over the last few days, i got a conventional cleaning and i've increased the frequency of my fluoride baths because my diet has been in flux. that is, it was sort of an accident. but, it's a happy accident, and i should keep with it.
to be clear: what i'm seeing isn't impossible. it's what you expect to see after a root planing. but, you don't expect to see it after a routine cleaning & fluoride treatment. so, that suggests two things:
1) this novamin + 5000 ppm fluoride treatment is actually effective at getting the teeth what they need to heal as much as they can, which is more than the science suggests is possible, which is....if it's an unattended, chemical reaction, it shouldn't cease happening over time, it should just get more difficult due to interference from plaque. so, if you clean it well enough and give it the right nutrients...but, i guess the right treatment has been elusive. if i'm on to something, it should be noted. it's too early to say, but it seems to be working.
2) despite what repeated dentists have said, i may have an infection under the gumline. i'm being told i'm overbrushing and eating the wrong foods and have stains from smoking and drinking coffee, but it doesn't seem right - some of them are clearly stains, and some of them look like more than that. i don't think they're cavities, exactly, but infections in the gums, themselves. that's why i wanted the fucking cleaning, to try and separate the infections from the cavities from the stains. so, some of the first dentists i saw wanted to drill into what have been shown to be stains, in the end; some are telling me what i think are infections are just stains. i'm getting both errors, it seems. so, i need a midpoint. if i'm right, it seems like repeatedly cleaning it (both the professional cleaning and the repeated surfactant use) is working to reverse the recession because it's killing the bacteria that are causing it. this is what a scaling & planing does - it gets under the gum line, eliminates the infection and then gets out of the way to let your mouth heal. the key point of the treatment is removing the infection. if it's mild enough that i can do that by scrubbing it with dish soap instead, great...but i need to understand it as what it is to get it right and not get confused and act like it's something it's not....
so, while this focus on over-cleaning was initially precautionary, it's starting to seem like it's the secret tactic that is letting everything else work to greater efficacy. the novamin & fluoride needs a clean surface to work, and seems to be working quite well in conjunction with the cleaning. and, my mouth seems to be healing on it's own in ways i've been told aren't possible, once the infection has been controlled and reversed.
on doing some random googling this afternoon, i stumbled upon the idea of a "gingival growth factor". apparently, when dentists get in there and mess with things, they apply a solution that stimulates growth in the gums, as a last step. my recession is currently still mild, so that might be enough, if i can find it. so, can i buy this? can i get it prescribed?
the change i'm making is to add the fluoride treatment to the post-eggs routine, so that i'm doing it twice a day instead of once. and, if the hydroxyapatite doesn't work quickly, i may start to do it three times a day.
i skipped pasta last night, and it seems like i slept in today and will skip breakfast, although i at least have my schedule cycled back around, even if i overslept. so, hopefully, i'll be back in a normal cycle starting tonight.
i need to revisit whether the posted data regarding minerals in tap water is reasonable, and then get to an aluminum post - which is starting to look like it might be scary. the fluoride removal was stupid, but the city is legitimately making steps to fix the lead problem. the aluminum issue, though, remains lurking.
even if aluminum isn't the primary factor in alzheimer's, it has no nutritional value to human consumption and shouldn't be allowed to accumulate in human tissue. it shouldn't be shrugged off. but, it's actually ubiquitous - it's not just in water, it's in produce. and, this is the part i'm struggling with - how do i get the aluminum out of my fruit?
for now, here's my oral routine schedule update, and it's coming with some optimism - this is working, and helping to clarify what needs to be done.
every day:
breakfast
- no coffee for three hours before eating.
- start with dish soap, soft brush [anti-bacterial]
- follow with medium toothbrush & novamin toothpaste. discard spit. [may replace with stannous fluoride] [remove plaque].
- wait a half hour
- put 2 tsp (10 ml) of diluted spit from previous day into a large cup of water & drink it. wash measuring cup. [recover fluoride]
- eat breakfast (fruit bowl)
- swoosh with calcium carbonate right away [to increase ph of mouth]
- brush with soft toothbrush & no product and rinse away with water [remove food]
- wait ten minutes
- brush with soft medium toothbrush & novamin toothpaste & discard spit. [remove food, apply fluoride]
- apply prevident with more novamin. leave in mouth for 20 minutes. spit into measuring cup. [fluoride treatment]
- dilute spit to 100 ml. cover. wait an hour. [recover fluoride]
- put 2 tsp [10 ml] of diluted spit in a large cup of water & drink it. [recover fluoride]
- after, put 2 tsp [10 ml] of diluted spit in after breakfast coffee & drink it. [recover fluoride]
- swoosh with calcium carbonate after coffee.
supper:
- no coffee for three hours before eating.
- start with dish soap, soft brush [anti-bacterial]
- follow with medium toothbrush & novamin toothpaste. discard spit. [may replace with stannous fluoride] [remove plaque]
- wait a half hour
- put 2 tsp (10 ml) of diluted spit into a large cup of water & drink it. [recover fluoride]
- eat supper (pasta)
- swoosh with calcium carbonate right away [to increase ph of mouth]
- brush with soft toothbrush & no product and rinse away with water [remove food]
- wait ten minutes
- brush with soft medium toothbrush & novamin toothpaste & discard spit. [remove food, apply fluoride]
- apply hydroxyapatite powder. wait an hour. [remineralization treatment]
- put 2 tsp [10 ml] of diluted spit in a large cup of water & drink it. [recover fluoride]
- after, put 2 tsp [10 ml] of diluted spit in after supper coffee & drink it. [recover fluoride]
- swoosh with calcium carbonate after coffee.
late-night:
- no coffee for three hours before eating.
- start with dish soap, soft brush [anti-bacterial]
- follow with medium toothbrush & novamin toothpaste. discard spit.. [may replace with stannous fluoride] [remove plaque]
- wait a half hour
- put 2 tsp [10 ml] of diluted spit into a large cup of water & drink it [recover fluoride]
- eat late-night eggs
- swoosh with calcium carbonate right away [to increase ph of mouth]
- brush with soft toothbrush & no product and rinse away with water [remove food]
- wait ten minutes
- brush with soft medium toothbrush & novamin toothpaste & discard spit. [remove food, apply fluoride]
- apply prevident with more novamin. leave in mouth for 20 minutes. spit into measuring cup. [fluoride treatment]
- dilute spit to 100 ml. cover. wait an hour. [recover fluoride]
- put 2 tsp [10 ml] of diluted spit in a large cup of water & drink it. [recover fluoride]
- sleep in the early morning, if i have to.
every three months:
- fluoride varnish