I would appreciate some feedback on how to deal with an issue I am having with my boyfriend regarding his dental hygiene. Sorry in advance for the lengthy post, but I think a little background is necessary. Basically, he does not take good care of his teeth. He only brushes once or twice a week, never flosses, the only thing he does consistently is scrape his teeth with a toothpick after every meal. His teeth are in decent shape but a little on the yellow side. His reasoning behind it is that many of the common dental practices are actually bad for teeth – for example he thinks brushing wears away the enamel, and he won’t whiten his teeth because he says teeth aren’t naturally supposed to be white and artificial whiteners damage teeth. Plus, he says, back in the day before modern dentistry, people got by fine without all the “gimmicks” we adhere to today. He is also very hesitant to see a dentist because apparently when he was younger, he didn’t go to the dentist until he was about 10 years old (his family was poor and did not have consistent health insurance for the first few years of his life), and he said that when he went to the dentist for the first time, the dentist told him that his teeth were in great shape, no cavities etc. The dentist did recommend brushing more frequently, which he started to do. 6 months later, when he went in for another cleaning, he suddenly had 5 cavities. He says this has been a trend throughout his life – the more he brushes and goes in for cleanings, the more cavities he has. He thinks he will be fine because he maintains a fairly healthy diet and does not eat a lot of sugary or acidic food, which he says is more important in determining dental health.
I’ve discussed this with him and he is pretty stubborn about it. He agreed to go to the dentist in the near future and even finally bought dental insurance through his job the other day, but said he will only go for a consultation and if the dentist says his teeth look fine, he will not let them clean his teeth, and he will continue his current practices (though he agreed that he should probably start flossing). In my opinion, he is being immature by relying on his own anecdotal theory as opposed to the advice that is overwhelmingly accepted by the vast majority of experts/people. The only thing I kind of understand is his reluctance to whiten his teeth – as much as the superficial part of me would like him to have whiter teeth, I have stopped pressing that issue because I’d rather focus on actual dental health as opposed to vanity. But with respect to the brushing/cleaning issue, it’s hard for me to intelligently argue with him because I’m no expert, everything I “know” about teeth was told to me by dentists, toothpaste companies, etc., which my boyfriend claims is biased information because dentists and toothpaste companies have an inherent interest in promoting these things for their own benefit. I’ve shown him websites saying what can happen if you don’t brush, but he’s not convinced, he blames it on the fact that people eat too much sugar nowadays.
I’m wondering if anyone who is more knowledgeable than myself can provide feedback on his claims. Is his reasoning at all credible? For example, is there any evidence that in times before modern dentistry, people’s teeth were still generally healthy? Are white teeth actually less healthy than yellowish teeth? Does regular brushing actually wear down enamel? Can you suggest anything I can say or show to him, preferably something that is grounded in actual evidence as opposed to general statements made by some dentistry association website? Particularly, if anyone has a link to a study or research paper on this topic, that would be helpful. Thanks in advance!
I’ve discussed this with him and he is pretty stubborn about it. He agreed to go to the dentist in the near future and even finally bought dental insurance through his job the other day, but said he will only go for a consultation and if the dentist says his teeth look fine, he will not let them clean his teeth, and he will continue his current practices (though he agreed that he should probably start flossing). In my opinion, he is being immature by relying on his own anecdotal theory as opposed to the advice that is overwhelmingly accepted by the vast majority of experts/people. The only thing I kind of understand is his reluctance to whiten his teeth – as much as the superficial part of me would like him to have whiter teeth, I have stopped pressing that issue because I’d rather focus on actual dental health as opposed to vanity. But with respect to the brushing/cleaning issue, it’s hard for me to intelligently argue with him because I’m no expert, everything I “know” about teeth was told to me by dentists, toothpaste companies, etc., which my boyfriend claims is biased information because dentists and toothpaste companies have an inherent interest in promoting these things for their own benefit. I’ve shown him websites saying what can happen if you don’t brush, but he’s not convinced, he blames it on the fact that people eat too much sugar nowadays.
I’m wondering if anyone who is more knowledgeable than myself can provide feedback on his claims. Is his reasoning at all credible? For example, is there any evidence that in times before modern dentistry, people’s teeth were still generally healthy? Are white teeth actually less healthy than yellowish teeth? Does regular brushing actually wear down enamel? Can you suggest anything I can say or show to him, preferably something that is grounded in actual evidence as opposed to general statements made by some dentistry association website? Particularly, if anyone has a link to a study or research paper on this topic, that would be helpful. Thanks in advance!
