As you know The Clifford Clinic offers dental services as well, so I have been doing quite a bit of reading up on dental care as well as various pathologies and treatment options. I'm like most people.. I absolutely hate going to the dentist. In fact I had a recent cleaning done by our dentist at the clinic and I was scared stiff! Well, came across this very interesting website recently.
http://butternutrition.com/heal-cavities-fact-or-fiction/
Of this entire website, there are a few myths which I can share my 2 cents worth.
1) Myth #1: “Nothing hurts so I must be OK”
To be honest, I always thought this was true. But dental disease if discovered at a very early stage actually is very easily treatable and is often asymptomatic - ie painless. Once it starts to hurt, more invasive and painful treatments are often needed.
I will probably try to go for check-ups more frequently.. sigh..
2) Myth #2: “I’ve heard you can heal cavities with XX and Myth #3: “An abscessed tooth can be healed”
Medically this doesn't make sense. You cannot reverse damage or infection. Once it gets infected, it needs medical treatment. Infection of the bone / tooth doesn't heal itself.
3) Myth #4: “You don’t need to take X-rays on me today unless you see a problem.”
I'm not too sure about this. I wouldn't take an X-ray of a patient's arm/leg/lungs unless I feel that there might be a problem. Would I want an X-ray to be taken if I visit the dentist for a regular check-up? I truly am unable to commend on this. Maybe ask your dentist and see what he thinks?
