Reducing or eliminating cavities

I've mentioned this before, but I have a sensitive to noise ear condition (hyperacusis) which makes it impossible to go to a dentist because the drill would be so close to my eardrum and much too loud.

I don't want my teeth pulled, so the idea for me is to avoid cavities. The way I decided to try that is to brush, floss and then gargle with Listerine Total Care.

The brushing cleans the teeth, the floss cleans in between teeth, and the Listerine Total Care kills the germs that cause cavities in between the teeth.

I've been doing this probably 15-20 years and I haven't had a cavity. I brush after every meal, but don't floss or gargle but about once a week, but I'm taking a chance with that so everyone will have to decide.

The way I know I should brush, floss and gargle is when I feel a tingle between two teeth (usually at night) which I take to be a pre-cavity. Then after brushing, flossing and gargling, the tingling goes away. I can't explain that, other than, those 3 kill the germs that cause cavities.

I also don't eat sugar because it hurts my ear condition, so the elimination of that greatly helps the cavity situation. Getting off of sugar was easy for me because I knew eliminating sugar helped my ear condition. I wouldn't recommend eating a lot of sugar and then seeing how much I could wash away.

Yes, I guess it was difficult for me to get off sugar, but when I read where it hurts hyperacusis (sensitive ears to noise) I was given a huge boost and I was able to do that pretty easily.

I have a neighbor up the street who also loves sugar, as you mentioned, and he loves it so much that as a diabetic he is willing to take two shots of insulin a day to counteract all the sugar he eats.

Even not eating sugar, I got diabetes. In addition to cavities from eating sugar, you also have to watch out for diabetes. And once you get it, it is very difficult to keep under control. So, you need to start watching out for diabetes now before you get it.

As for mouthwash, I found on the net:

LISTERINE® ANTISEPTIC IS THE ONLY NATIONALLY BRANDED OTC ANTISEPTIC MOUTHWASH THAT HAS EARNED THE ADA SEAL OF ACCEPTANCE TO PREVENT AND REDUCE PLAQUE AND GINGIVITIS.

You said, "I find that mouthwash, particularly Listerine, really burns my tongue and mouth, but it is great for killing germs. Lately, I've been thinking of getting a waterpik; I've heard it's great for removing plaque and reducing the risk of gingivitis."

As for the waterpik, I substitute that with, after I brush, I squish water through and around my teeth, sometimes upper sometimes lower, forcing water through my teeth and around them, etc.

You say, "I find that mouthwash, particularly Listerine, really burns my tongue and mouth, but it is great for killing germs."

1. On my bottle it says "Less Intense Taste" I have noticed it is not as intense as it used to be years ago.

2. It says on the back of the bottle, "(Swish) two teaspoons" of Listerine between your teeth for one minute after brushing. Two teaspoons is not a lot, making it, I would think, even less intense. Also, I would be careful not to go over that measurement of 2 teaspoons. I tested out 2 teaspoons in the cap, and then remembered that level.

3. It says rinse twice a day, I only rinse about once a week, only when I floss, and it can be as much as 10 days or more.

4. It says to rinse for 60 seconds, probably because you're only rinsing 2 teaspoons.

5. Next, it says to not eat or drink anything for 30 minutes after rinsing. I also don't swallow, I spit it out into a paper towel every 10 or 15 seconds until the alcohol dries it out of my mouth.

I really don't want that chemical in my mouth more than necessary.

Hi Tim Tam.. long time, hope you are well.

Wagepik is amazing too! I know of so many people that use one and never need the dentist.