I’ve spent my whole life following the “brush twice, floss once” rule religiously. Yet, as I’ve entered my 60s, I’m still dealing with receding gums and sensitivity. It makes me wonder if we are focusing on the wrong things.
The Ancestral Argument
I recently read that ancient populations often had remarkably straight teeth and minimal decay without ever touching a toothbrush. It suggests our modern, processed diet is the real culprit, stripping away the natural defenses our mouths should have.
My Questions for the Group:
- Are we over-cleaning and actually damaging our oral microbiome?
- Is it possible to “eat” your way to better dental health?
- Have any of you found success by changing your diet or adding specific nutrients rather than just scrubbing harder?
I’m curious if anyone else feels like the standard dental advice we’ve received for decades is missing a huge piece of the puzzle. Is it time to stop obsessing over the brush and start looking at what we’re feeding our oral bacteria?
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I think it’s a bit of both. You definitely can’t stop brushing because the sugar in modern food is so aggressive, but I agree that the ‘scrubbing’ mentality might be doing more harm than good to our gums as we get older.
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I’ve been thinking the same thing lately. I started looking into the oral microbiome after my last checkup didn’t go so well. I actually added a supplement called Dentavive (got mine here) to my routine because it has those specific probiotic strains for the mouth. It’s been about three months, and for the first time in years, my gums don’t bleed when the hygienist does the probing. It really makes you think about the internal side of things.
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Sugar is the enemy, plain and simple. If you cut out the processed carbs, you’ll see your oral health improve regardless of how many times you brush. Our ancestors didn’t have high-fructose corn syrup in everything.
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My grandfather lived to be 92 and had every single one of his original teeth. He never used a fancy electric brush, but he ate mostly fermented foods and garden vegetables. He always said ‘strong stomach, strong teeth.’ I think there’s a lot of truth to the microbiome connection.
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If you are interested in this, definitely look into the work of Dr. Weston Price. He traveled the world in the 1930s studying this exact topic. It’s fascinating stuff and really changed how I view my dental visits.
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