Manifesting Dental Health

[Apollia]

For my entire life, I've had problems with my teeth. I've been wondering if it's partly just from my bad attitude.

I think I have an underlying belief that dental problems are inevitable and unavoidable almost no matter what I do, and I'm not sure how to get rid of it. The thing that makes this belief really hard to get rid of is that, in my experience, it has been almost invariably true.

In my childhood, almost every time I ever went to the dentist, I had cavities. I take better care of my teeth nowadays, but I still end up with cavities once in a while. (In fact, I think I have one right now - that's what gave me the idea for this thread).

I suspect/believe I'd probably have to become as educated on dental health as a dentist or a hygienist or something, in order to learn how to have perfect dental health. (The source of this belief is probably the fact that, as far as I know, I've seldom met anyone who, 99% to 100% of the time, doesn't have teeth or gum problems, and pretty much never even develops them. No one except dentists, hygienists, orthodontists, and their relatives - and even in their cases I almost can't believe it).

What a tedious nuisance it would probably be, for me to study dental health in depth. But if that's the only way for me to have perfect teeth, maybe I better just do that.

Ideally, though, I'd love to be able to just magically manifest perfect teeth. I vaguely recall having read some anecdotes somewhere of people who supposedly horribly neglect their teeth and eat anything they want, but somehow never get cavities or any other problems. No idea if those anecdotes are true, but, if they are, I sure wish I could be like one of those people.


For years, I've been fascinated by the concept of dental faith healing. There's a Reverend Willard Fuller who is well-known for supposedly (or maybe actually, for all I know) doing dental faith healings, and has a free book on his website on that topic: Dr. Willard Fuller, Th. D.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet been able to get dental faith healing to work for me. It does seem pretty farfetched, the idea that fillings could spontaneously and miraculously just appear in your mouth, but how amazingly neat if it's true.

I actually saw Willard Fuller in person years ago. I wrote about that experience over at the Dental Phobia Forum a few years ago. (I was posting as "Diana" over there because I felt like being more anonymous than usual.) Dental faith healing


All thoughts on dental faith healing, or manifesting dental health, are welcome in this thread, even skeptical thoughts.

(Contrary to what you might expect, I really love skeptics, and I'm not being sarcastic. I consider them true humanitarians, who get so uptight about "woo" and "nonsense" because they really care about people and want to protect them from their own stupidity. Thank God for skeptics. Even though I think they might be a little misguided.

But, I shouldn't single out skeptics as misguided, since I think probably everyone is misguided in some way or another. But that, in my opinion, is why skepticism is so valuable - (probably) no one is perfect, and doubting things and refusing to put 100% faith in anything means you always have a chance to correct your own mistakes. But maybe I believe in skepticism too much.

I digress. But at least maybe I've shed some light onto my mindset and some reasons why I might have difficulty with faith healing, intention/manifestation, etc. - while I try to be open-minded toward paranormal things, and have even had assorted hard to explain experiences, I also highly value skepticism and doubting things, which perhaps might mess with my results whenever I try to manifest something through "faith" or whatever).


Any ideas on how to decrease my experience-backed belief that dental problems are verging on inevitable and unavoidable for me? (So far, the only realistic way I've thought of for me to possibly do that would be for me to get a lot more educated about dental health, but that's a boringly unparanormal solution ).

Ideas on how to make dental faith healing, or dental healing via intention/manifestation or other things like that, really work? (I have probably at least a week or so before I get a probable cavity filled by the dentist, and several days before I get to go to a check-up, so, I have an opportunity to experiment).

Any thoughts on Willard Fuller's faith healing? Has anyone had any first-hand experiences with him, or other dental faith healing or healers? Does anyone already do any intention-manifestation/Law of Attraction/vibration-shifting/etc. stuff related to dental health? How well has it worked?


Here's a weird bit of trivia I noticed years ago. In Catholicism (and maybe other variants of Christianity), there's a St. Apollonia who is the patron saint of dentistry. (I don't recommend reading too much about her, though, because hers is a very sad and scary story). I've been terrified of dental problems my whole life, but I didn't learn about St. Apollonia until maybe a year or so _after_ I started using the name Apollia (in 2003).

Just a sort of neat thing I noticed. It was neat to find out I unknowingly took almost the same name as the saint who supposedly protects people against one of my greatest fears - dental ailments.


By the way, I managed to mostly get over my dentist phobia years ago, and I'm going to schedule a dentist appointment this Monday, so, if anyone out there is inclined to worry that I might foolishly rely solely on intention/manifestation, faith healing, or anything else like that to deal with a physical health problem, don't worry.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[rawxstasy]

Any ideas on how to decrease my experience-backed belief that dental problems are verging on inevitable and unavoidable for me?

It sounds like you have a created a belief that the only way to prevent dental problems is to be as knowledgable as a dentist/hygenist. You look at your past to confirm this. Your past does not have any control over the presnt. I haven't had cavities in about 8 years. I certainly don't have a hygenists knowledge and don't care to know. I also don't religiously take care of my teeth. I brush them twice a day and floss maybe every two or three days. One thing I noticed is , my teeth used to be pretty close together but since I began to worry that they are becoming wider spaced apart, that is exactly what happened.

The best way that I know to overcome limiting beliefs (for me anyway) is to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. Allow these to be (accept) and release any negative thoughts or feelings you may have. As time goes on, I think you will come to believe that you deserve to have healthy teeth. Then you belief in IM will increase and you can create what you want for yourself.

I used to live in Indonesia and they don't have people go for check ups every six months. You go to the dentist when your tooth is hurting you. Usually they will just pull out the bad tooth. I had a wisdom tooth come in and went to the dentist. Without saying a word, the dentist injected my gums, then proceeded to us a small icepick and hammer on the tooth, then pulled out the pieces of tooth out with pliers!! Needless to say, this was quite a shock! But I survived.

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by rawxstasy

It sounds like you have a created a belief that the only way to prevent dental problems is to be as knowledgable as a dentist/hygenist.

Yes, or other ways I haven't thought of yet.

Your past does not have any control over the presnt.

Thanks for the idea of a new belief to try to adopt.

I already believe that for some things, but hadn't thought of trying to extend that belief to my future prospects for dental health.

I haven't had cavities in about 8 years.

Cool, glad to hear that.

I certainly don't have a hygenists knowledge and don't care to know. I also don't religiously take care of my teeth. I brush them twice a day and floss maybe every two or three days.

Are you a raw foodist? Just wondering, because of your user name.

Another one of my beliefs is, diet can probably have a major influence on how healthy your teeth are. (That's another approach I could probably try - improving my diet. I forgot about that before).

One thing I noticed is , my teeth used to be pretty close together but since I began to worry that they are becoming wider spaced apart, that is exactly what happened.

Interesting. That could actually be useful. Maybe I could make one of my lower teeth which is slightly behind the others move forward without braces. It's doing no harm staying right where it is, and isn't even that noticeable, but, trying to move it just through IM or something might be a fun experiment.

I'll take a "before" picture before I attempt that, though. I wouldn't want to make it move and then have no evidence it had moved from its original spot.

The best way that I know to overcome limiting beliefs (for me anyway) is to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. Allow these to be (accept) and release any negative thoughts or feelings you may have. As time goes on, I think you will come to believe that you deserve to have healthy teeth. Then you belief in IM will increase and you can create what you want for yourself.

Thanks.

Now that I think about it a bit more, my negative belief (about my dental problems being practically inevitable and unavoidable) begins to appear even more obviously exaggerated, unrealistic, and pessimistic.

The last cavity I had (before my most recent probable cavity, which I'm just assuming is probably a cavity on the basis of that tooth's recently-developed sensitivity to cold) was in Nov. 2006, and my last check-up was in Sept. 2007, and I had no cavities then.

So, I know for sure I can at least go 10 months without developing cavities, and maybe even quite a bit longer than that. (I'd have a better idea of how long if I had been to the dentist at some point after that, but, I didn't go at all in 2008 or in 2009 yet).

Especially if I relentlessly maintain my best, most diligent teeth-cleaning habits, instead of gradually drifting away from them despite having a strong belief that I should never let my guard down ever again, or else.

I used to live in Indonesia and they don't have people go for check ups every six months. You go to the dentist when your tooth is hurting you. Usually they will just pull out the bad tooth. I had a wisdom tooth come in and went to the dentist. Without saying a word, the dentist injected my gums, then proceeded to us a small icepick and hammer on the tooth, then pulled out the pieces of tooth out with pliers!! Needless to say, this was quite a shock! But I survived.

Wow! I admire your strength/courage.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[aelle]

I don't have teeth or oral hygiene problems. Never have. Every single of my (rare) visits to the dentist lasts about 30 seconds, and goes like this:
Hi, how are you, let's look at your mouth... No cavities, no plaque, nice alignment, no need for braces, let's do a quick X-ray, nope, your wisdom teeth are just where they should be, that'll be 30 euros kthxbye!

I actually haven't been in years because it seems like just a waste of money to pay to hear compliments on my healthy teeth, which I know already.

Does that help bend your belief that dental problems are unavoidable?

[WordKeeper]

you wrote:

I think I have an underlying belief that dental problems are inevitable and unavoidable almost no matter what I do, and I'm not sure how to get rid of it. The thing that makes this belief really hard to get rid of is that, in my experience, it has been almost invariably true.

I don't know about dental issues but I do know that I have always expected the worst - AND gotten it. But now I see the correlation - I actually "intended" or expected the worst. I looked for signs of it and focused on it - I still do. But now because I finally recognize at how good I have always been at manifesting the very thing I DIDN'T want - I thought it would be worth the effort to manifest the thing that I DO want.

Why don't you try the same?

Then check out Weston Price, a forward thinking dentist from earlier in the 20th century. I learned about him and his philosophy here when I learned that I had a cavity and the absurd cost to fill it. I am believing that the application of his theory is healing my dental issues. Give it a try and change your thoughts - It could change your life.

[rawxstasy]

I was a raw foodist in the past. I am working on getting back there again. I do believe that diet can affect dental health. My mom hardly has any dental problems (she's 78) but she limits the amount of sugar in her diet due to her diabetes.

[Talkofthatown919]

I had a ton of cavities when i went to the dentist last year. Basically it all boils down to taking care of your teeth, also with how you think about the health of your teeth. If you believe that you are goig to have bad teeth then you will. Stop worrying about and reading about dental problems and etc.

[Indiana]

Originally Posted by aelle

I don't have teeth or oral hygiene problems. Never have. Every single of my (rare) visits to the dentist lasts about 30 seconds, and goes like this:
Hi, how are you, let's look at your mouth... No cavities, no plaque, nice alignment, no need for braces, let's do a quick X-ray, nope, your wisdom teeth are just where they should be, that'll be 30 euros kthxbye!

I actually haven't been in years because it seems like just a waste of money to pay to hear compliments on my healthy teeth, which I know already.

Does that help bend your belief that dental problems are unavoidable?

Same. I have never had a filling and my wisdom teeth are perfectly straight. In fact, when I was small, my family nickname for me was Jaws.

It's very much possible that this is to do with a belief that I never have dental problems. Ever since I can remember, I have been told by my parents "You're so lucky you have your father's teeth." My dad also has never had a filling or had teeth removed.

I don't think it's to do with diet, as although I have a very good diet, it's very similar to my brother's and he has had a lot of problems with his teeth. In the same way, he was always told "Oh, what a pity you have the [family name] jaw like your mother... it gives you terrible teeth problems." He's had loads of fillings, braces and wisdom teeth out.

To be honest, I don't see much difference between my brother's facial structure and mine so I think there has to be an element of positive/negative belief here.

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by rawxstasy

I was a raw foodist in the past. I am working on getting back there again. I do believe that diet can affect dental health. My mom hardly has any dental problems (she's 78) but she limits the amount of sugar in her diet due to her diabetes.

Thanks for your reply. It's nice to know that such excellent dental health as yours is possible for non-raw foodists. Glad to hear your mom's got healthy teeth, too.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by aelle

I don't have teeth or oral hygiene problems. Never have. Every single of my (rare) visits to the dentist lasts about 30 seconds, and goes like this:
Hi, how are you, let's look at your mouth... No cavities, no plaque, nice alignment, no need for braces, let's do a quick X-ray, nope, your wisdom teeth are just where they should be, that'll be 30 euros kthxbye!

I actually haven't been in years because it seems like just a waste of money to pay to hear compliments on my healthy teeth, which I know already.

Amazing. I'm happy for you.

Does that help bend your belief that dental problems are unavoidable?

Yes. Thank you.

What do you attribute your perfect dental health to? Luck, good hygiene, good diet, IM? Does it run in your family?

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by Indiana

Same. I have never had a filling and my wisdom teeth are perfectly straight.

Wow. Happy to hear that.

In fact, when I was small, my family nickname for me was Jaws.

Cute.

It's very much possible that this is to do with a belief that I never have dental problems. Ever since I can remember, I have been told by my parents "You're so lucky you have your father's teeth." My dad also has never had a filling or had teeth removed.

That's good.

I had almost the opposite in my life. My dad seemed to always have dental problems (and my mom had them once in a while too), and he would recount all these horrible stories about what he had been through.

I don't think anyone ever actually told me I'd probably end up the same way, but, it was definitely not an environment conducive to optimism about dental health.

I don't think it's to do with diet, as although I have a very good diet, it's very similar to my brother's and he has had a lot of problems with his teeth. In the same way, he was always told "Oh, what a pity you have the [family name] jaw like your mother... it gives you terrible teeth problems." He's had loads of fillings, braces and wisdom teeth out.

Poor him.

To be honest, I don't see much difference between my brother's facial structure and mine so I think there has to be an element of positive/negative belief here.

Very interesting! Thanks for your post.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[aelle]

My pleasure

Originally Posted by Apollia

What do you attribute your perfect dental health to? Luck, good hygiene, good diet, IM? Does it run in your family?

I don't know, what do you attribute your ability to hear or walk to? I always thought and saw health as the norm, the original state that can be lost - not the other way round - I don't think most of us have to fight our way up to health.
I brush my teeth thoroughly once a day (twice if I have coffee or something else that smells at breakfast), almost never floss. I'd feel guilty about it... except that I evidently don't need it! My parents have some dental problems, made worse by the fact that they both smoke, but they never made a big deal of it. I guess there's a part of luck (same for my skin, even as a teen I never broke out or got blackheads), part basic hygiene and part beliefs.

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by WordKeeper

I don't know about dental issues but I do know that I have always expected the worst - AND gotten it. But now I see the correlation - I actually "intended" or expected the worst. I looked for signs of it and focused on it - I still do.

Same here, except often, I have surprisingly avoided getting the worst, which is surprising to me (from an IM perspective) because in the past, I was often full of intense negativity.

Because of that, I feel pretty convinced that, if IM exists, then something must have protected me from my negativity doing as much damage as it could have done unchecked. I think that something was probably my once nearly total skeptical belief that thoughts/emotions probably can't directly influence the outside world. (Though, who knows, maybe some other things helped too, like my Jupiter in the 12th house. )

However, since that skeptical belief of mine has been decreasing (as a result of strange experiences that made it seem a lot less likely to be true) - it might behoove me to be more cautious about negative thinking.

But, since I've seen through experience that it's _possible_ to avoid the worst possible manifestations of extremely intense negativity, possibly because of nothing more than a strongly-held but actually false (unless I'm mistaken) skeptical belief - that makes me think maybe I won't really need to be more cautious about negative thinking after all. Belief really must be extremely powerful if even a (possibly) false belief can create such good results.

Hmm, thanks for reminding me of this train of thought. Looking at things this way, it makes me wonder if, instead of defusing all my unconscious or semi-conscious negative beliefs one by one, maybe a quicker and easier approach would be to just arbitrarily believe that no matter how much negativity I focus on, or what negative unconscious beliefs I have, they will have no bad effects. If my (possibly) false skeptical belief worked, then there's probably no reason why that couldn't work as well. Maybe it would work even better.

But now because I finally recognize at how good I have always been at manifesting the very thing I DIDN'T want - I thought it would be worth the effort to manifest the thing that I DO want.

Why don't you try the same?

Sounds good to me.

Then check out Weston Price, a forward thinking dentist from earlier in the 20th century.

Thanks, will do.

(...)

I am believing that the application of his theory is healing my dental issues.

That's wonderful.

Give it a try and change your thoughts - It could change your life.

I'll try. Thank you.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by aelle

I don't know, what do you attribute your ability to hear or walk to?

Hmm, I never thought to even ask myself that. I guess I might just chalk it up mostly to luck.

I always thought and saw health as the norm, the original state that can be lost - not the other way round - I don't think most of us have to fight our way up to health.

Thanks for the excellent role model of a good belief to try to adopt.

I brush my teeth thoroughly once a day (twice if I have coffee or something else that smells at breakfast), almost never floss.

Wow!

I'd feel guilty about it...

Please don't. I think your way of being is wonderful and inspiring.

except that I evidently don't need it! My parents have some dental problems, made worse by the fact that they both smoke, but they never made a big deal of it. I guess there's a part of luck (same for my skin, even as a teen I never broke out or got blackheads), part basic hygiene and part beliefs.

Very interesting. Thanks again.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by Talkofthatown919

I had a ton of cavities when i went to the dentist last year.

Sorry to hear that. I hope things are better now, and stay better for good.

Basically it all boils down to taking care of your teeth, also with how you think about the health of your teeth. If you believe that you are goig to have bad teeth then you will. Stop worrying about and reading about dental problems and etc.

I'm definitely going to try to stop worrying about this (and other things) as much as possible. There's a rather good book I have somewhere called "Stop Worrying and Start Living" by Dale Carnegie, I should probably finish reading it. Worrying probably hasn't done me much good at all in my life, but even if it ever has, it's so unpleasant I definitely want to stop it.

Rather than avoiding reading about dental problems or anything else negative, though, I think I'm going to try to bolster my belief that learning about negative things is probably mostly harmless, and could even lead to beneficial results (like an increased ability to solve a problem due to having greater knowledge of its causes, etc.).

I've been fond of that belief/perspective for many years (especially in my skeptical days), and consider it empowering, and I really don't want to let IM (something that I up until relatively recently considered to probably be nothing but superstition or "magical thinking") scare me away from that, or anything else that happens not to be "positive" but which I enjoy, like depressing music.

Thanks for your reply.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Apollia]

This post isn't addressed to anyone in particular. Just thought I'd mention an odd synchronicity.

On Sunday, June 7, the sink at which I usually brush my teeth somehow got clogged. Not by me; the only thing I had done with it before it got clogged was get some water from it. Someone else in my family discovered the problem. We tried to fix it, but failed, so, we're going to get a plumber. And now I have to use a different sink to brush my teeth.

No idea why that happened, or if it means something, or what it might mean.

I just find it a bit weird (but neat, despite the inconvenience) that something that plays a major role in my dental health just happened to break down the day after I posted this thread. (Or the same day, if you use a time zone like GMT). That sink has gotten clogged in the past, but that was probably over a year ago.

My checkup is going to be next week. If anything interesting happens, or I think of anything else interesting to add, I'll update this thread.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Jeni]

It seems to me that personally when I have that sort of belief like yours that the only way to have good teeth is to become as knowledable as a dental professional, it's usually a mental scapegoat for me.

As long as I beleive that statement I don't have to take any personal responsibility for my own teeth. It is an excuse.

I come up with all sorts of these excuses for myself these impossible to fix situations and reasons why it's not my fault. It's a mental thing.

I'd work on letting go of that belief (EFT or the Sedona method are both great programs that will help you let go of limiting beleifs) and just ask a dentist exactly what you need to do to get your teeth in the best shape possible and then follow his/her advice to the T.

I hope that this helps and that you don't take it the wrong way. I'm not being critical at all, as I said I do this all the time to myself. I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to rationalizing things to myself.

[Apollia]

Thanks, Jeni!

Originally Posted by Jeni

It seems to me that personally when I have that sort of belief like yours that the only way to have good teeth is to become as knowledable as a dental professional, it's usually a mental scapegoat for me.

As long as I beleive that statement I don't have to take any personal responsibility for my own teeth. It is an excuse.

It seems quite probable to me that you're right - that it is an excuse/scapegoat. It was probably even more of one when I was younger. This belief is like one of the last fading leftover relics of my youthful very bad attitudes toward dental health.

I never enjoyed having to take care of my teeth, so, it probably was partly an excuse to be lazy and not bother as much with it as I should have, "since it won't do any good in the end anyway".

I'd work on letting go of that belief (EFT or the Sedona method are both great programs that will help you let go of limiting beleifs)

Thanks! I'll look those up.

and just ask a dentist exactly what you need to do to get your teeth in the best shape possible and then follow his/her advice to the T.

Will do, thanks.

I hope that this helps

It does.

and that you don't take it the wrong way.

Not at all.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[liamona]

Laura Shanley, the author of Unassisted Childbirth, used the Seth material to eliminate her negative beliefs and gave birth at home painlessly.

On a lesser note, she healed her cavities by changing her beliefs about them:

Our minds are magical, and infinitely more powerful than most of us realize. I learned this fact more than twenty years ago. In the intervening years, I have gone on to create a life of health, wealth, and happiness.

OK, so that's not entirely true. I'm still working on the wealth part. But I have managed to do a few things even Tony Robbins hasn't done - I birthed all of my children easily, without the aid of a doctor or midwife, and healed cavities in my teeth (ask my dentist).

From Believe Your Way to a Better Birth.

[Apollia]

Thanks liamona! I've added Laura Shanley's book and the Seth material to my list of things I should check out.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Apollia]

Another post not addressed to anyone specific.

The sink was fixed Wednesday. It took less than a 1/2 hour and was $45.

The tooth that was bothering me is now less sensitive to cold. Probably not for any paranormal reason, though - I think it's most likely because I started using Oravive toothpaste again in the past several days. Still, can't deny it's a change for the better.


So far, I'm still using my same old standard, kind of boring IM technique - just saying quick prayers to God, without attempting to get myself into any special frame of mind, and also just assuming that God, if God exists, won't need me to do anything really elaborate, and won't even really need me to have strong faith, for Him/Her/It to take omniscient, omnipotent, all-benevolent action for my (and everyone else's) greatest good.

Often I don't even ask for anything very specific, and just say something like "please protect me and help me", because I assume God already knows the best way to help me (probably even better than I do), without me asking.

I did ask God to help stop all of my remaining negative beliefs or negative thoughts from having any bad effects. (I decided it was unnecessary to go out of my way to word that in a more positive-sounding way, because I think God, if God exists, and even my own unconscious mind, are probably both intelligent enough to know what I mean).

However, I will continue to try to rid myself of any negative beliefs I notice (especially the definitely untrue and illogical ones), instead of just trying to believe God will protect me from negative results. The less exclusively I rely on things like God, lucky astrological placements, or any other things like that which I'm not used to trusting, the better I feel in general.

I've been reading some very interesting free books by Klaus Joehle, which someone pointed out in another thread. The IM technique of "sending love" explained in the books appeals to me. Books on Love by Klaus Joehle. Free download


Another interesting thing I encountered recently was a free excerpt of Wayne Dyer's book "Excuses Begone! How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits": Dr. Wayne W. Dyer | Excuses Begone!

The excerpt mentions things like the Tao te Ching (which I someday would like to read), the placebo effect, memes, cell biologist Bruce Lipton, Ph.D (author of The Biology of Belief, which I also would like to read sometime), and Lipton's idea that your beliefs can even change your DNA, which might mean you might not even be able to get away with using your genes as a legitimate excuse for anything. Among other things.

It strongly emphasizes the idea that the subconscious mind is completely reprogrammable. I quite like the idea on p. 14-15 of referring to the subconscious mind as "the habitual mind", so as to avoid implying that this part of the mind is mysterious and unknowable or inaccessible by the conscious mind.

Some quotes I liked (just small ones, since I'm wary of copyright issues):

"Don't believe everything you think!" - unnumbered page after page xiii.

"When you abandon making choices, you enter the vast world of excuses." Page 22

"No part of you is unreachable, no matter how automatic or habitual it may have become." Page 23

An affirmation: "I can heal anything by healing my beliefs first." Page 27

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Magicinthenight]

Well a few facts here might not go amiss.

We develope cavities not just because of poor dental hygiene but because our mouths have special kind of bacteria that causes cavities. You usually get it from your mom before the age of three (you shouldn't share anything with a small child as they don't have this bacteria naturally).

The stronger the bacteria in your mouth, the more you have to "fight" it.

Now, people who don't have strong bacteria can neglect dental hygiene more and still not develop cavities or other problems.

I strongly believe that you can affect the bacteria balance in your mouth (whether by diet, taking care of hygiene, using special mouthwashes or tablets or all combined) so that no one is "doomed" forever.

I think it helps to know what causes things like bad breath or cavities as it makes getting rid of them easier. A healthy mouth is very important to your overall health, so seeking ways to improve dental hygiene is always recommended.

[Apollia]

Thanks, Magicinthenight. I agree. I also really appreciate the reminder that even from a scientific perspective, no one is necessarily doomed to bad dental health.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Apollia]

I went to the dentist today. They had a neat new system for doing x-rays which instantly put the x-ray pictures on a computer screen after they were taken. Ahh, I love technology.

To my astonishment and happiness, I actually didn't have any cavities. The dentist's explanation for the sensitivity to cold was, there's a large filling (which I forgot about/don't remember getting) in the tooth which is probably the one having the sensitivity (I can't tell exactly which tooth I'm feeling it in). She said that after a few years, sometimes sensitivity to cold develops in a tooth with such a filling. She said it's probably not worth it to take out the filling and redo it, and that I should just use toothpaste for sensitive teeth.

I'm sort of a shy person, so I actually wimped out on asking lots of questions, but, asking questions seemed less necessary or important because apparently what I've been doing as far as brushing/flossing habits has actually worked (so far) to prevent cavities. No cavities from Nov. 2006 to the present.

As much as I love the concept of dental faith healing, I'm very glad and relieved I don't have any cavities to try it on. I still have other things I can work on - cosmetic things like making my teeth lighter, and better positioning of some teeth - but happily, nothing I'm desperate to fix.


So, to my knowledge, nothing dramatically paranormal happened.

But, at least there was that nifty sink thing (which I already mentioned earlier in the thread), which was either paranormal or just a random odd coincidence.

I also thought it was a little neat that the bill was exactly the same as the amount of cash I was given to pay for the appointment - $150.

The "free" toothbrush the dentist gave me just happened to be decorated with one of my favorite colors - a nice deep green (similar to the background color I use in some of the software I've written).

And, the toothbrush's brand name is "Quantum", a word reminiscent to me of weird/paranormal topics, strange theories about the universe, etc.

---

Here are some details about my hygiene habits for anyone curious.

Originally, from 2006 onward, I was pretty relentless, frequently brushing with toothpaste, flossing, and even using an oral irrigator. I can't remember exactly when I started getting relatively lazy about taking care of my teeth.

But, over time, I reached the point of brushing usually without toothpaste (although pretty regularly), only occasionally using toothpaste, fairly frequently using a simple mixture of baking soda and water for mouthwash, hardly ever using the irrigator, and flossing whenever I thought of it (like every couple days or something) - despite the fact that I always worried that all this wasn't enough.

After my tooth recently developed sensitivity to cold, I began to brush (or at least rinse my mouth with water) soon after eating anything, and before going to sleep. I resumed forcing myself to use toothpaste most of the time (despite my dislike of the flavor and the fact that for a long time after using it I constantly feel like I have to spit, because I don't like the thought of swallowing any weird chemicals). Happily, using toothpaste actually seemed to decrease the sensitivity to cold, even though Oravive isn't one of those sensitive-teeth toothpastes. I floss usually once a day, and still sometimes use my baking soda/water mouthwash.

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And, one last thing on the topic of dental health. I tried xylitol gum (Trident brand) for the first time today. Xylitol is a sweetener which apparently inhibits the growth of bacteria. Hopefully it's safer than aspartame and saccharine.

Anyhow, I figured it probably wouldn't kill me, and I was curious about the taste. Seems all right - I find it pretty indistinguishable from regular sugar. I don't yet know enough about it to trust it enough to eat it regularly, but if it's really safe, it might be nice to get some xylitol to put in my cereal, hot chocolate, and occasional tea.


Thanks everyone for all your posts - they really helped.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[TonyToneTone]

Do this. Get a picture with someone who has a great smile/teeth. Every day for a month or so, spend 1-2 minutes a day looking at this picture and seeing yourself as having perfect teeth. You can then follow it up with affirmations such as:
"My teeth are perfectly healthy in every way, shape, and form."
"I love my teeth."
"My teeth are so awesome"
"My teeth are shiny, white, and healthy"
"I have a great smile"

As you focus on your healthy teeth, this image will become fixed in your subconscious which will manifest it in your body. Then, take whatever actions feel good to you. Time yourself for a minute or two a day while you brush your teeth at night before going to bed, purchase a good natural mouthwash from Whole Foods that you use every day, things like that. As you think, act, believe, and feel your teeth being healthy, they will be.

[Apollia]

Thanks Tony! I'll try that.

Originally Posted by TonyToneTone

Do this. Get a picture with someone who has a great smile/teeth. Every day for a month or so, spend 1-2 minutes a day looking at this picture and seeing yourself as having perfect teeth.

This gives me an idea, I could try editing a picture of myself to give myself whiter, brighter teeth.

Thanks again.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[TonyToneTone]

You're welcome! And that's a good idea too.

I once did that for something else and also one time put my face on a picture of someone really well-built. I had good results with both. Thanks for the reminder.

[liamona]

Originally Posted by Apollia

And, one last thing on the topic of dental health. I tried xylitol gum (Trident brand) for the first time today. Xylitol is a sweetener which apparently inhibits the growth of bacteria. Hopefully it's safer than aspartame and saccharine.

Xylitol is great for teeth. But doesn't Trident also have aspartame in addition to the xylitol?

I like to get the Peelu brand from the health food store for my kid who doesn't like tooth brushing. I also buy bulk xylitol, and use it to sweeten herbal teas, warmed raw milk and desserts.

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by liamona

Xylitol is great for teeth. But doesn't Trident also have aspartame in addition to the xylitol?

Egad! It _does_ have aspartame! I totally overlooked that, since I just assumed that since it had xylitol they probably wouldn't put some other kind of sweetener in as well. My mistake.

I like to get the Peelu brand from the health food store for my kid who doesn't like tooth brushing. I also buy bulk xylitol, and use it to sweeten herbal teas, warmed raw milk and desserts.

Thanks for pointing all this stuff out.

Best wishes,
Apollia