[carabiner]

There's Cavibloc, which is supposed to reduce cavity-inducing bacteria. It was developed at UCLA. There's also CloSYS, which is basically a highly diluted bleach that clears your mouth of bacteria. It is ADA approved. There's also Xylitol, which is also supposed to help reduce bad bacteria. I've been using all of these for the past year, and my most recent dental cleaning had almost no tartar buildup, which is really unusual for me. I have poor flossing habits. You can look into the book "Kiss your dentist goodbye" by Dr. Ellie Phillips for more info. FYI she's not a quack, but some of her claims have been controversial among other dentists.

[jedberg]

> but some of her claims have been controversial among other dentists.

I have a lot of dentist family and friends. Anything that isn't "drill and fill" is controversial to them. :)

Dental school these days seems to really stress that everything must be treated with intervention by a dentist that happens to bring money to their practice.

They are also super frightened of new technology. There was a technology that was like a new kind of mouthpiece with microbrushes that could brush your entire mouth in a few seconds. The dentists I know would barely even look at the picture before dismissing it.

I don't know why this is, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with the way their schooling works.

[TheTaytay]

We became exposed to this mentality and reluctance to adapt when exploring solutions to our son’s cavities. There is an amazingly effective treatment called SDF that arrests cavities with no need for drilling by painting it on in a procedure that takes about 1 minute. It’s proven to work, is non invasive, and much easier to use to treat a squirming small child. It’s been used for decades in Japan. Only recently did it become allowed in the US. Yet a couple of years ago it was still shockingly difficult to find dentists who knew about or approved of its use. I was also surprised to find very little literature linking particular bacteria to tooth decay. I think Bristle is on to something here, and I am glad that they are pushing this research forward. Tooth decay seems to have many of the hallmarks of an infection, yet its primary treatment is still to remove damaged portions of teeth with a drill. It feels remarkably primitive.

[phnofive]

Since Silver Diamine Fluoride is a little newer, it helps to look at Silver Nitrate, which has the same mechanism save for the, you know, fluoride (which is a boon).

Medical management of caries is anathema to assuming seven figures in debt to hang up a license and turn on the lights, and I’m not implying ill will. The first world countries with national healthcare sans dental could use this without coming close to the dental standard of care - a cavity arrested with silver nitrate is actually better to drill and fill since the infection is halted.

[SamBam]

Did you see any of the permanent staining that is mentioned in a sister comment's aappublications link (https://www.aappublications.org/news/2016/08/05/SilverDiamin...)?

[EMM_386]

If anyone is looking for more information on SDF (silver diamine fluoride), there is some information here:

https://www.aappublications.org/news/2016/08/05/SilverDiamin...

[david_l_lin]

Well said! Incumbents in the space have a lot to gain from the status quo of "drill, fill, and bill". This has limited the adoption of new diagnostic technology and advances in preventive health. We hope to eventually replace observational screenings that detect the onset of irreversible symptoms with early detection and interventions that prevent disease altogether.

[carabiner]

Are you guys familiar with Dr. Ellie Phillips? I'm definitely not a dental health expert, but she seems to be objective about how tooth decay occurs, see: https://drellie.com/2020/10/19/what-happens-to-teeth-when-yo...

I wonder if she'd have useful input on your product. Of course, she's trying to promote her own stuff (she sells Xylitol mints) but she also advocates for OTS treatments like Listerine.

[bmau5]

I'm not familiar with her, but I agree she does seem objective and could have some useful input. We'll reach out.

Thanks for sending!

[psychiatrist24]

But should you simply kill all bacteria in your mouth? Perhaps some are actually useful?

[sfjailbird]

There are many that are not only useful, but essential to oral health.

You can supplement with probiotics, which have been proven in quality studies to improve mouth/nose/throat health, and, to a lesser extent, even prevent caries. The bacteria cultures are known by their shorthand K12 and M18, respectively. In New Zealand this is part of official health guidelines.

On phone so can't look for references but look it up, it is well supported.

[cromka]

I think I read here recently that mouthwash can cause cancer – even the non-alcoholic one, presumably because of the altered microbiome.

[thotsBgone]

Just kiss someone with better bacteria and you'll be fine.