of them would have obliterated the spot where they
         | could grow these hypothetical new teeth by getting implants,
         | though. So, I'd even think that it's really a treatment for
         | children.
         | 
         | When I was a small child, it was already absolutely certain
         | that I wasn't ever going to get my lateral incisors.
        
           | MauroIksem wrote:
           | [flagged]
        
           | cmrdporcupine wrote:
           | So my son is like this. Missing a whole bunch of teeth,
           | they'll never come in. Now the question is... wait for this?
           | Or just get implants. He's already way past this 2-6 age
           | range, too :-( Tough.
        
             | jopsen wrote:
             | What is the downside to implants?
             | 
             | Just curious.
        
             | dzdt wrote:
             | This is at way to early a stage to plan around. It is just
             | reaching human safety trials, which is the very earliest
             | part of human trials looking solely for adverse effects.
             | Even in the best possible scenario it would be many years
             | still before this might be available as a treatment. Most
             | drugs which reach this phase of development do not ever
             | become available as a treatment.
        
           | tivert wrote:
           | > I'd have to imagine that most of them would have
           | obliterated the spot where they could grow these hypothetical
           | new teeth by getting implants
           | 
           | Maybe not. Apparently implants are not common everywhere. I
           | have a Chinese friend who recently got them in the US after
           | an accident, he had some medical connections back home who
           | said the procedure isn't very available in China.
        
           | bch wrote:
           | I've had "Maryland Bridges" in mine for years (apparently
           | longer than the bridges are typically expected to last (?)),
           | so there are some of us adults around...
           | 
           | But sadly for me:                 Once confirmed to have no
           | ill effects on the human body, it will be aimed at treating
           | children aged 2 to 6 who exhibit anodontia.
        
       | nntwozz wrote:
       | Sounds exciting and less of a hassle than CRISPR-Cas9 genome
       | editing shark DNA (sharks regrow teeth when needed). They lose at
       | least 30.000 teeth over a lifetime...
        
         | amelius wrote:
         | From a Google search:
         | 
         | > Unlike humans, all sharks are born with teeth. They grow in
         | conveyor-belt rows, with the biggest teeth facing outwards.
         | Over time, the smaller teeth in the back move up, replacing the
         | front ones. Most sharks have between 5-15 rows, and the whale
         | shark has a whopping 3,000 teeth in its mouth!
         | 
         | Not sure if you'd want that!
        
         | lockhouse wrote:
         | Try our new plasmid Shark Bite by Ryan Industries...Regrow
         | teeth whenever they're needed!
        
           | tandr wrote:
           | (In reaally small letters below)
           | 
           | Consumer warning: might cause drowsiness, or anxiety. Teeth
           | growth is guaranteed, but the location of newly grown teeth
           | is not. Consult your doctor if you have high blood pressure,
           | pregnant, or breastfeeding. Do not take with alcohol.
        
             | 20after4 wrote:
             | Extended version: low-contrast grey on white:
             | 
             | Teeth growth is guaranteed, the location and the shape of
             | newly grown teeth is not. Expect replacement teeth to be
             | distinctly sharper than your existing molars. Use caution
             | when chewing. Although rare, some patients experience
             | changes in appetite that can be permanent. Avoid swimming
             | and contact your doctor if you experience strong cravings
             | for raw meat, or a noticeable increase in desire to bite
             | people or pets.
        
               | tandr wrote:
               | "Do not swim if you suspect there could be even traces of
               | blood in the water."?
        
       | windex wrote:
       | I've given up on science being able to do anything other than for
       | mice or create a new subscription service for lifelong meds. I
       | suppose actual cures aren't profitable. I am tired of being
       | cynical but that's the cycle we have all been on.
        
         | 20after4 wrote:
         | Extreme cynicism is extremely warranted.
        
       | ACV001 wrote:
       | This is not only not dentist's dream, but this is their nightmare
       | as well as others' like toothpaste producers.
        
         | mock-possum wrote:
         | I mean there are other good reasons to brush your teeth apart
         | from just tooth decay. Your gums are important too - also if
         | you're ever going to kiss anyone, they're probably going to
         | prefer your mouth not smell and taste like a decaying corpse.
        
         | Tade0 wrote:
         | My experience is that this field is very, let's say, business-
         | savvy, so it's safe to say they'll figure out how to profit off
         | of this.
         | 
         | Most dentists that I've been to have more business than they're
         | able to serve, so I suppose their client base won't dry up too
         | soon - especially that such procedures are bound to be
         | expensive - at least initially.
         | 
         | Then there's orthodontics, because who says that this new tooth
         | will grow perfectly straight?
        
         | andai wrote:
         | Change is the state.
         | 
         | Embrace Tooth Regrowth Serum Salesman.
        
       | calo_star wrote:
       | When can we have anything effective against tinnitus...
        
       | bjarneh wrote:
       | > _" The idea of growing new teeth is every dentist's dream"_
       | 
       | Wouldn't that be every dentist's nightmare? Who gonna want that
       | root canal or crown when they can just pull + regrow?
        
         | pantulis wrote:
         | Well, that "pull + regrow" would also be performed by a dentist
         | anyway and I guess it would be more expensive than your usual
         | canal & crown procedure.
        
       | stan_kirdey wrote:
       | ChatGPT and now this, damn it is good to be alive
        
       | endisneigh wrote:
       | It's not the same thing but you can currently buy novamin and
       | nano hydroxyapatite based pastes which help to remineralize
       | enamel (they do not regrown teeth completely).
       | 
       | On the note of dental hygiene I recommend, in addition to the
       | standard stuff:
       | 
       | 1. Rising your mouth with water immediately after eating. If
       | you're at a restaurant just drink some water, swish rigorously
       | for 15 seconds and swallow.
       | 
       | 2. Flossing regularly soon after eating. Couple with a water
       | flosser if possible.
        
         | eclipticplane wrote:
         | Where can you buy said pastes or products in the USA?
        
           | ajolly wrote:
           | I like Dr jens super paste, it was one of the only ones I was
           | able to find that has the 10% concentration that's been shown
           | most effective in clinical trials. Apagard Royal does too but
           | that's pricier
        
             | laweijfmvo wrote:
             | Nothing has worked for me so far but just discovered Dr
             | Jens so I'm hopeful and glad to see it worked for you!
        
           | soligern wrote:
           | You can get the Indian version of sensodyne with novamin on
           | Amazon. It's not particularly cheap though.
        
         | ajolly wrote:
         | You want the 10% concentration, studies show that's most
         | effective.
        
         | PixelForg wrote:
         | > Couple with a water flosser if possible.
         | 
         | Aren't they generally less effective than flossing with
         | threads?
        
           | endisneigh wrote:
           | Nah basically the same
           | 
           | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8236551/
           | 
           | I'd still use both as the abrasive action is likely to catch
           | some things water cannot. And water able to reach areas more
           | easily string cannot.
        
         | Laaas wrote:
         | Doesn't this also happen from just eating?
        
           | SapporoChris wrote:
           | Excellent question: I would also like to know the benefits of
           | brushing without toothpaste vs with toothpaste.
           | 
           | Irrelevant anecdote: I had cavities as a preteen but none
           | after. My dental hygiene is non rigorous brushing at least
           | once a day, more if a tooth begins to feel sensitive. Last
           | dentist visit 20 years ago.
        
         | argonaut wrote:
         | Novamin is not really better than fluoride, from when I looked
         | at the studies.
         | 
         | Nano hydroxyapatite combined with fluoride has a little bit
         | better evidence for it being better than fluoride alone.
        
         | moffkalast wrote:
         | Have you seen your enamel improve using those? I've used a
         | Sensodyne one for a year with zero results and switched back.
         | My dentist seemed unsurprised by those results, so the effect
         | is probably miniscule in general if there's any at all.
        
           | endisneigh wrote:
           | Unless you bought the foreign one you didn't get novamin. Try
           | again with David's with uses nano hydroxyapatite and can be
           | bought in the USA
        
             | moffkalast wrote:
             | Well I'm in Europe, so I'm not sure if I can buy the same
             | ones. It had novamin listed on the packaging ingredients so
             | unless they're blatantly lying, it had it.
        
               | endisneigh wrote:
               | Heh, touche. The European one should have novamin. The
               | effect isn't supposed to be drastic. In fact I stopped
               | using novamin as well because the studies I read didn't
               | show substantial difference vs fluoride toothpaste. I
               | assume your dentist didn't notice much? I'd still give
               | nano hydroxyapatite a try.
        
               | [deleted]
        
           | adastra22 wrote:
           | Yes. Sensodyne is worthless in my experience, but brushing
           | with a toothpaste I bought in Japan to restore enamel really
           | worked. It had very immediate effects and my teeth kept the
           | protective enamel even after I ran out.
        
             | jacoblambda wrote:
             | Yep that'll happen depending where you live.
             | 
             | Sensodyne has a bioglass (sometimes called hydroxyapatite,
             | NOVAMIN, or Biomin) which is what you are describing
             | however it's excluded from the Sensodyne sold in the US.
             | The reason why is a long story [1] but if you want "good"
             | Sensodyne you have to import it from literally anywhere
             | else or buy a no-flouride biomin version (made by Dr.
             | Collins who decided to go through the FDA process) in the
             | US. Both are luckily pretty easy to get on Amazon however
             | there's a bit of a markup.
             | 
             | 1. https://medium.com/@ravenstine/the-curious-history-of-
             | novami...
        
             | amelius wrote:
             | Could you provide more information, like a brand name?
        
               | adastra22 wrote:
               | "APAGARD Premio" is what it says on the tube.
               | Hydroxyapatite.
        
               | amelius wrote:
               | Thanks!
        
               | ajolly wrote:
               | Fyi apagard premio has a 5-6% concentration, you ideally
               | want 10%. That's what's been shown to be most effective
               | in clinical trials, Apagard Royal has 10% but you can
               | find similar concentrations cheaper from other brands.
        
           | Faaak wrote:
           | There are various sensodyne pastes. The one with novamin (in
           | Europe) is called "repair and protect
        
           | jrockway wrote:
           | For me, this kind of toothpaste was much worse for
           | sensitivity than a high-fluoride toothpaste you can get
           | prescribed by your dentist. (It's a prescription, but it's
           | inexpensive.)
        
             | jacoblambda wrote:
             | The bioglass toothpastes (i.e. the ones that contain
             | NOVAMIN or Biomin) are doing something different than high-
             | flouride toothpastes.
             | 
             | The biolgass ones aren't really "restoring enamel" but they
             | "refill" (remineralise) the enamel with all the minerals
             | that slowly leach out before the enamel actually wears
             | away.
             | 
             | The flouride toothpastes act by hardening the structures
             | those other minerals make up which increases the resistance
             | of your teeth.
             | 
             | They both do different things but they work well together.
             | In the US you won't find them both in the same toothpaste
             | (only Biomin C/without flouride is FDA approved) but
             | outside the US you can find Sensodyne with NOVAMIN and
             | flouride as well as Biomin F (with flouride).
             | 
             | So depending where you live, you might want to give them
             | another shot but making sure you use both bioglass and
             | flouride (I personally do a dot on my toothbrush of both
             | Dr. Collins Biomin Restore and Colgate PreviDent 1.1% NaF
             | 5% KNO3). At least for me it has worked a lot better than
             | just doing one or the other.
        
               | patientpatient wrote:
               | I have thought about this in regards to combining
               | stannous fluoride with hydroxapatite due to the synergy
               | between fluoride and hydroxyapatite (Although I believe
               | most studies which have found this synergy used sodium
               | fluoride, not the traditionally superior stannous
               | fluoride, so not sure if the synergy will uphold). I
               | think there are only a few toothpastes on the market with
               | a proper concentration of both sodium fluoride and
               | hydroxyapatite, have not seen any mouth rinses with both.
               | The problem with mixing mouthrinses or toothpastes is
               | that you will inevitably reduce the concentrations of
               | both active ingredients, in absolute quantity they will
               | be the same, but I wonder if they will become overwhelmed
               | and nullified by the relatively larger quantity of non
               | active ingredients. IIRC hydroxyapatite in toothpaste is
               | rated 10% max in EU, and it's also most effective at that
               | amount, for mouth rinses it is 0.465 %. It would actually
               | be easier to find some high fluoride toothpaste that
               | would suffer less from dilution, I've heard
               | recommendations of around 1500ppm, so if I am not
               | mistaken getting a 3000ppm toothpaste would allow for ok
               | dilution if only you had another with 20% hydroxyapatite
               | in a 1:1 ratio. Overall the solution I am settling on is
               | fluoride rinses when waking up and going to bed, and
               | hydroxyapatite toothpaste twice a day, no clue about the
               | synergy there, but seems reasonable as most
               | hydroxyapatite pastes are filling the no fluoride market
               | niche, which comes with the nice benefit that they aren't
               | filled with a bunch of other trash inactive ingredients,
               | meanwhile fluoride mouth rinse less affected by such
               | things compared to fluoride toothpastes.
        
               | ajolly wrote:
               | I found Dr jens super paste with both Floride and 10%
               | nanohydroxypatite, and xylitol but not stannous fluoride.
               | 
               | You can't get high PPM fluoride without getting a
               | prescription unfortunately.
        
               | wingworks wrote:
               | Be carful using high PPM fluoride. Too much fluoride can
               | cause white spots to appear on your teeth. (I believe the
               | dentist can clear the spots, but don't quote me on that)
        
               | jrockway wrote:
               | Ah, just mix 'em on the brush? Good idea. I will try
               | that.
        
             | ajolly wrote:
             | For sensitivity specifically, check out one that has
             | arginine in it, it blocks the dentin tubules.
             | 
             | https://www.colgateprofessional.com/dentist-
             | resources/caries...
        
           | 01100011 wrote:
           | They've worked for me several times over the years when I had
           | sensitivity issues. Takes a month or so to notice and you
           | should be careful not to drink water for a while after you
           | use them.
        
             | wredue wrote:
             | You're not supposed to drink water or use mouth wash for a
             | while after using fluoride toothpaste either.
        
           | mdorazio wrote:
           | I'll offer another point in support of your experience. I
           | purchased the non-US Sensodyne, verified it had Novamin, used
           | the entire tube as directed with no water drinking for at
           | least half an hour afterward, and saw zero results.
        
       | vinni2 wrote:
       | > The idea of growing new teeth is every dentist's dream.
       | 
       | Reall? Dentists prefer rotten teeth which takes a lot of money to
       | fix.
        
       | beenBoutIT wrote:
       | If this can effectively regrow replacement teeth it seems that
       | the dentist will want more than anything to suppress or somehow
       | monopolize the technology in order to maintain their role as
       | "fixers of teeth".
       | 
       | Otherwise, it's just a matter of time before any doctor (or
       | layman) will be able to pull damaged teeth and then easily regrow
       | them, avoiding the endless thousands that would be otherwise
       | charged for dental repairs.
        
         | Johnny555 wrote:
         | >Otherwise, it's just a matter of time before any doctor (or
         | layman) will be able to pull damaged teeth and then easily
         | regrow them
         | 
         | I'd sure like to know that the person pulling my tooth knows
         | how to evaluate it with an x-ray to see if it really needs to
         | be pulled (and to see if the bone structure beneath it is
         | healthy enough to regrow a tooth), and is trained to administer
         | appropriate dental painkillers. If I asked my primary care
         | physician to do it, I'd expect him to refer me to a dentist.
        
           | calderwoodra wrote:
           | I agree - even though these things are generally really easy
           | to do (second year dental students successfully do all of
           | this under supervision), the reason a dentist is needed is
           | for when something goes wrong.
        
           | YetAnotherNick wrote:
           | At least in my area, teeth removal is at least 10x cheaper
           | than root canal. I don't think GP meant there will be 0
           | dentists, it would be just that lot of preventative care and
           | tooth repair work will be gone, which I were to guess will
           | reduce dentists quantity and quality requirement
           | significantly.
        
         | 20after4 wrote:
         | Yeah I never hold out any hope for new miracle medical or
         | dental treatments because there are far more profits to be made
         | from treating symptoms.
        
       | londons_explore wrote:
       | Nearly all teeth problems start as diet problems.
       | 
       | Have you ever seen a wild animal with bad teeth? Darwin makes
       | sure that nearly all wild animals have perfect teeth.
       | 
       | Humans would too if we ate our natural diet of mostly fruit and
       | some meat.
        
       | Buttons840 wrote:
       | I wonder how teeth regrowth would work? Our adult teeth don't
       | "push out" like it seems, but our body "grows out and around" the
       | adult teeth formed from early age (maybe even birth? I'm no
       | expert). You can look up pictures of baby skulls where the adult
       | teeth are visible deep in the bone; a baby's adult teeth are
       | formed already, and located in the bone around the lower nose
       | area, some almost on the side of the nose; the baby will grow
       | into them.
       | 
       | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deciduous_teeth
        
         | taurusnoises wrote:
         | Thank you for ruining my mind with this imagery.
        
           | hackernewds wrote:
           | I got a strong trypophobia shiver from seeing that skull
           | image. (I know it's an objective medical affinity)
        
           | firecall wrote:
           | It's weird isn't it!
           | 
           | The reverse of how we think it works from external
           | observation alone.
           | 
           | It's totally normal to think they grow like nails, but only
           | twice.
        
         | NetBeck wrote:
         | From what I found on teeth development:
         | 
         | >The first stage begins in the fetus at about 6 weeks of age.
         | This is when the basic substance of the tooth forms.
         | 
         | >Next, the hard tissue that surrounds the teeth is formed,
         | around 3 to 4 months of gestation.[0]
         | 
         | [0] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-
         | preventi...
        
         | adastra22 wrote:
         | The tooth forms at some point.
        
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