Teeth Maintenance

Originally published: Dec 10, 2024

Updated periodically 

Routine Cleaning:

Fluoride toothepaste helps clean plaque and hardens tooth enamel which prevents cavities

Hydroxyapatite (micro is healthier than nano (but often micro hydroxyapatite is advertised as nano) it works by adding minerals to your enamel, this can help with tooth sensitivity and can also work to prevent cavities

Flossing or using a water pick

Oil pulling might help with bad bacteria

A healthy diet is probably one of the most important things you can do to keep your teeth good

Dental visits:

 

About half of dentists will try to up sell you on care you might not need (business oriented dentists vs. wellness oriented dentists), (owner operated dentists are better for this than corporate chain dental clinics (that you often find in the USA) where up-selling is sometimes routine)

Teeth scaling cleans out plaque (and the bad bacteria) reducing gingivitis and the formation of new cavities

Cavities can be filled if they are deep enough to be sensitive to hot or cold (small indentations don't need to be filled), I believe lasers are better than a drill (in terms of removing less healthy material when cleaning a cavity for a filling)

If the cavity is large the root might need to be checked if it is still alive, this can be done by spraying something that induces hot or cold, slightly more accurate is a oximeter that checks for oxygen in the tooth (82% vs 92% (?))

A root canal is often performed on teeth that are severely eroded (or non-vital), however in many cases root regeneration can be done instead of a root canal (this keeps the tooth vital (or makes it vital again) and probably leads to better outcomes)

https://www.aae.org/specialty/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ClinicalConsiderationsApprovedByREC062921.pdf

(this procedure has mostly been tried on people under the age of 42, it is therefore somewhat unknown if it would work on older patients)

Centrifuging blood to make it platelet enriched plasma is slightly (?) more effective than just inducing bleeding in the tooth's root

Gum grafts from the roof of your mouth can be taken and placed over gums if there is gum recession

 

Polishing teeth removes some enamel and can be viewed as optional

 

Root planning is sometimes done

Pocket reductions are sometimes done

Implants can restore missing teeth with a fake tooth