# The benefits of good oral hygiene.



## Globalti (3 Jan 2020)

Can we discuss this? I neglected my teeth and gums up to my thirties, when I began a regime of flossing and brushing. Nowadays I floss front teeth then brush with an Oral B rotating electric brush then clean between molars with a tiny bottle brush. At 63 I don't have bad breath and I'm in good health. My mum has a similarly obsessive routine and is in extremely good health at 89, although as an ex-physio she understands the importance of regular exercise so she walks and works out at a gym and eats well.

My Dad, on the other hand, had terrible gum disease, scrubbed at his teeth the wrong way, had bad breath and was diagnosed with pre-senile dementia at the age of 54, dying with it aged 65. Thanks to his bad brushing technique he had scrubbed away all the enamel from his teeth exposing the dentine and his mouth was a mass of amalgam. He was in the habit of munching an acidic green apple every night before bed and I'm sure the acid must have attacked the fillings releasing mercury into his saliva. My cycling buddy who is a gastroenterologist agrees that mercury poisoning could be a factor but says that we can't be sure because nobody has studied it.

I'm sure that people who neglect their teeth and have bad breath as a consequence must have mouths that are teeming with bad bacteria as the food trapped between their teeth rots. I have known some people, most notably when I lived in France in my 30s, who had the most appalling bad breath and a couple of growing relationships with young French women foundered when I got close to them and realised they had terrible breath. My cycling buddy agrees that swallowing bad bacteria and bacteria entering the bloodstream thanks to gingivitis are bad for your health and now I've found this well-reasoned infomercial about it, admittedly written by a toothpaste manufacturer, but nonetheless informative: https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-...ntal-care-can-affect-your-overall-health-0313

What do others think about all this?


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## mudsticks (3 Jan 2020)

I've never had a filling, or extraction in my life.

_And_ I haven't got a telly.

Correlation? Or causation?? 
Or all those veggies? 

I'm wondering if the 'bad breath' was down to the amount of garlic the Frenchies eat.

Back in the day when we didn't so much, it was quite a noticeable odour on them..


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## gavroche (3 Jan 2020)

I am 69, good teeth, still have my appendix , tonsils and good health,no joints pain, rarely ill, never smoked or taken drugs ( apart from prescribed ones) drink very little alcohol, so I will probably go with a massive heart attack when the time comes.


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## Globalti (3 Jan 2020)

No, it was worse than just diet. In the office where I worked there was a communal toothbrush in a drawer and when people had a dentist appointment they would come over and borrow it. It was frayed and filthy dirty. My secretary was a nice-looking woman but her teeth were gummed up with thick plaque and her breath always smelled stale. Companies like Colgate Palmolive and Unilever used to publish shocking statistics about toothbrush ownership in France in the 60s and 70s.


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## MichaelW2 (3 Jan 2020)

You only need to floss teeth that you want to keep.


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## Cycleops (3 Jan 2020)

mudsticks said:


> I'm wondering if the 'bad breath' was down to the amount of garlic the Frenchies eat.
> 
> Back in the day when we didn't so much, it was quite a noticeable odour on them..


The garlic wouldn't necessarily cause bad breath but sufficient ingestion would cause it to be released through sweat, hence the odour you noticed.


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## ColinJ (3 Jan 2020)

Cycleops said:


> The garlic wouldn't necessarily cause bad breath but sufficient ingestion would cause it to be released through sweat, hence the odour you noticed.


I once had a colleague complain to me about the 'stink' of garlic from me. (I actually _like_ the smell of garlic, so I didn't see the problem! )

Pretty bloody ironic, given that he stunk of cigarette smoke, beer, stale coffee, B.O., junk food farts, and appalling halitosis!


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## gavroche (3 Jan 2020)

ColinJ said:


> I once had a colleague complain to me about the 'stink' of garlic from me. (I actually _like_ the smell of garlic, so I didn't see the problem! )
> 
> Pretty bloody ironic, given that he stunk of cigarette smoke, beer, stale coffee, B.O., junk food farts, and appalling halitosis!


Garlic is also known for having medical values too , like purifying your blood, so keep having it.


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## Slick (3 Jan 2020)

I use a water flosser, amazing.


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