Prehistoric humans didn’t own the oral-B supersonic electric toothbrushes we have available today. They certainly didn’t floss daily but they often kept all their teeth and still have them to this day in many prehistoric skulls. I find that very fascinating. Hunter-gatherers had really good teeth,” says Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Center for Ancient DNA. As soon as you get to farming populations, you see this massive change. Huge amounts of gum disease. And cavities start cropping up.
Hmmm, does this “change” have to do to with our processed sugar-laden diet perhaps? Add to that the often over aggressive dental industry and you are now talking about a big disaster for our pearly whites.
Did you know that modern dental drills can rotate at up to 400,000 rpm, and generally use hard metal alloy bits known as burrs. They are often made of steel and may also have a diamond coating to hold up to the intense wear and tear of the bit during drilling. If your cringing right now at the very thought of it, you are not alone. I don’t know about you but I always have this deep sense of dread going to the dentist and when I leave after a particularly invasive and rough dental procedure, I feel totally violated. It’s not just fear of pain, it’s more a sense that something is completely wrong with this picture. I always leave with a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I should not have just allowed them to do that. Sometimes we need to honor that intuition. Consider the fact that this fear could be trying to protect you from undoubtedly much damage done to your tooth, gums and nerves during this procedure.
Dentist Dr. Graeme Munro-Hall writes: During drilling and filling, the tooth is subjected to multiple mechanical and chemical trauma which may first inflame and eventually spell the death of the pulp and thus the tooth. High-speed drilling creates microscopic fractures and damages the tubules. When enamel is removed and micro cracks are created in the dentine, the inner nerve frequently is damaged, often killing the tooth in the longer term via nerve death.
So I have to ask myself after reading that piece of information are we causing more damage than good when we drill teeth for cavities and other drilling dental procedures? It seems like we are blowing up the house to rid it of ants in the kitchen. I for one am thrilled to know that we finally have a more humane and healthy alternative to the loud and damaging steel drill. The art of laser dentistry is just emerging on the horizon and could be a sound solution to this dilemma.
I’m wondering if you know of anyone that the dentist hasn’t recommend removal of wisdom teeth between the ages of 16-18. It is just now an expected “when” not if necessary. I have been amazed at how we as a society have bought into the wisdom tooth removal craze. It is no different than the phase my parents lived in where every child at age 5 was sent to the hospital to remove their perfectly good tonsils! I have heard so many horror stories of wisdom teeth removal gone terribly wrong that it makes me shudder to think we as parents aren’t thinking this major oral surgery through.
Jay Friedman a Dentist reveals in the American Journal of Public Health that 67 percent or more of preventative wisdom teeth removals are totally unnecessary. He goes on to show that most of the pain and sickness following the removal of wisdom teeth is not caused by the teeth themselves as one would think would be the case, but rather the problems and complications come from the surgery that removes the wisdom teeth. Keep in mind that pulling your wisdom teeth is a very lucrative profession and your best interest may not always be the first priority!
For a great book about natural ways to prevent and/or cure tooth decay and other amazing dental fun facts like those above check out this book: How to Cure Tooth Decay Naturally
