Do-it-yourself Dental Care - Page 2

[haitimom]

Have you tried gargling with hydrogen peroxide? This has worked well for my husband. We have been trying to get the cash for his root canals and bridges. This has really woked for him. I have also made a tea of golden seal to gargle and rinse with. Also, some dentist will accept payment plans,if they kmow your situation. Our dentist knows that we are a single income family with no insurance at all for dh and I. He gives us a deal. We put half down and the rest in monthly payments. I have learned to ask,the worse they can tell you is "no"

[JaneS]

This summarizes my feelings about all infectious diseases and s. mutans in particular:

For too long modern medicine has ignored the role of immune function in the infection equation. Each day we all are exposed to organisms that have the potential to make us sick, yet we don’t fall prey to these “bugs” because our immune system is stronger than the organism. If the organism is extremely virulent or our immune system is compromised, that is when an infection occurs. Conventional medicine has been obsessed with infective agent rather than host defense factors.

The obsession with killing the infective organism versus boosting immune function really began with Louis Pasteur, the 19th century physician and researcher who played a major role in the development of the germ theory. This theory holds that infectious organisms cause most diseases. Much of Pasteur's life was dedicated to finding substances that would kill the infecting organisms. Pasteur and others since him who pioneered effective treatments of infectious diseases have given us a great deal for which we all should be thankful. However, another 19th century French scientist, Claude Bernard, also made major contributions to medical understanding. Only Bernard had a different view of health and disease. Bernard believed that the state of a person's internal environment was more important in determining disease than the organism or pathogen itself. In other words, Bernard believed that the internal "terrain" or host susceptibility to infection was more important than the germ. Physicians, he believed, should focus more of their attention on making this internal terrain a very inhospitable place for disease to flourish.

Bernard's theory led to some rather interesting studies. In fact, a firm advocate of the germ theory would find some of these studies to be absolutely crazy. One of the most interesting studies was conducted by a Russian scientist named Elie Metchnikoff, the discover of the white blood cells. He and his research associates consumed cultures containing millions of cholera bacteria. Yet none of them developed cholera. The reason: their immune systems were not compromised.. Jane note: Metchnikoff was also the first to study probiotics in yogurt and their effect in enhancing immune system.] Metchnikoff believed, like Bernard, that the correct way to deal with infectious disease was to focus on enhancing the body's own defenses.

During the last part of their lives, Pasteur and Bernard engaged in scientific discussions on the virtues of the germ theory and Bernard's perspective on the internal terrain. On his deathbed, Pasteur said: "Bernard was right. The pathogen is nothing. The terrain is everything."

Unfortunately, Pasteur's legacy is the obsession with the pathogen and modern medicine has largely forgotten the importance of the "terrain." That perspective is slowly changing out of necessity.
http://www.doctormurray.com/newsletter/3-15-2006.htm

[eilonwy]

Well, I've seen the endodontist and learned something new about my jaw. It didn't come as much of a surprise to me, but it's relevant to this discussion: the two teeth which are giving me the most grief right now? The problems are due to a congenital malformation of my jaw, and nothing that could have been prevented at all (except through, perhaps, gene therapy). So that's that. I've got some cavities which I probably could have prevented, but the teeth that need root canal work would have needed it eventually no matter what I did or didn't do.

I really am cursed...

[lilyka]

sucky!

Well since this is a jaw malformation, is there more teeth that might be infected? would it be better to have them pulled before they get infected? I have a weird jaw thing which is messing with my wisdom teeth and I got one out when it was nasty and wrong. fortunately i have a great dentist and he was able to get it when other dentist might not have been able to. it was ritted to the gum line and soft as clay. he still managed to get it out reletively easily. anyway my point is that will likely be the fate of my other thre and itowuld be easier and less money to have them out while they are still easy to pull. I hate to suggest ripping things out profilacticaly but if you know this is coming . . . .

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by eilonwy

Well, I've seen the endodontist and learned something new about my jaw. It didn't come as much of a surprise to me, but it's relevant to this discussion: the two teeth which are giving me the most grief right now? The problems are due to a congenital malformation of my jaw, and nothing that could have been prevented at all (except through, perhaps, gene therapy).

It's nutrition, not genes
http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/service/wisdom4.cfm

Traditional peoples knew that wellness starts before conception. When both parents-to-be practice a time-tested preconceptual nutrition program prior to conceiving a child, they ensure that they will be able to supply the optimal building materials for new life. When this is followed by continued rich diet of the mother during breastfeeding (or feeding with nutrient-rich formula alternative made with whole food ingredients), and appropriate nutrition throughout the formative years of the child, physical development proceeds perfectly according to the blueprint in the DNA. The child has a wide skull with plenty of room for the brain, glands, sinuses, jaw and all the teeth (including wisdom teeth). When the secondary teeth come in, they are straight and don't need orthodontics. The smile is beautiful naturally. Cavities can't gain a foothold even with minimal dental hygiene because the enamel is rock hard, as are all the bones of the body.

http://www.westonaprice.org/traditio...ry_wisdom.html

[eilonwy]

Having them pulled would probably be the cheapest thing to do, but it wouldn't be the easiest because getting a bridge would be expensive as heck, and it'd be either that or have a big, gaping space on one side of my jaw... and I feel way, way too young for that.

[eilonwy]

physical development proceeds perfectly according to the blueprint in the DNA. The child has a wide skull with plenty of room for the brain, glands, sinuses, jaw and all the teeth (including wisdom teeth). When the secondary teeth come in, they are straight and don't need orthodontics. The smile is beautiful naturally. Cavities can't gain a foothold even with minimal dental hygiene because the enamel is rock hard, as are all the bones of the body.

Physical development can only proceed perfectly according to the blueprint in the DNA if said blueprint is perfect; it certainly isn't always the case. The problem that I'm having has nothing to do with cavities, it has to do with several teeth and part of my jaw which were all malformed according to my DNA. My teeth are perfectly straight, my bite is perfect, and before I was 22 years old I had only one very minor problem with my teeth at all; I had one tooth which, when it came in as a permanent tooth, was always sensitive to cold. I've learned recently that the reason for this is a malformation in the structure of the tooth. It does not affect the balance of my facial features (nor even of my teeth!), and it does run in my family; the first tooth to have problems (again, when I was 22 years old) was one that my father had pulled before my mother even met him. In the same position, two of my three siblings have peg teeth (maybe even all three of them... ). I don't have a peg tooth there, the tooth looks perfectly normal (to anyone who's not an endodontist or an oral surgeon, that is; apparently this particular defect is, while not common, not uncommon) but is malformed beyond the gumline.

Once again, this has nothing to do with nutrition, and even if it did, what in the world could I do to affect my mother's nutritional status while she was pregnant with me?!

[JaneS]

I didn't mean to offend, just providing information.

Teeth and jaw formation is effected by mineral status and presences of fat soluble vitamins in diet.

[lilyka]

bummer. so they are all in one place. I realize this is expensive but just as a "what if" is there something that can be dnoe to your jaw to fix whatever the problem is so that it doesn't effect the teeth? I know my brother had a huge jaz problem and did orthadontics to a point but to actually get to normal they would have had to do reconstructive surgery to his jaw. he opted not to.

So this is genetic . . .do your kids have it? if there is a likelyhood that they do is there anything that can be done now to prevent this later?

[eilonwy]

The problem is in my upper jaw, and it affected the formation of my permanent teeth; I won't know if the kids have this problem until their permanent teeth come in. I suspect that my daughter might, as her teeth are... odd, to say the least. Of all my siblings, my teeth are actually the most "normal," having come in on time (although I don't have any wisdom teeth, not even buds) and they all look like normal teeth (no peg teeth).

[AngelBee]

:

[SleeplessMommy]

I agree with SeekerMage... fix it soon! Dental issues can cause premature birth.

If money is the only issue, there are two things to do. First, get the root canal pocedure and temp crown ONLY. This will save some $$$. The permanent crown can wait a year or so. Second, BEG the dentist for a payment plan. For example, $50 a month until paid off. Also BEG him to call the specialist for you ask for a payment plan. Keep making calls until you find someone. Ask your Obgyn or midwife for advice too.

If you have a dental school near you, you should be able to get lower cst treatment. But be prepared to spend all day there, with lots of people looking in your mouth. For really extensive dental work, some people go to Mexico or Eastern Europe. Costs are mush lower!

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by SleeplessMommy

I agree with SeekerMage... fix it soon! Dental issues can cause premature birth.

I'm 35.5 weeks now, so prematurity is extremely unlikely at this point.

If money is the only issue, there are two things to do. First, get the root canal pocedure and temp crown ONLY. This will save some $$$. The permanent crown can wait a year or so. Second, BEG the dentist for a payment plan. For example, $50 a month until paid off. Also BEG him to call the specialist for you ask for a payment plan. Keep making calls until you find someone. Ask your Obgyn or midwife for advice too.

I've never had a permanent crown put on, and I've had two root canals already. They're expensive enough on their own! The dentists around here *do not* offer payment plans. They just don't. I'm not sure why, but I'm sure there's a reason for it...

For really extensive dental work, some people go to Mexico or Eastern Europe. Costs are mush lower!

I can't afford to get the work done at all, how am I supposed to afford a plane ticket? That's totally insane...