This post will discuss six dental care basics that your dentist may not be aware of but you should know about. I want to start by saying that if it was just about brushing twice daily, flossing, having two cleanings per year, and adding fluoride, why do so many patients suffer from cavities, gum disease, crooked teeth, no room for wisdom teeth, breathing problems, obesity, high blood pressure, and GERD? This post will explain it all.

 1. The Human Mouth Can Turn Crackers, Pretzels, and Bread Residue into Sugar

Humans have high levels of amylase in their saliva, which breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. This means that the residue from a cracker or pretzel that sticks to our teeth can turn into pure sugar within minutes, so it is just like sugar in the end. This makes foods made from processed carbohydrates just as capable of causing tooth decay as sugar.

 2. Teeth are Physically Hard but Chemically Weak

Teeth can withstand incredible amounts of force to break down the food we chew. However, they are chemically weak. When the pH is lowered to 5.5, which is acidic, the minerals of the teeth dissolve. When enough minerals have been dissolved, we are left with a hole, which dentists call a cavity. Acidic drinks like fruit juices can be problematic, but as we will see later in this post, other things cause acidity in the mouth.

 3. Tooth Decay is Caused by Processed Carbohydrates, Not Just Sugar

Tooth decay was virtually absent in human remains archaeologists unearthed that predate agriculture around ten thousand years ago. This underscores the profound impact of farming on our diet and dental health. The processing of grains into food products involves several key steps: milling, fermenting, and baking, each contributing to the transformation of raw grains into edible forms. Bread becomes predominantly made of carbohydrates that are freed from the seeds, which protect them from digestion. The germs in the mouth are able to ferment the carbohydrates and lower the pH rapidly, and the lower pH causes the minerals of the teeth to dissolve, leading to cavities.

 4. Gum Disease is Also Caused by Processed Carbs and Contributes to Modern Chronic Illness

When plaque in the mouth is exposed to processed carbohydrates, it can cause dental plaque to grow and become strong and complex. This plaque forms a protective layer that helps harmful bacteria to survive and multiply. The biofilm created by the plaque also shields bacteria from normal oral hygiene practices and reduces their exposure to oxygen. This makes it easier for anaerobic bacteria, which prefer low-oxygen environments, to thrive. When bacteria break down sugars, they produce acids and other toxins, including lipopolysaccharides (LPS). LPS is a powerful endotoxin found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. It can cause strong inflammatory responses in the host, which causes periodontitis, also known as gum disease. The germs and toxins flow through our bloodstream, causing chronic low levels of systemic inflammation that can lead to heart disease, strokes, and Alzheimer's.

 5. Most of Us Have the Jaw Width of an Eight-Year-Old

The human jaw's growth pattern is different from the rest of our body. Its most rapid growth period starts to wane around the age of eight. It grows in response to chewing hard foods. None of us in the Western world chew hard foods anymore. As a result, most of us have the jaw developmental width of an eight-year-old, resulting in crooked teeth, chewing problems, swallowing issues, and no room for wisdom teeth.

 6. Most of Us Have Deficient Profiles

Not only is the width of our jaws deficient, but forward growth is also lacking, making our profiles more convex. This means that the portion of the face below the nose is pushed back. Fully developed faces are straight on profile rather than convex. The tongue is forced closer to the throat, increasing the likelihood of breathing during sleep. As our airways narrower, the changes in how air flows get increasingly worse, to the point where an airway half the normal width makes it sixteen times harder to breathe! This situation can even lead to GERD because of the negative pressure associated with labored breathing.

Two Major Things We Can Do to Avoid Crooked Teeth, Impacted Wisdom Teeth, Cavities, and Gum Disease

First, we must ensure our babies chew hard foods like meat early in the weaning process. The distance between their upper molars (intermolar distance) should be 35 millimeters at age eight, 40 by twelve, and 45 by eighteen. A qualified dentist should be able to measure the intermolar distance. Next, we should shun foods made with processed carbohydrates. Bread, bagels, pasta, crackers, chips, pretzels, and the like should be avoided.

In summation, tooth decay and gum disease are new and are a result of processed carbohydrate consumption and sugar. We need to chew hard foods before we're eight years old to avoid having small jaws, resulting in crooked teeth and impacted wisdom teeth. Sometimes, no amount of brushing, flossing, fluoride, and dental cleanings are enough to stop tooth decay, gum disease, crooked teeth, and impacted wisdom teeth. Knowing these basics can help you take better care of your dental health.