k_CAD

pain prevention .. dental care for me is mostly about pain prevention, but it can also affect digestion over many decades. (CAD home care is also about prevention of progression.) Top advice to promote

1. floss lower arc more .. tighter spaces, impossible to brush
2. tolerate taste of leftover toothpaste

Many untrained brushers brush mostly two parts — outer arc and grinding surface. Two sessions a day is more than enough for these two parts, but many important spots are grossly neglected — between teeth; incide arc; ends of arc; root of each tooth,,, So it’s much better to allocate 30->50% of the 14 weekly sessions to those important spots. That means skipping some brushing sessions! I’m pretty sure it’s better than 14 standard brushing sessions.

— ## my unconventional /wisdomS/

• [1] I would say regular check-up is crucial for me. An embarrassing external dependency, but it does help me monitor and early-detect any “unapproved habit” and unconventional wisdoms in this list. I would feel confident if regular check-up doesn’t reveal any weakness in my habits. In contrast, regular CAD check-up is even more cruicial. It gave me a chance to detect and arrest a fast progression.
• My minimum frequency is 7 times a week, consisting of 1 or 2 flossings and 5 or 6 brushings.
• [3] favor convenience over correctness. It has increased my frequency, even though it promotes superficial or incomplete cleaning.
• .. [2] Unaided brushing is better than skip brushing this time and hoping to brush soon. In reality, I frequently forget to brush soon.
• .. Each flossing session is often focused on a subset of teeth esp. on a difficult area [lower arc/far back] , so over a month, each teeth would receive some deep cleaning.
• .. I use inter-dental brush rather than floss threader. It increase my frequency, though not so thorough.
• .. I use the durable double-flossette, rather than regular floss. Dr S felt flossette can be fairly effective cf regular.
• I re-use a floss, inter-dental or brush for years, rather than replace-every-3M.

— sunshine on certain teeth .. I treat my teeth as my fingers. Some of them are less visible less taken care of, and deserve more sunshine [care and attention]

• tight gaps .. Between some neighboring (esp. lower) teeth, the gap is too tight and impossible to brush. They need more flossing
• .. eg: AlphaDental found a deep corner needs more frequent flossing, in front of lower right two big grinders
• Nuffield … Extreme ends of lower arc needs special flossing
• Incisors .. thinner, narrower and less sturdy
• Canines .. When you brush your teeth, the canine teeth may receive the most pressure. Brush gently.
• the inside half .. less visible when we check in the mirror

— Brush before breakfast .. Brushing your teeth after an acidic meal may do more harm than good. Acids weaken tooth enamel, and many breakfast foods—coffee, juice, citrus, toast—are very acidic. If you brush your teeth too soon after an acidic meal or beverage, you might unintentionally damage your tooth enamel.

— strict compliance (to medical instruction) .. 2min twice a day .. emphasizing frequency/interval , rather than duration/thoroughness. I have to agree that low frequency (long hours without brushing) is a bigger hazard than superficial brushing in my personal experience. However, I practice a schedule modified for thoroughness. Standard requirement/advice is two brushings + one flossing each day, on every tooth… most people can’t really comply. What if failing it just a few times means sure pain or sure loss of teeth? Somehow, I would find a system to remind myself. I think my blood thinner and cholesterol medication are in that category. For grandpa and grandma, their medications are also in that category. For now, I have leeway to reduce the cleaning frequency. I rely on frequent dental checks to detect problems early. I often feel guilty about 7/week but it has worked reasonably well for me.

— Alpha dental July 2024

• morning unaided brushing [without toothpaste] .. confirmed better than nothing [2]
• night brushing .. more important than morning
• mouthwash .. not so important to me but harmless
• night-grinding is a non-trivial problem to many people. Dental retainer provides protection.
• I remain one of the better individuals with very little damage to my teeth so far. (perhaps similar to senior citizens with perfect eyesight.)
• .. I attribute it to 30% natural advantage + 70% effort [technique, surveillance, fear@toothache]
• .. Undamaged doesn’t mean immune to abuse. Don’t take undamaged teeth for granted. I must not expose my teeth to dangers .. such as cracking hazelnuts, or long periods of sour/sweat exposure without brushing
• $200+ including stain removal, fully cashless

— Nuffield Mar 2024
Plaque needs more effort. Dr S revealed to me exactly what they look like. Dr S said 6M recheck is fine, but I like it more frequent [1].

Even unaided (no toothpaste) brushing can help. [2]

Some inflamation at some /gumline/ areas

overall good condition. No major problem including inter-dental x-ray. Dr S attributed it to “good diet”. An earlier male dentist (Russell?) attributed it to saliva quality.

Seeking a variety of professional opinions .. highly plausible even if not unnecessary. It does requries financial support, so I’m grateful to MLP.