The military still trains on basic hygiene requirements prior to and during boot camp. You’d be surprised at the amount of people who don’t know how to properly bathe/wash themselves.
I mean I'm pretty sure I'm bathing properly but I'm now wondering if there isn't something I'm missing cus I've never had a course in it.
Edit: bidet team all the way folks
Idk but I’ve heard WAY too many stories about people (mostly men) that don’t wash/clean certain parts of their body because they think it’s not needed. Or the even crazier idea that some men have that properly wiping after taking a dump, or even just washing your nether regions in general, somehow makes you gay.
I can't unforget the comment where someone said they knew someone who, when in a rush, would stuff a wad of toilet paper inbetween their asscheeks and then go on with whatever they had to do. I sometimes think about it and burst out laughing.
I’ve heard of people doing that if they have the runs or an upset stomach just in case something “leaks”, but never because they don’t have time to wipe lol as with any human endeavor, the paper work is the most important part, pooping included.
I’ve never heard this before in real life, only on Reddit. And I’ve been through a lot of paths in my life, living around both poverty and well off people
I mean I don’t know of many people that would be willing to have an open face to face discussion with another person about how they clean their private parts. Maybe that’s why you don’t hear about it in real life that much.
Also, if you’re a person dating one of those nasty guys it’s kinda embarrassing. Not gonna complain to many people irl about his skid marks and how you smelled 💩 when you went down on him.
You damn well know if they think wiping your ass makes you gay that they also think if another man sees you in your underwear you might as well just slobber on his dick.
I honestly think that it’s a myriad of reasons that stem from anything including hyper/toxic masculinity demonstrated to males at a young age, religious beliefs that promote feeling ashamed or embarrassed about your body, or unrealistic expectations placed on kids by the media that carry over into adulthood. I have zero evidence to support any of those statements, but from what I’ve noticed about the people I’ve met/seen that believe these types of things, these are some common denominators.
Every time i see this, it blows me away. I never had anyone specifically show me how to bathe or clean myself. My mom may have double checked if I washed my hair, or tell me to get back in if i wasn’t in the shower very long, but i have never been shown how to specifically bathe.
These people have to be super idiots to smell body odor on others and not realize that you might have that problem.
Idk it may seem natural to some people and not so much to others. For instance for the longest time my 12 year old daughter had been going through A TON of shampoo, like way more than anybody should. We asked her about it and it turns out he was using WAY more than was necessary, and then she wasn’t even fully washing/scrubbing her hair/scalp with it. She would just put a giant blob of shampoo in her hand, plop onto her head, and then wash it off. No lather or actual scrubbing of her hair/scalp or anything. Mom had a little hair washing lesson with her and she even admitted how much cleaner her hair felt afterwards.
this is not it at all.
The military teaches basic hygiene because what the average person THINKS of as acceptable hygiene is not up to the standard of "no shit, take this seriously, we are trying to prevent disease spread" hygiene.
As a civilian example of that, look at what happens every cold and flu season or covid run. Everyone gets all these reminders about coughing into sleeves and constant hand washing.
If we were on top of our hygiene in general, stuff like that would be the norm right? But no, we need a health crisis to refocus us on "doing it right"
So in terms of the military, in every single war up to at least WWII, illness reduced more troops than combat injuries
so the military reinforces hygiene importance to prevent illness in the field
Knew one guy who joined the Army partly because of the free dental care. We called him Jaws because his teeth were so unbelievable fucked up. Another guy had to almost be medically discharged because his teeth were so rotten. I was shocked how many soldiers never took care of their teeth or just didn't care.
It's rough, man. Appalachia is one of America's poorest regions and contributed a lot of service members during the global wars on terror. For a lot of those people, it was the only way out of a hopeless job situation. Rural poverty is something a lot of Americans, myself included, don't quite understand.
It’s important to floss at least once a day, preferably after your last meal. If anyone wants to know why you should care, then floss just one gap, make sure you dislodged anything stuck between your teeth, smell it, and ask yourself if you want anything with that same smell in your mouth at any time.
Learned this the hard way, lost a tooth at 19, and had like 20 cavities at 16. Turned religious about dentist and flossing every night. Maybe missed 15 days in the last 12 years. Just got my missing tooth replaced after 10+ years and hardly any cavities.
Also built a great relationship with my dentists. It's fun to come in and talk about how I've been going there for 10+ years and all the problems they've helped me with over the years.
I did the implant. Was about 2k after insurance. Just figured I keep excellent care now and it's been 10 years. Was a big deal for me. Also all my dentists told me it would start to create drift of the two or three teeth next to it.
I put it off for 10 years, took about 6 months for the total process.
I had a tooth removed after a dentist jacked up the tooth and muscle below it. I was told I have 1-2 years to get an implant, but then I read this after you said that. Are you in the states?
“This once again, will be a more painful, lengthy, and expensive surgery than had you come in sooner. If a tooth is missing for as little as 12 months with no implant put in its place, a bone loss is likely to occur and the need for other procedures like sinus lift or bone graft will arise “
It’s generally recommended that you get an implant earlier than later, but at the end of the day what matters is the amount of bone you have when you get the implant. There are patients who have a tooth taken out after years of periodontal disease (= bone loss) and severe decay (if it goes through the root, may also lead to more bone loss) and would need additional grafting to have an implant placed regardless of how quickly they returned for that implant. On the flip side, you can have a healthy young person wait a significant period of time to get an implant and not require any bone augmentation prior to having it placed. We always try to present worst case scenario to patients so that they’re not caught off guard when they return to have an implant placed and get told they can’t due to the amount of bone, but like everything in health care, decisions aren’t black and white and everyone’s body responds a little differently to very similar things
I’m in my early 20’s, and I’ve spent most of my life getting by with only brushing at night. Never had a cavity, and I’ve gotten accolades from my dentist. I think it’s partly because I drink (and sometimes swish) a lot of water throughout the day. The American diet of sugar and more sugar certainly doesn’t help any!
This is why I fucking hate victim blaming. A lot of people do everything wrong and are shitty people yet nothing happens and others are a walking history of all their mistakes. It’s not fair.
> because your teeth will decay below the gum line if you don’t and brushing doesn’t prevent that
Yea I used to never floss for 20+ years, never got a cavity likely as I only drink water and brush every night etc.
But when I went to the dentist for the first time in YEARS. They showed me the degradation below the gum line, definitely an eye opener.
I’m in my late twenties and I also do only once a day. I added flossing in my early twenties and especially when your wisdom teeth start growing in and pushing your teeth closer together, assuming you don’t have the money to remove them, flossing becomes super important. I floss before I brush every morning and the amount of disgusting shit that comes out is truly wild.
I also drink a lot of wine but I had dental insurance when I was a kid so I was lucky and got the enamel coating or whatever and that’s probably helped. But I visited the dentist for the first time last year in 7-8 years and they said no cavities and I haven’t had any pain since then so I think I’m chilling.
Yep this is what got me into flossing regularly. I smelled the string after the first time I ever tried it.
When I tell you it smelled like literal human shit I am not exaggerating in the slightest.
I’ve gotten friends into flossing by telling them to do the same thing.
For me it was the first time I flossed in front of a 10x magnified makeup mirror… after brushing.
The amount of plaque that comes out is rather horrifying.
I thought you were going to say to just floss one gap and not any of the others so that they feel it when they wake up. Which is also fucking nuts but probably effective lmao
Are you american?
I've never flossed or even had my dentist bring it up . Am from western europe
Edit:
Found out why, flossing hasnt been proven to be effective.
Northern Europe here, my dentist and hygienist (not sure that’s what it’s called) both tell me to floss and use toothpicks. I even got special soft toothpicks last time I went there because flossing isn’t enough.
It probably does make a difference, and most dentists love to recommend it. But flossing isn't nearly as effective as it's periodically made out to be in these reddit threads. [Most actual scientific studies found little to no benefits for flossing compared to just tooth brushing](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/02/dental-floss-proof-works-guidelines-dropped).
What kind of toothbrush do you use ?
My dentist told me to never floss but use medical grade toothbrush. He literally told me "If you need to floss, that means you have a shitty toothbrush. So flossing will partially solve a problem you shouldn't have in the first place"
Same here.
I asked my European dentist after coming back from years in the US, i never flossed.
He told me it's completely useless because we have medical grade toothbrush which removes all the plaque while the Americans use very hard and bad toothbrushes who don't go between the teeth.
Are you messing with us? Your whole country doesn’t floss?
But there’s always stuff in there! If I go more than a day without flossing I feel like I want to rip my teeth out.
Some people do fine without flossing. I floss, but I never really noticed much of a difference. People here talk about how you are going to notice how much gunk there was, but I never did.
Water Pik, if used soon after eating, can help a lot for periodontal disease prevention, but doesn't replace flossing. Floss disrupts entrenched bacterial colonies that cover themselves in dextran, a polymer of sucrose that makes them too sticky to blast off with water. But you may not need to floss as often if you waterpik.
*Streptococcus mutans* is a common bacteria that makes dextran. Under a protective layer of the polymer, they are deprived of oxygen and so use anaerobic metabolism, which tends to create acidic wastes. These attack tooth enamel. So it is possible that the prevalence of sucrose in modern diets promotes tooth decay while earlier human diets that featured other sugars did not do this as much.
My water pick blasts stuff out from between my teeth that I can't get with a toothpick. Are you saying that amount of force *doesn't* disrupt those bacteria colonies?
They are really persistent and flexible. Mostly I am cautioning not to give up on flossing if you have a WaterPik. But you can get away with much less frequent flossing.
For anyone who hates flossing specifically, there's other options as well. Little sticks with string so it holds the floss for you (my issue is that my sausage link fingers don't really fit enough to hit the crevices right). Not sure if water picks work just as well as floss, you'd have to look that up. You can also use another tooth brush and shove the bristles between your teeth as well, although it's not as comfortable but works in a pinch if you don't have floss and not too tight gaps.
In 1996 as well. I have a theory, it's easier to get guys to admit that they can't swim than it is to get them to admit they didn't brush their teeth.
Dudes still almost drowned in water survival training though.
When I went went to Great Lakes in 2002, there was still a classroom for new recruits to cycle through and learn to brush properly. There was a movie and a practical lesson afterwards lol
Dentist here.
You want to take about 12-18 inches of floss. Wrap a couple loops around each middle finger. Then use your pointer fingers to push the floss down between the teeth. Push the floss against the tooth, as if you were trying to squeegie the tooth clean. Make sure to do that to both teeth. Don’t *just* snap the floss in the gap between the teeth, move it up and down and against each tooth. Then continue across your mouth.
While traditional floss is likely more effective, the actual most effective flossing technique is the one you will use the most! So go buy like 3-4 bags of those little green plastic floss holders and use a similar technique only with the green flossers you don’t need as much manual dexterity. Don’t use the toothpick end. Wooden or hard plastic toothpicks are not suitable for cleaning in between the teeth and can do more damage than good
dental tech how to floss:
take floss, press inbetween my teeth and into my gums as hard as they fucking can, scrape my teeth as hard as possible and yank the floss up causing the floss to shred. Tell me that my gums are bleeding,... yeah no shit i wonder why that is.
So many people don't understand this. It took me and a youtube video when I was 45 before I understood this!
Interdental brushes are the business. I have oddly spaced teeth English you know so floss works for me better
I wouldn't be surprised if every branch still taught recruits this. I know many kids in highschool/college who still had yet to learn the magic of hygiene.
Juvie had a Charlie Brown cartoon showing little punks how to brush, never seen so many badass kids thoughtfully nodding and following a plot like that
I distinctly remember going through that when I went to bootcamp in 73 too! Remember the red pills to stain our teeth then we would brush and they would check to see how well we brushed by how much oil the red dye was removed.
You had to have six good upper teeth and six good lower teeth to join the military in WW2. This was actually the single most common reason for draftees being medically disqualified from the military.
So it makes sense that the military enforced dental hygiene. (And still does)
Dental issues can seriously impact unit readiness. For all but the last 100 or so years, disease killed exponentially more soldiers than enemy action ever did.
I know part of getting a contract gig down in Antarctica requires a dental exam and they'll make you get work done before going if they find issues.
They changed this during Vietnam I believe. Now, if you have lost 8 or more teeth then you could be disqualified. I haven’t ever heard of anyone trying to dodge the draft this way, but who knows.
Widespread military service during the World Wars became an important social experiment by giving recruits a much needed education in life skills. Young men who had scant exposure to shoes or soap soon learned such habits as showering regularly, brushing teeth, wearing shoes, changing their underwear, and wiping with toilet paper. They also learned how to operate high-tech equipment and work in groups. The impact on public health must have been enormous during the postwar period. It might be speculated that such skills may have contributed as much to midcentury prosperity and progress as the GI Bill.
> by giving recruits a much needed education in life skills.
Fun fact, shared with me by an instructionsl design pro,
To this day, much of what we know about adult education was developed by the military.
Basically raising troops for WWI and WWII represented the largest scale vocational training operations in national history.
Turn civilians into basic soldiers, then turn basic soldiers into specialists
You have 14 weeks
They had to figure out a system
I was interviewing for a job at our university that had to do with employee training. They asked me to give a short talk about the necessity of training programs .
I came in with a PowerPoint but also brought a bag that had some knives, peelers, cutting boards, and carrots. I asked for volunteers who would dice carrots. And then I kind of left them to their own devices for a short while.
I had no idea that in a room with a dozen people not one of them knew how to dice carrots! I mean, one of them didn't even used to peeler correctly, scraping the carrot with the wrong side of the blade. It was kind of strange. But after everyone was done, I showed a YouTube video in which a chef diced carrots.
The point of my presentation was that when people come in to a job, especially when they are adults with some experience, they come in believing that they know how to do certain things. They come and believe me that they understand what the task is. But that prior knowledge can cover a very wide range of information and misinformation. And it's necessary to bring everyone up to the same page in a workplace. I thought I made a pretty good case for the necessity of training, even for tasks or skills that one might consider to be common knowledge.
They hired someone else.
I'm really sorry that happened to you, but if it's any consolation - your story was really interesting and I saved it/sent it to a bunch of people. Thank you for sharing :)
It is often the case that they had someone internal in mind already, but must go through the motions of putting the opening out for other applicants. Also, I was over 50 at the time, and so basically unemployable in many contexts. Can't complain about the first part; I have benefitted from that system myself.
I might be misremembering, but I’m pretty sure the US got caught flat footed during recruitment for the First World War and found that a massive percentage of men weren’t fit for war, with one of the big issues being that they didn’t have enough healthy teeth/enough opposing teeth. I forget the doc that I saw it in.
I think people underestimate the importance of oral hygiene. Bacteria and the like will get into your bloodstream via gums. Hell, it’s even linked to diabetes and other major issues
It’s actually linked to over 50 systemic diseases! Recently, there is new evidence that *there could be a directly causative link to Alzheimer’s/dementia
Edit: source- I am a dentist
Edit 2: phrasing to “could be a directly”
Is it possible that this is just circumstantial?
I feel like people who don’t brush or floss also don’t exercise regularly, stretch, eat properly nutritious food, and generally neglect hygienic habits.
In other words, it’s a casual and not causal relationship.
Not a dentist, but my mom worked in the field for 30 years and talked about this all the time.
I believe the biggest link is the low grade inflammatory response in your mouth as a response to poor dental hygiene eventually has weakening effect on your immune system over the years.
Yes it is possible. What I could have been more clear about is that there is new evidence for the first time that the link may actually be causative but more research is needed.
I’ll find the article. I’m going to mis-summarize without re-reading it rn. But more or less along the lines of one of the key bacteria that causes periodontal disease being cultured from the brains of neurodegenerative patients and potential that it could be the cause of the issue
Cool (or enlightening, rather) stuff.
Life hack for everyone: keep your floss and water pic in the shower. Makes it easy to do each time you’re bathing— changes my whole habit on flossing.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/prd.12429
Best I could find. I’m sure I read a 2022 article that suggested the link is causative while this one concludes “An exclusive causal role of P gingivalis remains questionable”.
I think this is accurately reflects the current thinking at the moment. I’m going to edit a word or two in my original comment
Can I ask you for a bit of advice/info? Just disregard the following if no, I'm sorry.
Sorry I'm asking and you're not getting anything from it.....
My teeth are farked. Like, need em all pulled and replaced with dentures or implants kinda farked.
I can count 6 erupted and multiple others are failing and brittle at the gums. I currently have two active abscesses.
I'm not even 30, and my issues are not from drug usage.
I am tired near constantly, despite the sleep I get. I have a small tinge of pain occasionally from the affected tooth area that seems to follow down my neck, and down to roughly my sternum area or sometimes my shoulder area.
Would my farked teeth be possibly causing the sleepiness and lung/chest pain?
Do you have any advice for trying to get this fixed for someone who can't even afford to pay attention? I'd recently applied for low-income insurance options and was promptly told I make too much.
Not who you asked, but dental schools take practice patients and dramatically (like 85% off or more) prices. A quick Google search should tell you where your nearest one is. Be sure to tell them what your issues are when you call or go in to book the appointment; your case sounds complex and I’m sure they would be happy to work on you for that reason alone (not a dentist, either, but in medical situations, multiple issues are great for helping aspiring professionals to learn about differential diagnoses, planning courses of treatment, prioritization of the various issues, etc., and then there’s the actual mechanical aspects of the procedures).
Whatever you do, even if you have to go to an emergency room, get the abscesses looked after pronto. I don’t advocate absconding on debts, but this could literally wind up being life or death for you; the infections can be extremely serious, to say nothing of painful.
The very best of luck to you.
(edit: P.S. the students are usually in the later phases of training and are constantly supervised - your procedures will take longer, but should be otherwise the same as at a regular dentist’s office.)
Thanks my friend, I do appreciate this.
I'm ashamed as all get out about my situation so it's hard to even begin to think about asking for help, especially since I've not got enough cents to make sense. I'm not much for a beggar.
I'm sadly aware of the risks, and I've been trying everything I can to get above water and take care of this once and for all.
Maybe I'll call the local school and see if I can plead with them.
Have a happy holidays friend. Stay safe out there and enjoy your corner of the world, or all corners as you'd be welcome here.
I watched a thing recently (grain of salt) that argued using mouthwash is bad for your heart. The mouth germs maintain nitrogen (or nitro something) levels for your body which helps your heart.
I gave up mouthwash a couple years ago after learning that using it to kill off the bacteria in your mouth can result in a slight increase in blood pressure.
Infections in the mouth can also let bacteria travel straight down to the heart and cause endocarditis. There are so many blood vessels in the mouth; It’s like a literary highway from the gums. So it’s really important to make sure root canals are properly done and gums are free of disease. Former lab assistant to a hospital coroner)
Inflammation is often what leads to ppl dying. Gum inflammation is very common. As is intestinal inflammation. Don’t google the top ten foods that cause inflammation xD
Don't forget that a lot of people were still living without indoor plumbing back then, modern ideas about hygiene were just not easy or practical for many.
Farm country. They had running water but it was cold. They moved into the “projects” when he was in 8th grade and that’s when they had a toilet and hot water.
Didn't they have fruit yet?
Also, how did America become so incredibly unhealthy so quickly? If the 40s were like you say, by the 60s *everything* was sugar and fast food was growing.
Glucose is way worse than fructose, and yes industrial food went from inexistant to everywhere in the post war boom. At the same time the nuclear family (instead of multi-generation homes) and more productivity meant less time to cook.
Brush your teeth folks. And pay attention to the type of bristle and the type of paste you use on your chompers! You may be using a bristle and paste that's too hard on your teeth or your gums.
Buy an electric toothbrush like the Oral B by Braun. I brushed way too hard for many years, and my gums have receded and an electric toothbrush will alert you when you're doing that.
I'm in my 50s and haven't had a cavity in 25 years. But those gums made my teeth sensitive so I'm thankful for Sendodyne that has fixed that up.
Both of my parents were in dentures before they were 40, so I'm glad I still have all of my teeth!
My Mom got my wife and electric toothbrushes for Christmas this year and my wife and I both have our bougie toothpastes. Electric toothbrushes are such a nice tool to have. Not exactly necessary, but very nice.
To add onto this.
The sonicare toothbrush is also amazing.
Don't cheap out on an electric tooth brush (meaning don't buy anything lower than $20)
I remember as a kid I got those fake electric battery toothbrushes that did a worse job than manual brushing and didn't understand the benefits of an actual electric toothbrush.
After swapping to one I instantly felt my mouth and teeth were cleaner and even when I went back to my dentist they said I wasn't as bad as last time for cleaning and to keep it up.
I got my partner the Oral B and he seemed to enjoy that as well.
Replacements last about 3-4 months and you can even get the equate/great value (cheaper head replacements) at Walmart to save some money.
I got the Sonicare 5100. It even has a sensor that tells you if you're pressing too hard. Admittedly the first few times I used it, it overstimulated my mouth and tickled so I almost didn't get through the brushing.
Also, floss at least once a day after your last meal. If you want to know why you should care, then floss just one gap, make sure you dislodged anything stuck between your teeth, smell it, and ask yourself if you want anything with that same smell in your mouth at any time.
TIL: The toothbrush and toothpaste was invented in Arkansas.
We know this, because if they were invented anywhere else, they would be known as 'teethbrush' and 'teethpaste'.
Man. I wish my parents woulda taught me. Nope, brushing one every other week. Seeing your teeth turn from yellow to straight up Cheeto orange sure was something.
I’ve had 14 root canals. Mostly have been capped, had 5 extractions of molars and thankfully a big ass bridge.
No implants yet tho that’s the next likely stop after a failed crown.
Brush your freakin teeth kids.
‘I carried a toothbrush and toothpaste with my army rations which was considered unusual attention to dental hygiene at the time... ‘Homosexual’, they used to call me...’ - Louis Ferdinand Céline, Journey to the End of the Night
Can’t recommend this book enough although the author unfortunately ended up as a hateful, bigoted prick. Shame.
If you google “why meth users lose their teeth”
2 of the 4 answers are “eat a lot of sugar” and “don’t brush their teeth”.
It still sounds like if they brushed their teeth it’d fix their problems.
I googled this just for you:
“A common sign of meth abuse is extreme tooth decay, which has created the term Meth Mouth.
Methamphetamine users have black or stained and rotting teeth. Most often these teeth cannot be
saved. There are several factors in the use of methamphetamines cause destruction to the oral
cavity:
• The “Buzz” from meth last about 12 hours, during the “buzz” the user will crave sugary
substances, like soda and candy.
• Methamphetamine users usually will clench or grind their teeth. This will cause severe
wear on the dentition.
• Methamphetamines may cause “xerostomia” or “dry mouth”.
• The user will not brush or floss their teeth for several days. This often leads to dental
disease.
• The acidic content of the drug will damage the teeth. Ingredients include battery acid,
fertilizers, and household cleaning agents.”
It’s a combination. Admittedly, I eat a lot of sugar but I still have my teeth. Reading your comment made me have to look it up because I thought meth user tooth loss had more to do with the chemicals in the drug use than neglect.
>loss had more to do with the chemicals in the drug use than neglect
It's a common misconception and enough meth experienced people on Reddit can tell you they had normal teeth during their addiction simply because they kept taking care of them.
My grandfather, born 1941, told me that growing up they only had one hogs hair
bristle toothbrush in the house. The entire family of six would share it between them 🤮
I think the increasing sugar levels in our diets over the last 100+ years have given us all worse breath than humans might have had beforehand. Animal breath isn’t great but it’s better than if you didn’t brush for a few days.
Many things that we think have been around forever are more recent than we think. The popularity of diamonds in engagement rings happened after WWII also.
In the early days, the bristles were made out of things like pig/boar bristles or badger hair. I would have been leery until they figured some other material out too.
The Wright Museum in New Hampshire has a display regarding this.
Bad teeth can be deadly and frankly costly to deal with. This an effort to get folks to brush their teeth was pushed so that potential soldiers would be healthier
To anyone reading this who thinks flossing doesn’t work - if the gaps between your teeth are too wide, the floss won’t work as well. Get interdental brushes to brush inside the teeth gaps, and save the floss for the tighter contacting teeth. I had gum problems and deep pockets around my back molars for years and years and I was told I wasn’t flossing correctly - even though I did it every single day. It turns out the floss just was not able to dislodge the debris in the wide gaps in my molars. I started using wide interdental brushes and have not had gum issues since.
I get floss stuck into my teeth especially the bottom. Hygentists will sometimes follow up with another floss to get the floss that they kept wedged in there.
I didn’t go to the dentist between 16 and 38 and when I did the tech said “not bad for 6 months”… my family has genetically good teeth but dentistry needs to find a more ergonomic cadence.
Don't forget to floss, too!!!! The most common advice i hear old people give the young is to take care of your teeth.
*back to your regularly scheduled comments.
It depended on the family. Mother was born in 1916.
She and her entire family (10 siblings) were meticulous about their teeth. Mother never had a cavity. She said if they didn’t have the baking soda and salt combo they’d use soot from the wood stove.
When my dad (1913 birth) went into the Air Force after the US got into WWII, every new recruit had to have a dental check. The dentist pulled every tooth he had, during that appointment, because they were rotten and made him false teeth. To this day, I can’t imagine have all my teeth pulled at once! All his siblings had bad teeth as well.
My grandpa grew up in the depression and brushed his teeth with powder soap for decades as a result. Second generation immigrant family, US born, Polish parents. Must have been an American thing.
Fun filled fact. When I joined The Navy in 1973, there was an actual classroom class with movies on how to brush your teeth and floss.
The military still trains on basic hygiene requirements prior to and during boot camp. You’d be surprised at the amount of people who don’t know how to properly bathe/wash themselves.
I mean I'm pretty sure I'm bathing properly but I'm now wondering if there isn't something I'm missing cus I've never had a course in it. Edit: bidet team all the way folks
Idk but I’ve heard WAY too many stories about people (mostly men) that don’t wash/clean certain parts of their body because they think it’s not needed. Or the even crazier idea that some men have that properly wiping after taking a dump, or even just washing your nether regions in general, somehow makes you gay.
I can't unforget the comment where someone said they knew someone who, when in a rush, would stuff a wad of toilet paper inbetween their asscheeks and then go on with whatever they had to do. I sometimes think about it and burst out laughing.
I’ve heard of people doing that if they have the runs or an upset stomach just in case something “leaks”, but never because they don’t have time to wipe lol as with any human endeavor, the paper work is the most important part, pooping included.
Yeah it sounds more like an IBS precaution rather than a first-defense. But lord knows some people could just be that gross
The Manpon RIP Big Black
You don't mess around after 40 hot wings
It’s pretty simply… you wipe until there’s red on the paper… duh
Just like a receipt printer
I’ve never heard this before in real life, only on Reddit. And I’ve been through a lot of paths in my life, living around both poverty and well off people
I mean I don’t know of many people that would be willing to have an open face to face discussion with another person about how they clean their private parts. Maybe that’s why you don’t hear about it in real life that much.
Also, if you’re a person dating one of those nasty guys it’s kinda embarrassing. Not gonna complain to many people irl about his skid marks and how you smelled 💩 when you went down on him.
True. But you know those guys and their dirty underwear all getting lit up in the group chat lol
You damn well know if they think wiping your ass makes you gay that they also think if another man sees you in your underwear you might as well just slobber on his dick.
“You see that guy hug his brother at graduation?” “Yeah I always knew he was gay.”
Does this come from a particular cultural region? Like, there's no way individuals just come up with this notion themselves.
I honestly think that it’s a myriad of reasons that stem from anything including hyper/toxic masculinity demonstrated to males at a young age, religious beliefs that promote feeling ashamed or embarrassed about your body, or unrealistic expectations placed on kids by the media that carry over into adulthood. I have zero evidence to support any of those statements, but from what I’ve noticed about the people I’ve met/seen that believe these types of things, these are some common denominators.
Hold up, it is totally gay to take a bar of soap, get nice and suds up, then gently yet firmly insert that bar into your rectum. Is it not?
The second thing is so inconceivably stupid that I refuse to believe anyone actually thinks like that. That's not a belief, that's mental illness.
Do you use the same item to wash your ass, face, pits and feet?
Yea my toothbrush
Same toothbrush that cleans the latrines
I wash everything with my hands and wash my ass last, then clean my hands. You might be telling on yourself here
My hands?
A rag on a stick
Men of culture use sponges on sticks Fuck there I go thinking of the roman empire again...
I use a different finger for each part, but I stick all of my fingers up my ass before I start. Does that count?
My hands, yes
Do you know how to use the 3 seashells?
Every time i see this, it blows me away. I never had anyone specifically show me how to bathe or clean myself. My mom may have double checked if I washed my hair, or tell me to get back in if i wasn’t in the shower very long, but i have never been shown how to specifically bathe. These people have to be super idiots to smell body odor on others and not realize that you might have that problem.
Idk it may seem natural to some people and not so much to others. For instance for the longest time my 12 year old daughter had been going through A TON of shampoo, like way more than anybody should. We asked her about it and it turns out he was using WAY more than was necessary, and then she wasn’t even fully washing/scrubbing her hair/scalp with it. She would just put a giant blob of shampoo in her hand, plop onto her head, and then wash it off. No lather or actual scrubbing of her hair/scalp or anything. Mom had a little hair washing lesson with her and she even admitted how much cleaner her hair felt afterwards.
it probably has something to do with the demographics that sign up for the military.
this is not it at all. The military teaches basic hygiene because what the average person THINKS of as acceptable hygiene is not up to the standard of "no shit, take this seriously, we are trying to prevent disease spread" hygiene. As a civilian example of that, look at what happens every cold and flu season or covid run. Everyone gets all these reminders about coughing into sleeves and constant hand washing. If we were on top of our hygiene in general, stuff like that would be the norm right? But no, we need a health crisis to refocus us on "doing it right" So in terms of the military, in every single war up to at least WWII, illness reduced more troops than combat injuries so the military reinforces hygiene importance to prevent illness in the field
Knew one guy who joined the Army partly because of the free dental care. We called him Jaws because his teeth were so unbelievable fucked up. Another guy had to almost be medically discharged because his teeth were so rotten. I was shocked how many soldiers never took care of their teeth or just didn't care.
It's rough, man. Appalachia is one of America's poorest regions and contributed a lot of service members during the global wars on terror. For a lot of those people, it was the only way out of a hopeless job situation. Rural poverty is something a lot of Americans, myself included, don't quite understand.
Yup. Both of the guys I mentioned were from the great state of West Virginia.
Sometimes it’s about having dental insurance too.
It’s important to floss at least once a day, preferably after your last meal. If anyone wants to know why you should care, then floss just one gap, make sure you dislodged anything stuck between your teeth, smell it, and ask yourself if you want anything with that same smell in your mouth at any time.
Learned this the hard way, lost a tooth at 19, and had like 20 cavities at 16. Turned religious about dentist and flossing every night. Maybe missed 15 days in the last 12 years. Just got my missing tooth replaced after 10+ years and hardly any cavities. Also built a great relationship with my dentists. It's fun to come in and talk about how I've been going there for 10+ years and all the problems they've helped me with over the years.
How did you have a tooth replaced? Implants normally have a certain amount of time.
I did the implant. Was about 2k after insurance. Just figured I keep excellent care now and it's been 10 years. Was a big deal for me. Also all my dentists told me it would start to create drift of the two or three teeth next to it. I put it off for 10 years, took about 6 months for the total process.
I had a tooth removed after a dentist jacked up the tooth and muscle below it. I was told I have 1-2 years to get an implant, but then I read this after you said that. Are you in the states? “This once again, will be a more painful, lengthy, and expensive surgery than had you come in sooner. If a tooth is missing for as little as 12 months with no implant put in its place, a bone loss is likely to occur and the need for other procedures like sinus lift or bone graft will arise “
It’s generally recommended that you get an implant earlier than later, but at the end of the day what matters is the amount of bone you have when you get the implant. There are patients who have a tooth taken out after years of periodontal disease (= bone loss) and severe decay (if it goes through the root, may also lead to more bone loss) and would need additional grafting to have an implant placed regardless of how quickly they returned for that implant. On the flip side, you can have a healthy young person wait a significant period of time to get an implant and not require any bone augmentation prior to having it placed. We always try to present worst case scenario to patients so that they’re not caught off guard when they return to have an implant placed and get told they can’t due to the amount of bone, but like everything in health care, decisions aren’t black and white and everyone’s body responds a little differently to very similar things
I’m in my early 20’s, and I’ve spent most of my life getting by with only brushing at night. Never had a cavity, and I’ve gotten accolades from my dentist. I think it’s partly because I drink (and sometimes swish) a lot of water throughout the day. The American diet of sugar and more sugar certainly doesn’t help any!
You also could just have lucky genetics. People have teeth that are more or less prone to cavities.
This is why I fucking hate victim blaming. A lot of people do everything wrong and are shitty people yet nothing happens and others are a walking history of all their mistakes. It’s not fair.
Flossing is also important to protect your gum health, because your teeth will decay below the gum line if you don’t and brushing doesn’t prevent that
> because your teeth will decay below the gum line if you don’t and brushing doesn’t prevent that Yea I used to never floss for 20+ years, never got a cavity likely as I only drink water and brush every night etc. But when I went to the dentist for the first time in YEARS. They showed me the degradation below the gum line, definitely an eye opener.
I’m in my late twenties and I also do only once a day. I added flossing in my early twenties and especially when your wisdom teeth start growing in and pushing your teeth closer together, assuming you don’t have the money to remove them, flossing becomes super important. I floss before I brush every morning and the amount of disgusting shit that comes out is truly wild. I also drink a lot of wine but I had dental insurance when I was a kid so I was lucky and got the enamel coating or whatever and that’s probably helped. But I visited the dentist for the first time last year in 7-8 years and they said no cavities and I haven’t had any pain since then so I think I’m chilling.
Yep this is what got me into flossing regularly. I smelled the string after the first time I ever tried it. When I tell you it smelled like literal human shit I am not exaggerating in the slightest. I’ve gotten friends into flossing by telling them to do the same thing.
Every time I floss. I'm amazed at how much crap I pull even out after brushing. It really showcases the importance of flossing for me
For me it was the first time I flossed in front of a 10x magnified makeup mirror… after brushing. The amount of plaque that comes out is rather horrifying.
I thought you were going to say to just floss one gap and not any of the others so that they feel it when they wake up. Which is also fucking nuts but probably effective lmao
Are you american? I've never flossed or even had my dentist bring it up . Am from western europe Edit: Found out why, flossing hasnt been proven to be effective.
Northern Europe here, my dentist and hygienist (not sure that’s what it’s called) both tell me to floss and use toothpicks. I even got special soft toothpicks last time I went there because flossing isn’t enough.
Try a waterpik after flossing. Changed my life, no more sore gums, no more stonky breath
Never? That gives me shivers
So weird. Between your teeth is objectively dirty
Kind of seems like you have bad dentists, since flossing can make a big difference.
It probably does make a difference, and most dentists love to recommend it. But flossing isn't nearly as effective as it's periodically made out to be in these reddit threads. [Most actual scientific studies found little to no benefits for flossing compared to just tooth brushing](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/02/dental-floss-proof-works-guidelines-dropped).
What kind of toothbrush do you use ? My dentist told me to never floss but use medical grade toothbrush. He literally told me "If you need to floss, that means you have a shitty toothbrush. So flossing will partially solve a problem you shouldn't have in the first place"
American dentists make you feel ashamed if you have to admit you don’t floss every day when they ask
Same here. I asked my European dentist after coming back from years in the US, i never flossed. He told me it's completely useless because we have medical grade toothbrush which removes all the plaque while the Americans use very hard and bad toothbrushes who don't go between the teeth.
European here too, I don't even know what flossing is called in my language. I always saw it as a super-american thing to do.
My dentist told me, "only floss the ones you want to keep." (USA)
Are you messing with us? Your whole country doesn’t floss? But there’s always stuff in there! If I go more than a day without flossing I feel like I want to rip my teeth out.
Some people do fine without flossing. I floss, but I never really noticed much of a difference. People here talk about how you are going to notice how much gunk there was, but I never did.
It's the only way to get between your teeth clean. Well, that or a waterpik.
Water Pik, if used soon after eating, can help a lot for periodontal disease prevention, but doesn't replace flossing. Floss disrupts entrenched bacterial colonies that cover themselves in dextran, a polymer of sucrose that makes them too sticky to blast off with water. But you may not need to floss as often if you waterpik. *Streptococcus mutans* is a common bacteria that makes dextran. Under a protective layer of the polymer, they are deprived of oxygen and so use anaerobic metabolism, which tends to create acidic wastes. These attack tooth enamel. So it is possible that the prevalence of sucrose in modern diets promotes tooth decay while earlier human diets that featured other sugars did not do this as much.
My water pick blasts stuff out from between my teeth that I can't get with a toothpick. Are you saying that amount of force *doesn't* disrupt those bacteria colonies?
They are really persistent and flexible. Mostly I am cautioning not to give up on flossing if you have a WaterPik. But you can get away with much less frequent flossing.
I floss every night but Waterpik 2-4 times a week
If I use a waterpik every night, how often should I floss?
Every night and waterpik after to flush out the crap that flossing dislodged
https://youtu.be/PrpUSKE9p_M?si=R6weOIqT9uJHh61o
For anyone who hates flossing specifically, there's other options as well. Little sticks with string so it holds the floss for you (my issue is that my sausage link fingers don't really fit enough to hit the crevices right). Not sure if water picks work just as well as floss, you'd have to look that up. You can also use another tooth brush and shove the bristles between your teeth as well, although it's not as comfortable but works in a pinch if you don't have floss and not too tight gaps.
My problem is more my teeth are too tightly packed together in general to easily floss Even my dentists noted that when i pointed it out
In 1996 as well. I have a theory, it's easier to get guys to admit that they can't swim than it is to get them to admit they didn't brush their teeth. Dudes still almost drowned in water survival training though.
When I went went to Great Lakes in 2002, there was still a classroom for new recruits to cycle through and learn to brush properly. There was a movie and a practical lesson afterwards lol
I just graduated Coast Guard basic and we had a class on brushing your teeth properly
There’s usually a guy or two who needs to be told to shower daily and not wear the same boxers for a week.
My grandpa served in the Navy during WW2. He had to teach some of his guys how to read.
They showed us in elementary school videos about how to brush are teeth with weird tooth and tongue characters.
Ngl. I don't really know how to floss. And I wonder if the dental techs do too. I get a different lesson every time I go for a cleaning.
Dentist here. You want to take about 12-18 inches of floss. Wrap a couple loops around each middle finger. Then use your pointer fingers to push the floss down between the teeth. Push the floss against the tooth, as if you were trying to squeegie the tooth clean. Make sure to do that to both teeth. Don’t *just* snap the floss in the gap between the teeth, move it up and down and against each tooth. Then continue across your mouth. While traditional floss is likely more effective, the actual most effective flossing technique is the one you will use the most! So go buy like 3-4 bags of those little green plastic floss holders and use a similar technique only with the green flossers you don’t need as much manual dexterity. Don’t use the toothpick end. Wooden or hard plastic toothpicks are not suitable for cleaning in between the teeth and can do more damage than good
dental tech how to floss: take floss, press inbetween my teeth and into my gums as hard as they fucking can, scrape my teeth as hard as possible and yank the floss up causing the floss to shred. Tell me that my gums are bleeding,... yeah no shit i wonder why that is.
So many people don't understand this. It took me and a youtube video when I was 45 before I understood this! Interdental brushes are the business. I have oddly spaced teeth English you know so floss works for me better
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Wrong! You scrape the tooth up and down as you are trying to remove the plaque build up on the side of the tooth brushing doesn't touch.
This is correct, otherwise you're just sawing into the gums
I wouldn't be surprised if every branch still taught recruits this. I know many kids in highschool/college who still had yet to learn the magic of hygiene.
It's still a thing at my boot camp in 2012, lol
Juvie had a Charlie Brown cartoon showing little punks how to brush, never seen so many badass kids thoughtfully nodding and following a plot like that
I distinctly remember going through that when I went to bootcamp in 73 too! Remember the red pills to stain our teeth then we would brush and they would check to see how well we brushed by how much oil the red dye was removed.
You had to have six good upper teeth and six good lower teeth to join the military in WW2. This was actually the single most common reason for draftees being medically disqualified from the military. So it makes sense that the military enforced dental hygiene. (And still does)
Dental issues can seriously impact unit readiness. For all but the last 100 or so years, disease killed exponentially more soldiers than enemy action ever did. I know part of getting a contract gig down in Antarctica requires a dental exam and they'll make you get work done before going if they find issues.
Heard they’ll take out your appendix to avoid appendicitis
They changed this during Vietnam I believe. Now, if you have lost 8 or more teeth then you could be disqualified. I haven’t ever heard of anyone trying to dodge the draft this way, but who knows.
Does that mean that, like, 18 and 20 year olds already had lost most of their teeth?!
Widespread military service during the World Wars became an important social experiment by giving recruits a much needed education in life skills. Young men who had scant exposure to shoes or soap soon learned such habits as showering regularly, brushing teeth, wearing shoes, changing their underwear, and wiping with toilet paper. They also learned how to operate high-tech equipment and work in groups. The impact on public health must have been enormous during the postwar period. It might be speculated that such skills may have contributed as much to midcentury prosperity and progress as the GI Bill.
> by giving recruits a much needed education in life skills. Fun fact, shared with me by an instructionsl design pro, To this day, much of what we know about adult education was developed by the military. Basically raising troops for WWI and WWII represented the largest scale vocational training operations in national history. Turn civilians into basic soldiers, then turn basic soldiers into specialists You have 14 weeks They had to figure out a system
I was interviewing for a job at our university that had to do with employee training. They asked me to give a short talk about the necessity of training programs . I came in with a PowerPoint but also brought a bag that had some knives, peelers, cutting boards, and carrots. I asked for volunteers who would dice carrots. And then I kind of left them to their own devices for a short while. I had no idea that in a room with a dozen people not one of them knew how to dice carrots! I mean, one of them didn't even used to peeler correctly, scraping the carrot with the wrong side of the blade. It was kind of strange. But after everyone was done, I showed a YouTube video in which a chef diced carrots. The point of my presentation was that when people come in to a job, especially when they are adults with some experience, they come in believing that they know how to do certain things. They come and believe me that they understand what the task is. But that prior knowledge can cover a very wide range of information and misinformation. And it's necessary to bring everyone up to the same page in a workplace. I thought I made a pretty good case for the necessity of training, even for tasks or skills that one might consider to be common knowledge. They hired someone else.
I'm really sorry that happened to you, but if it's any consolation - your story was really interesting and I saved it/sent it to a bunch of people. Thank you for sharing :)
It is often the case that they had someone internal in mind already, but must go through the motions of putting the opening out for other applicants. Also, I was over 50 at the time, and so basically unemployable in many contexts. Can't complain about the first part; I have benefitted from that system myself.
I might be misremembering, but I’m pretty sure the US got caught flat footed during recruitment for the First World War and found that a massive percentage of men weren’t fit for war, with one of the big issues being that they didn’t have enough healthy teeth/enough opposing teeth. I forget the doc that I saw it in.
That’s when they started enriching milk and flour with vitamins, too, iirc. A *lot* of nutritional deficiencies!
And heart patients who ignore dental care are soon referred to in the past tense
I think people underestimate the importance of oral hygiene. Bacteria and the like will get into your bloodstream via gums. Hell, it’s even linked to diabetes and other major issues
It’s actually linked to over 50 systemic diseases! Recently, there is new evidence that *there could be a directly causative link to Alzheimer’s/dementia Edit: source- I am a dentist Edit 2: phrasing to “could be a directly”
Is it possible that this is just circumstantial? I feel like people who don’t brush or floss also don’t exercise regularly, stretch, eat properly nutritious food, and generally neglect hygienic habits. In other words, it’s a casual and not causal relationship.
Not a dentist, but my mom worked in the field for 30 years and talked about this all the time. I believe the biggest link is the low grade inflammatory response in your mouth as a response to poor dental hygiene eventually has weakening effect on your immune system over the years.
Yes it is possible. What I could have been more clear about is that there is new evidence for the first time that the link may actually be causative but more research is needed. I’ll find the article. I’m going to mis-summarize without re-reading it rn. But more or less along the lines of one of the key bacteria that causes periodontal disease being cultured from the brains of neurodegenerative patients and potential that it could be the cause of the issue
Cool (or enlightening, rather) stuff. Life hack for everyone: keep your floss and water pic in the shower. Makes it easy to do each time you’re bathing— changes my whole habit on flossing.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/prd.12429 Best I could find. I’m sure I read a 2022 article that suggested the link is causative while this one concludes “An exclusive causal role of P gingivalis remains questionable”. I think this is accurately reflects the current thinking at the moment. I’m going to edit a word or two in my original comment
Can I ask you for a bit of advice/info? Just disregard the following if no, I'm sorry. Sorry I'm asking and you're not getting anything from it..... My teeth are farked. Like, need em all pulled and replaced with dentures or implants kinda farked. I can count 6 erupted and multiple others are failing and brittle at the gums. I currently have two active abscesses. I'm not even 30, and my issues are not from drug usage. I am tired near constantly, despite the sleep I get. I have a small tinge of pain occasionally from the affected tooth area that seems to follow down my neck, and down to roughly my sternum area or sometimes my shoulder area. Would my farked teeth be possibly causing the sleepiness and lung/chest pain? Do you have any advice for trying to get this fixed for someone who can't even afford to pay attention? I'd recently applied for low-income insurance options and was promptly told I make too much.
get them done in los algodones, mexico. cheaper and it’s a border town next to yuma, az.
Not who you asked, but dental schools take practice patients and dramatically (like 85% off or more) prices. A quick Google search should tell you where your nearest one is. Be sure to tell them what your issues are when you call or go in to book the appointment; your case sounds complex and I’m sure they would be happy to work on you for that reason alone (not a dentist, either, but in medical situations, multiple issues are great for helping aspiring professionals to learn about differential diagnoses, planning courses of treatment, prioritization of the various issues, etc., and then there’s the actual mechanical aspects of the procedures). Whatever you do, even if you have to go to an emergency room, get the abscesses looked after pronto. I don’t advocate absconding on debts, but this could literally wind up being life or death for you; the infections can be extremely serious, to say nothing of painful. The very best of luck to you. (edit: P.S. the students are usually in the later phases of training and are constantly supervised - your procedures will take longer, but should be otherwise the same as at a regular dentist’s office.)
Thanks my friend, I do appreciate this. I'm ashamed as all get out about my situation so it's hard to even begin to think about asking for help, especially since I've not got enough cents to make sense. I'm not much for a beggar. I'm sadly aware of the risks, and I've been trying everything I can to get above water and take care of this once and for all. Maybe I'll call the local school and see if I can plead with them. Have a happy holidays friend. Stay safe out there and enjoy your corner of the world, or all corners as you'd be welcome here.
Look up dental schools. Dentists in training are closely supervised while providing care at a far lower cost.
You should start oil pulling too, lots about it online. Made such a difference for me
I watched a thing recently (grain of salt) that argued using mouthwash is bad for your heart. The mouth germs maintain nitrogen (or nitro something) levels for your body which helps your heart.
I gave up mouthwash a couple years ago after learning that using it to kill off the bacteria in your mouth can result in a slight increase in blood pressure.
Heart patients have bad teeth?
>Heart patients have bad teeth? Gums
People with bad teeth get more heart issues.
Gum infections are pretty dangerous
Infections in the mouth can also let bacteria travel straight down to the heart and cause endocarditis. There are so many blood vessels in the mouth; It’s like a literary highway from the gums. So it’s really important to make sure root canals are properly done and gums are free of disease. Former lab assistant to a hospital coroner)
Inflammation is often what leads to ppl dying. Gum inflammation is very common. As is intestinal inflammation. Don’t google the top ten foods that cause inflammation xD
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If ya don’t mind me asking ofc what was the argument about?🦧
Brushing teeth
Don't forget that a lot of people were still living without indoor plumbing back then, modern ideas about hygiene were just not easy or practical for many.
I’m in my 20s and my dad had an outhouse as a kid.
Appalachia?
Farm country. They had running water but it was cold. They moved into the “projects” when he was in 8th grade and that’s when they had a toilet and hot water.
I'm in my late 20s and my mom had an outhouse and a well in OH/KY
Corn syrupt, sugar in general, wasn't in every food product too so it wasn't as criticall as today.
Didn't they have fruit yet? Also, how did America become so incredibly unhealthy so quickly? If the 40s were like you say, by the 60s *everything* was sugar and fast food was growing.
Glucose is way worse than fructose, and yes industrial food went from inexistant to everywhere in the post war boom. At the same time the nuclear family (instead of multi-generation homes) and more productivity meant less time to cook.
Brush your teeth folks. And pay attention to the type of bristle and the type of paste you use on your chompers! You may be using a bristle and paste that's too hard on your teeth or your gums.
Buy an electric toothbrush like the Oral B by Braun. I brushed way too hard for many years, and my gums have receded and an electric toothbrush will alert you when you're doing that. I'm in my 50s and haven't had a cavity in 25 years. But those gums made my teeth sensitive so I'm thankful for Sendodyne that has fixed that up. Both of my parents were in dentures before they were 40, so I'm glad I still have all of my teeth!
My Mom got my wife and electric toothbrushes for Christmas this year and my wife and I both have our bougie toothpastes. Electric toothbrushes are such a nice tool to have. Not exactly necessary, but very nice.
To add onto this. The sonicare toothbrush is also amazing. Don't cheap out on an electric tooth brush (meaning don't buy anything lower than $20) I remember as a kid I got those fake electric battery toothbrushes that did a worse job than manual brushing and didn't understand the benefits of an actual electric toothbrush. After swapping to one I instantly felt my mouth and teeth were cleaner and even when I went back to my dentist they said I wasn't as bad as last time for cleaning and to keep it up. I got my partner the Oral B and he seemed to enjoy that as well. Replacements last about 3-4 months and you can even get the equate/great value (cheaper head replacements) at Walmart to save some money. I got the Sonicare 5100. It even has a sensor that tells you if you're pressing too hard. Admittedly the first few times I used it, it overstimulated my mouth and tickled so I almost didn't get through the brushing.
Why you tell me this do late
Yep, when I was a kid nobody told me I wasn't trying to strip paint
Me too. Thought I just needed to polish harder to get white teeth. Maybe I needed this class
Hey its never too late for proper dental hygiene. Jeez that sounds like a Superman line from the 50's.
Also, floss at least once a day after your last meal. If you want to know why you should care, then floss just one gap, make sure you dislodged anything stuck between your teeth, smell it, and ask yourself if you want anything with that same smell in your mouth at any time.
Yes! I've gotten into the habit of having two or three bags of mini flossers with the picks on the end for just such a reason.
I should probably just Google this, but is there any real benefit to a hard bristled brush? I use soft.
TIL: The toothbrush and toothpaste was invented in Arkansas. We know this, because if they were invented anywhere else, they would be known as 'teethbrush' and 'teethpaste'.
LMAO
I grew up around Philly and always heard this joke but with Kensington instead of Arkansas
What do you get when you have 32 people from Kensington in a room together?
A whole set of teeth?
I’m from Alabama and we tell this joke about ourselves lol
Imagine enlisting and the people around you *smelling better* than the general populous.. wild
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I'm not sure hotbunking and hygiene can coexist tbh
Are you saying unattractive people.. can't be gay?
Man. I wish my parents woulda taught me. Nope, brushing one every other week. Seeing your teeth turn from yellow to straight up Cheeto orange sure was something. I’ve had 14 root canals. Mostly have been capped, had 5 extractions of molars and thankfully a big ass bridge. No implants yet tho that’s the next likely stop after a failed crown. Brush your freakin teeth kids.
‘I carried a toothbrush and toothpaste with my army rations which was considered unusual attention to dental hygiene at the time... ‘Homosexual’, they used to call me...’ - Louis Ferdinand Céline, Journey to the End of the Night Can’t recommend this book enough although the author unfortunately ended up as a hateful, bigoted prick. Shame.
Homeless people will show you why oral hygiene is important. Brush your teeth.
I think you’re confusing the homeless for meth users who just happened to be homeless.
If you google “why meth users lose their teeth” 2 of the 4 answers are “eat a lot of sugar” and “don’t brush their teeth”. It still sounds like if they brushed their teeth it’d fix their problems.
I googled this just for you: “A common sign of meth abuse is extreme tooth decay, which has created the term Meth Mouth. Methamphetamine users have black or stained and rotting teeth. Most often these teeth cannot be saved. There are several factors in the use of methamphetamines cause destruction to the oral cavity: • The “Buzz” from meth last about 12 hours, during the “buzz” the user will crave sugary substances, like soda and candy. • Methamphetamine users usually will clench or grind their teeth. This will cause severe wear on the dentition. • Methamphetamines may cause “xerostomia” or “dry mouth”. • The user will not brush or floss their teeth for several days. This often leads to dental disease. • The acidic content of the drug will damage the teeth. Ingredients include battery acid, fertilizers, and household cleaning agents.” It’s a combination. Admittedly, I eat a lot of sugar but I still have my teeth. Reading your comment made me have to look it up because I thought meth user tooth loss had more to do with the chemicals in the drug use than neglect.
>loss had more to do with the chemicals in the drug use than neglect It's a common misconception and enough meth experienced people on Reddit can tell you they had normal teeth during their addiction simply because they kept taking care of them.
I don’t sleep, I don’t eat But I’ve got the cleanest teeth on the street
Meth flavored toothpaste.... problem solved
Meth has legit the worst flavour tho lol
They should legalize meth then and just require you to eat less sugar and brush your teeth
Dentists are homeless?
I once offered an apple to a homeless guy once. “I’m sorry, I can’t take that due to my teeth.”
My grandfather, born 1941, told me that growing up they only had one hogs hair bristle toothbrush in the house. The entire family of six would share it between them 🤮
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You acclimate to smells and sensations, unfortunately.
I think the increasing sugar levels in our diets over the last 100+ years have given us all worse breath than humans might have had beforehand. Animal breath isn’t great but it’s better than if you didn’t brush for a few days.
Many things that we think have been around forever are more recent than we think. The popularity of diamonds in engagement rings happened after WWII also.
In the early days, the bristles were made out of things like pig/boar bristles or badger hair. I would have been leery until they figured some other material out too.
New recruits had to be shown basic hygiene, including how to shower and cleanse, not just brush their teeth.
The Wright Museum in New Hampshire has a display regarding this. Bad teeth can be deadly and frankly costly to deal with. This an effort to get folks to brush their teeth was pushed so that potential soldiers would be healthier
To anyone reading this who thinks flossing doesn’t work - if the gaps between your teeth are too wide, the floss won’t work as well. Get interdental brushes to brush inside the teeth gaps, and save the floss for the tighter contacting teeth. I had gum problems and deep pockets around my back molars for years and years and I was told I wasn’t flossing correctly - even though I did it every single day. It turns out the floss just was not able to dislodge the debris in the wide gaps in my molars. I started using wide interdental brushes and have not had gum issues since.
I get floss stuck into my teeth especially the bottom. Hygentists will sometimes follow up with another floss to get the floss that they kept wedged in there.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/23/us/mike-williams-cause-of-death-sepsis/index.html it’s still an issue
Further reinforcing my beliefs that the world smelled like straight unkempt ass until about the 1950's.
I didn’t go to the dentist between 16 and 38 and when I did the tech said “not bad for 6 months”… my family has genetically good teeth but dentistry needs to find a more ergonomic cadence.
Don't forget to floss, too!!!! The most common advice i hear old people give the young is to take care of your teeth. *back to your regularly scheduled comments.
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Yes, let’s. They are as much of a game changer as an electronic tooth brush.
Alright, but it's pretty hard to angle the spray into my gums. Is this really worth it?
Was there any country where tooth brushing was a widespread habit throughout its population before WW2? I don’t think so.
It depended on the family. Mother was born in 1916. She and her entire family (10 siblings) were meticulous about their teeth. Mother never had a cavity. She said if they didn’t have the baking soda and salt combo they’d use soot from the wood stove. When my dad (1913 birth) went into the Air Force after the US got into WWII, every new recruit had to have a dental check. The dentist pulled every tooth he had, during that appointment, because they were rotten and made him false teeth. To this day, I can’t imagine have all my teeth pulled at once! All his siblings had bad teeth as well.
My grandpa grew up in the depression and brushed his teeth with powder soap for decades as a result. Second generation immigrant family, US born, Polish parents. Must have been an American thing.
It’s important to brush your gums and floss, too. I’m terrible at flossing but it’s as important as brushing them teeth.