The Great Toothpaste Scam?

[cdd]

So, my new dentist (who I LOVE on account of the fact she never complains about my teeth or makes my life painful like my previous dentist - in fact she tries the heretofore undiscovered principle of reward - telling me how well I'm doing) recently revealed to me that toothpaste is a waste of time and that you don't need to use it. [This was tied into her sales pitch for a massive expensive toothbrush (which I bought, still dazed by the revelation)].

Naturally this idea is intriguing to me. If true, it means I am no longer restricted to brushing my teeth at the stupid sink. Given that standing at a sink for 2 minutes every morning and evening is the bane of my existence I am naturally very easily swayed into believing this pearl of wisdom. It also seems she's not on her own in announcing this.

However my conscience says I should probably try and get a metroconsensus on the matter. I'm interested sa to how many other metropollers have heard this advice and/or use toothpate.

[Gavin Scott]

Its true enough - you can brush with nothing, but the benefit of fluoride can't really be argued, nor the minty freshness that toothpaste gives.

No harm in going paste free for little cleanups during the day, but I would always top n' tail with toothpaste to help remove plaque.

[Sput]

Not quite on topic, but http://www.cosmolearning.com/documentar ... of-view/1/ first few minutes

[nidave]

Its true enough - you can brush with nothing.

Not if you have sensitive teeth. I notice if I forget to brush my teeth in the evening.. it can get very painful.

[Dr Lobster*]

colgate is also particularly tasty spread thinly on a jacob's cream cracker.

[Chie]

Well your dentist would say that, wouldn't she? She's a dentist! They're as trustworthy as solicitors.

I stopped going to my NHS dentist after he suggested I needed *another* filling at a cost of £45, which, being convinced I didn't really need one, I politely refused. That was over two years ago and I've had no problems with the tooth that was supposed to be decaying at all.

They've probably unregistered me for not making an appointment at least once a year, but if something major does go wrong with my teeth, I can now afford to go private with all the £45s I've saved by not going to see that shyster every six months.

Also, I've long suspected that the British Dental Association deliberately puts its name to the worst products, so I avoid buying anything that's been recommended by them as well.

[Sput]

Are you basing your decisions about the health of your teeth on i) money, ii) experience with a single dentist and iii) "what you reckon"?

I wouldn't do any of those, personally. Maybe I just think better of dentists but it'd be unethical to knowingly perform an unnecessary procedure on a patient.

[Nick Harvey]

When an NHS dentist starts to recommend doing work which is bordering on unnecessary, he's usually about to change over to being private and wants to get you onto Denplan, or a similar scheme, based on the amount of actual work he's done in the previous twelve months.

Then, once he's changed over, he stops doing unnecessary work and pockets the larger fees from Denplan which he gets for having you on the 'inflated' scheme.

[Sput]

My old dentist went private, failed to get me onto that denplan and promptly died.

I blame denplan

[Chie]

Are you basing your decisions about the health of your teeth on i) money, ii) experience with a single dentist and iii) "what you reckon"?

I wouldn't do any of those, personally. Maybe I just think better of dentists but it'd be unethical to knowingly perform an unnecessary procedure on a patient.

No. If I really need the treatment, I'll spend whatever's necessary where my health is concerned. I just have an aversion to being taken for a mug.

When I was a teenager, my old dentist always gave me a glowing assessment of my teeth. He said it was remarkable that I hadn't needed any work doing in all those years, as most of the teenagers he saw had lots of cavities.

That's because I only drink plain water and rarely eat sugary stuff.

Then I got a new dentist, who, as soon as I turned 19 and therefore had to start paying for treatment, suddenly decided I needed two fillings in one year. Which I payed for, but then he wanted to do a third filling a couple of check-ups later, and I realised he was taking the piss.

Yes I am aware that the majority of NHS dentists probably don't use their paying patients as a cash cow by dishing out unnecessary treatment on a whim (not as regularly as mine did anyway), but I'm very suspicious of cdd's dentist's claim that toothpaste is a "waste of time".

It takes just as long to brush your teeth without toothpaste as it does with toothpaste, and if you tried cleaning your shower with just a sponge, it wouldn't come up very clean. However, if you use some kind of spray then it will. So I should think the principle applies when cleaning one's teeth, vis-à-vis removing plaque and bacteria.

[Gavin Scott]

Are you basing your decisions about the health of your teeth on i) money, ii) experience with a single dentist and iii) "what you reckon"?

I wouldn't do any of those, personally. Maybe I just think better of dentists but it'd be unethical to knowingly perform an unnecessary procedure on a patient.

No. If I really need the treatment, I'll spend whatever's necessary where my health is concerned. I just have an aversion to being taken for a mug.

The only thing I would suggest is that by the time you are aware that there's a cavity, its going to hurt (air getting to the nerve), where a dentist can see patches of decayed tooth and stop the rot before it spreads.

You could buy yourself those little angled mirrors if you want to be sure, but if you're not sure what you're looking for then that may be a waste of time.

If you are cynical about the need for treatment, you could get a second opinion from another practitioner who offers a free dental check.

I'm know its not my place to say, but I have a feeling you would regret it in later years if you let your cynicism get in the way of getting minor, necessary treatment now - when you could end up with a series of extractions down the line.

Just something to think about.