[I_Like_Plants]

my older sister had her wisdom teeth taken out by a huge Hawaiian dentist, it was like pop, pop, out you go. very little pain.

Maybe they need to have the big guys do that particular operation!

Get an electric tooth brush, those things are teriffic! It's one of very very few high tech things I endorse.

Other than that, no sweet drinks, use a toothpick after meals if needed, all that stuff.

Xylitol gum is supposed to be very good for teeth it turns out, wierd.

[Falconoffury]

I have had only 1 cavity in my life, when I was a child, so let me offer some advice. Never bathe in or drink any water that contains fluoride. Technically, fluoride doesn't exist. It is really fluorine, the base element. Teeth are composed of a compound that includes fluorine, but a compound works in the body very differently than the base element. Supplement your diet with elements that are actually useful to your body, such as large amounts of calcium, magnesium, and smaller amounts of trace metals. If your body is not deficient in minerals, your chances of teeth problems decline dramatically.

Toothbrushes can be dangerous, because you can damage your gums, and they are a breeding ground for microbes. If you use a toothbrush, let it soak in alcohol when you are not using it.

[threadbear]

Wow--An Inconvenient Tooth! They should make a documentary about it.

I hate to admit this, but I've never had a tooth ache. Don't know what they're like-- and have only 5 fillings. I had a friend who was an orthodontist who told me that anything near the face is so innervated that pain is pronounced. Have had severe ear-aches, when a kid, and they probably score right up there with teeth.

EASTBAY--I had plastic surgery done on my nose and chose to do it without anasthetic, just local freezing and demerol. Tremendous feeling of pressure and some crunching and discomfort. Also, was conscious when my body started going into what I think was shock.

I remember lying there thinking what an extreme shock it would be to a body to have major surgery, unbeknownst to the unconscious patient.

What interested me the most was the cauterizing which seemed to be done with an instrument that looked like an acetylane torch. Now that, I felt through the freezing and fortunately had the presence of mind to remain still rather than lurch right off the operating table. It certainly makes you realize why a burn injury is so hard to treat. That sensation is hard to medicate away.

SHANNYMARA-- Good luck with your foot! Let me guess...you were trying to rescue, feed, help a ferrel cat somehow, and it flipped?

[eastbay]

Also, was conscious when my body started going into what I think was shock.

Threadbear, interesting you mentioned that. At about half-time I started breathing quite hard and the dentist stopped yanking and gave me oxygen for a minute or two... then went back at the prying. He later mentioned that oxygen can sometimes slow the onset of shock. It seemed to work for me because I calmed right down afterwards. But I know very little about medicine other than basic street trauma and CPR.

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shannymara', '
')
Last night I got a very nasty bite on my foot from a stray cat.

[PeakOiler]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'G')et dental work done pronto.

[Eli]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shannymara', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', 'S')HANNYMARA-- Good luck with your foot! Let me guess...you were trying to rescue, feed, help a ferrel cat somehow, and it flipped?

[I_Like_Plants]

Nah not if you're a good aim, a .22 or even a decent pellet gun will do it.

In the Great Depression pellet guns like Benjamins were popular for small game, cheaper than a .22 and a nice quiet way to fill the soup bowl.

[max_power29]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shannymara', '
')
Last night I got a very nasty bite on my foot from a stray cat.

[TheTurtle]

This thread has taken some interesting turns.

Good luck, Shanny. Let us know the results of the rabies test, OK?

[cynthia]

Sorry Roccland about your tooth. May you recover. Tooth pain is the worst.
Well, childbirth didn't feel so grand either and I did it two times, the first cesarean and the second at home. The latter was less painful in the end for all concerned so I recommend at home dentistry. Perhaps that should be merged with some Planning for the Future forum?
And I thank all for the lovely extraction stories as I am about to fork over nearly $2000 to have our son's wisdom teeth removed.

Shanny? How's it going? Been thinking of you. I will spare you cat biting stories. Bites happen.
Haven't seen you around here lately so hoping you're on vacation-in a good way.
Regards,
cynthia

[dissimulo]

I was watching Deadliest Catch the other day and one of the fishermen got a tooth ache and had to remove his own tooth with a pair of pliers (in several pieces). He then went back to work.

I guess everyone has a different degree of pain tolerance.

[smallpoxgirl]

Umm...yeah. Cat bites are really nasty. They carry a bug in their mouth called pasteurella multocida. I've seen some really nasty infections from cat bites. I think they are second only to human bites in terms of causing infected wounds.

Fun thing to think about....the plaque between your teeth has roughly the same concentration of bacteria that poop does.

For tooth cleaning post-toothbrush, a stick does a pretty decent job. You just chew on it till it frays a bit. In the process of doing that, you'll clean the tops of your teeth. Then use the frayed ends to scrub the sides of your teeth and finally use it to scrape your tongue. That's how tooth cleaning is done in the rest of the world where they don't have plastic brushes with the little color change bristles to tell you when to replace it. I used neem sticks that way to do all my tooth cleaning for about 6 months.

As for feral cats, why mess with them at all? Let em eat the mice and mind their own business and I'll mind mine.

[Twilight]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'T')hat's how tooth cleaning is done in the rest of the world where they don't have plastic brushes with the little color change bristles to tell you when to replace it.

[benbrangwyn]

There is a deafening silence from the world of dentistry on the subject of Peak Oil. As we move into the era that marks the end of cheap and abundant fossil fuels, all healthcare systems will need to adapt to the ensuing constraints, dentistry included.

In this document, Transition Network: Peak Oil and Dentistry, two UK dentists respond to a set of questions regarding dentistry and Peak Oil that were recently posted on the ODAC website.

Both dentists have chosen to remain anonymous for the moment. They are identified, rather unimaginatively, as Dentist #1 and Dentist #2.

Here are some of the questions they answer:

- Name the top 5 energy intensive procedures in modern dentistry
- What are the most expensive procedures in dentistry and how might their prices be affected post peak oil?
- What aspects of dentistry would be very resilient in a post peak UK?
- What is the population/dentist ratio in the UK, and is that trending up or down?
- How much of dentistry work is handled by hospitals and therefore subject to the additional pressures that mainstream medicine and hospitals may experience?
- What is the overarching structure for UK dentistry, and what leadership role might they take in preparing the UK for lower energy dentistry?

Let's hope this starts the ball rolling on a discussion that's long overdue.

If you're a dentist and you want to network with others who express an interest, lemme know.

[aldente]

I had a Korean girlfriend once who grew up in a houshold in the 60's and 70's that had no money to participate in western lifestyle eating habits (for them it was post-war) and she grew up soley on traditional food.

At one point she told me that she never visited a dentist and I did not believe it before I saw it - not a single filling!!!!! and that at age 27!

So post PO will affect those badly who have been brought up with refined foods and hence a predisposition to damaged 'biters'. The generation after will live with unrefined foods again (if they live of anything in the first place, unless they subscribe to inedia) and dentisty as we know it is history anyway at that point.

Of course for the time being you can always help yourself as this California carpenter did:

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/qf/ ... _teeth.jpg

[Heineken]

Dentistry, like medicine, has become too fancy, complex, and expensive.

For most people, good basic dental health can be achieved by brushing, flossing, using a fluoride rinse a few times a week, and cutting down on the corn syrup. The simple procedures that can fix most of the problems that then arise are decidedly low-tech and low-energy. A dental drill can be powered by a foot pump, for that matter.

In any case, as lifespans shorten dramatically, the problem of "Peak Oil and Dentistry" will tend to solve itself.

[steam_cannon]

I'm no dentist, but I do have a few thoughts on the subject...

First, it's my impression is that dentistry in the future will be very limited and become a bad field like real-estate agent.

On the positive side, some dentistry will always be done and be available.

* Getting a drill running doesn't require a great deal of power or materials.
* Alternative materials for fillings are fairly abundant.
* Teeth can be pulled easily.
* And there will always be some dentists because dental pain is often sufficient to encourage even the poorest person to try to get something done.
* As people eat less refined sugars, they will have fewer dental problems.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some dental work is easy to do yourself.

* Floss, toothbrushes and toothpaste are simple and cheap.

* Vitamin C
"The inmates' main problem was bleeding gums, a result of vitamin deficiency and the complete absence of toothbrushes and dentifrice. Dabbing the gums with iodine only offered temporary relief."
The Dentist of Auschwitz
http://www.nizkor.org/features/dentist/chapter-14.html

* Xylitol is an "alcohol sugar" that humans can digest but kills plaque bacteria. It comes in chewing gums and as a granulated sugar. Xylitol is a very useful thing to know about. Asking your kid to swish with some special sugar water might be easier then getting him to use Listerine. And Xylitol gum is cheap.

* Emergency filling kits. Stores like walmart sell good quality temporary dental filling materials specifically for emergency repairs. Temparin is a good brand.

I've patched my own fallen out filling that way. And the material is great for reattaching a bridge or a crown. One time my wifes bridge fell out and was broken in two. I repaired the break with some stainless steel, acrylic glue and polyester string, sort of like a fiberglass patch. Then I re-adhered the bridge to her teeth with temporary dental repair material from walmart. (Crowns are easier to fix...) This fix lasted a few months until she could get it repaired. Amusingly, flying to Ukraine and getting it repaired there was cheaper then getting it repaired in the US. And so she had time to make a trip to Ukraine and get a new better bridge...

* Dentists have used resins (like epoxy) or silicone as alternative filling materials such as in WW2. If you had to, you probably could too.
"I also filled the cavities with silicone or phosphate cement."
The Dentist of Auschwitz
http://www.nizkor.org/features/dentist/chapter-14.html

* Regarding pain killer, they can be gotten in most time periods and places. Though I have had dental work done without pain killers, it's survivable...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dentistry today

This is a good article, presently dentists are trying to fast sell patients on root canals because less people are having them done...

Root Canal, an Economic Indicator?
"But I was never offered same day service on a root canal before. Two people in a row? Talk about fast service and I wasn’t even ordering a hamburger!...
Are people starting to tighten their belts? $900 dollars for a root canal could definitely make one pause for thought..."

Vince Dorgan said...
"When I hear root canal, I say pull it. Experience has taught me that the affected tooth comes out anyway a couple of years later. Usually it shatters into a million pieces at an inconvenient time and place."
http://greatdepression2006.blogspot.com ... cator.html

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Historically...

These links are interesting, historically when depressions hit dentists lose work...

The Great Depression and the New Deal
"...even dentists could not find work."
http://www.orange.k12.oh.us:16080/teach ... wdeal.html

Farm Life During the Great Depression
...could not afford to go to the dentist, leaving their teeth very unhealthy.

[steam_cannon]

Some good advice at the end of that article...

"On that thought, the more doomsterish among you may want to take a look at Where there is no Dentist (companion to Where there is no Doctor). You can buy the book from Amazon, or download it for free. These books cover self managed healthcare, typically in communities within the non-industrialised world where access to professionally trained dentists and doctors is very restricted."
http://transitiontowns.org/TransitionNe ... lDentistry

Where There Is No Dentist
* Front matter: Cover, Thanks, Table of Contents, Introduction
* Chapter 1: Your Own Teeth and Gums
* Chapter 2: Teaching Family and Friends in Your Community
* Chapter 3: Teaching Children At School
* Chapter 4: School Activities for Learning about Teeth and Gums
* Chapter 5: Taking Care of Teeth and Gums
* Chapter 6: Treating Some Common Problems
* Chapter 7: Hearing difficulties and communication
* Chapter 8: Scaling Teeth
* Chapter 9: Injecting Inside the Mouth
* Chapter 10: Cement Fillings
* Chapter 11: Taking Out a Tooth
* Chapter 12: HIV/AIDS and Care of the Teeth and Gums
* Back Matter: Appendices, Vocabulary, Index

[SILENTTODD]

The famous John Henry Holliday (1851-1887), "Doc Holliday" of Wyatt Earp and Tombstone, Arizona fame was a dentist by training before the oil age.

Of course in his day his services mostly consisted of yanking out abscess teeth in the most expedient way possible.