Bad Teeth - Miami,FL

I use the Sensodyne Pronamel toothpaste and it seems to help.
I brush and floss twice per day - and I hate using regular floss - but I just love the Plackers Twin Line picks - they are so easy to use!
I was just at the dentist on Tue and he says my teeth and gums are in great shape (I'm 53).

My dentist recommended a prescription toothpaste. I've been using it for a couple of years. It's hard to tell how much it's helped because recently I've had to get crowns to replace fillings when there came a point that there was more filling than tooth. But it's worth asking about.

I'd gave to agree that heredity plays a big role.

Talk to your dentist and your doctor. If your habits haven't changed, and your teeth were healthy before, you need to find out why they're so fragile now.

I'd ask your dentist AND hygienist what they recommend.

Sorry Gamma G--I highly doubt you would ever find O., let alone EIGHT dentists that tell you "you can throw your toothbrush away."
Dental health is very important to overall health. Let alone it's basic hygiene for life. You're born with the enamel you have yes--but MUCH can affect it over your life. No way will I believe that dentists gave that advice. Sorry.

A., this is a question for a dentist and a hygienist.

If you do not think you are brushing and flossing right? GO to your dentist and show them HOW you brush and floss.

There are no supplements for your teeth. Oral hygiene is important. After you brush and floss, do you rinse your mouth with something like Listerine?

When you brush or floss, do you get blood on your brush or in the saliva?

Is your mouth dry? If you have dry mouth, that is a cause for tooth decay. Your teeth NEED saliva to stay moist. If your mouth is dry? PLEASE contact not only your dentist but your Primary Care Physician to request a sleep study and find out if you have sleep apnea and sleep breathing through your mouth. You can also get checked out by an ENT to ensure you don't have a problem with your nose that causes you to breath through your mouth and have dry mouth.

Please understand this is more than you brushing and flossing your teeth. There is something else going on...

Good luck!

You need to discuss with your dentist any habits you can change, like no soda, or drinking from straws, how often to brush and floss, HOW to brush and floss, and if you could benefit from an Rx toothpaste.

I have/had sensitive teeth. I used to use (and loved!) Mentadent toothpaste. I don't know if they even sell it anymore, but it came in a little plastic pump container that you pressed the top down to dispense two streams of paste/gel onto your brush.

My dentist said using anything abrasive (which means anything that says "tartar control" or "whitening") can contribute to sensitivity. Mentadent was a baking soda toothpaste (which is why my teeth/mouth felt so clean and I loved it so much, but also why it increased tooth sensitivity).

I now only buy "sensitive" tooth pastes. Usually Crest (with the pink label). It is near impossible to find a toothpaste that doesn't have some degree of tartar control listed on the label. But I do OK with the Crest Sensitive ones. The ProEnamel ones are good, too. If I notice anything out of the ordinary I switch to Sensodyne for a bit, but it is more expensive and I don't care for it as much. Usually Crest Sensitive with Enamel Shield is fine for daily use.

You need to talk to your dentist.

Like someone else said, if you had morning sickness it could make your teeth worse from all the acid coming up.

A lot of times, a dentist can figure out if someone is bulimic due to the erosion on the back teeth from vomiting.

Do you grind your teeth? I do.. I am a major grinder and have done it for so long and so bad that I cracked all of my back teeth at some point or another and I have porcelon crowns now on all my back teeth. I STILL sleep wearing a night guard and sometimes I will wear the guard during the day because I will catch myself grinding during the day.

I also agree that it is in your genes. I've had very few cavities during my life, all of my damage has stemmed from grinding for years and years.

I do have sensitive teeth as well and I use Sensodyne toothpaste. I like it and the ACT mouth wash for sensitive teeth. Also, Listerine is a fantastic product and dentists swear by it. My hubby is an avid Listerine user and I use it a lot as well.

Good luck.

I was once told that you get your teeth/saliva from your parents. Your saliva helps clean your teeth. If it is not strong enough (the best way to think about it) it does not clean as well. As long as I can remember, my dad had dentures. My mom got lower plate after I became an adult--always figured I got my dad's teeth. Anyway after I had kids, I started clenching my teeth. And I have found I do it more when I am really tired. This has worn the enamel and results in cavities due to the wearing down and more sensitive teeth. The dentist can tell if you do it. You could try a mouthguard if that is the case.

You need to ask your dentist! Since you have had crowns, I'm assuming you are under the care of a dentist. Hopefully, you are not just heading to the dentist when there is a problem. You need ongoing care to maintain your teeth. I go every 3 months and I have no problems. You may want to consider this type of care. I also invested in a really good electronic tooth that stops itself at 2 minutes - I never brushed nearly long enough before and never realized it. My teeth never got so clean (besides the dentist, of course) before this thing. I also have the water pick to really get between the teeth. I floss before I brush to make brushing more efficient, I use mouthwash to get rid of the bacteria that causes gum disease, I use toothpaste for sensitive teeth, and I see the dentist very regularly.

My dentist gave me a GC MI paste that is a topical cream to use before bed with calcium phosphate and fluoride.

A friend, who is 40, started having her teeth fall out because she has such bad gum disease. Her dentist said it was an 11 out of 10 and he never saw such bad disease. She had to have all but 3 teeth pulled and had a whole new set of teeth drilled into her jaw bone, to the tune of $10,000 - which they will be paying off for years.

Make sure you are getting frequent and consistent dental care. That is your best bet. My cousin brushed, but did not go to the dentist.

i have to use sensodyne, as my already-weak teeth are becoming more and more sensitive. it does work, but it also makes my gums bleed. my dental hygienist explained that while sensodyne is great for de-sensitizing, it's not as good at cleaning as the more powerful toothpastes, so now i use both. a PITA but worth it if it preserves my teeth. practically all of 'em have fillings and a few have crowns, but i haven't had a cavity in years.
ETA not sure why there are so many wack responses today, but PLEASE don't listen to the sci-fi-fantasy tale that there are legions of dentists recommending that people throw away their toothbrushes and rely on their genetics. even people with perfect teeth can ruin them through neglect.
easily.
:::::::shakes head::::::::
khairete
S.

Talk to the dentist/hygienist about the best rinse to add (a Listerine or similar).

It will add a layer of protection.

Did you have morning sickness during your pregnancy? The constant flow of acid over the teeth will erode the enamel. There are toothpastes that can help restore and strengthen the enamel. You can also request your teeth be sealed. It can be pricey but still cheaper than dental work.

I have weak enamel. You get your teeth from your parents. If you have weak enamel there isn't anything you can do once it's gone. Nothing you eat or drink or do makes any difference.

I worked with a young man with Down's Syndrome and his parents would punish him over and over and over for not brushing his teeth 3 times per day. They would literally come into his apartment and lock his TV. Really!

He had perfect teeth. No bad breath, no valid reason to brush 3 times per day other than mom and dad wanted him to.

I took this young man to about 8 different dentists. The parents wanted a dentist to tell him he had to brush his teeth. Every single dentist took one look at his teeth and told him he never had to brush his teeth again and he'd still never have a cavity. Ever. He could eat anything he wanted and toss his tooth brush and toothpaste.

This really made the parents mad. I asked each dentist why brushing wasn't important in this case. Every single one of them said you have the enamel you're born with. Not much changes what happens with your enamel. Either it's strong or it's weak. If it's strong nothing can hurt your teeth. If it's weak there isn't anything you can do to keep from getting cavities and losing teeth to fillings, root canals, extraction, and more.

If the enamel is weak on your teeth there isn't anything you can do except talk to the dentist about caring for them by having more appointments with him/her throughout the year. Your dentist might have some ideas but it's usually just keeping your appointments every 6 months and not putting off ANY work that needs to be done.

If you let a cavity slide for even a few months it's eaten to far into the tooth by that time and the tooth is gone. If there's a cavity or even a spot they think might be turning into a cavity they need to be proactive and fix it as soon as they're sure it's in need.

Otherwise you might end up with a lot of caps or even false teeth in a few years.

I had perfect teeth until I had my kids. I had morning sickness a lot and got a crown after my 3rd child was born 6 years ago. And I just had that crown break. My oldest daughter (12) has teeth like her father. Very weak teeth. She's had numerous cavities and root canals. She brushes well, flosses, and uses mouth wash. She does 10X better than my son and he's never had a cavity! Sometimes it comes down to genes. But, I am intrigued by the oil pulling someone mentioned. I might try that with my oldest.

google 'oil pulling' coconut oil works wonders!