Have all my teeth. Three cavities. My gums don't bleed when flossing. When brushing I concentrate on the gums.
Use a Sonic toothbrush daily.
Have a neurotic habit of using tooth picks.
(I knew the dentist who developed the plastic tooth picks with floss. I couldn't stand family. Why? Because he was a rich dentist who set all his kids up for life, but couldn't pay his workers a decent wage. He did offer free dental though? His spoiled boy had a 50' racing racing sloop in high school. I am also jealous too.)
I don't like food in my teeth. I usually have a tooth pick within reach at all times.
I am not a fan of sweets though, but put a lot of sugar in my coffee.
Teeth, and gums, are very much prone to the placebo effect. Every study dentists do require a control group, and placebo controls.
FWIW, my cleanings go a lot better if I visit every 4 months than every 6 months, so there's no way I'd consider 6 months. I could certainly have better oral hygiene, but visiting the dentist 3 times a year isn't terrible.
I used to get a small cavity every 2 or 3 years. My dentist recommended I switch over to a stannous-fluoride base toothpaste about 10 years ago and not a cavity since and my cleanings got much easier for the dentist. There is definitely some genetics to it too. I had a gf who was religious about her teeth routine, still had a small cavity almost every time and eventually a couple of crowns. She wouldn't lay off the sweets though. Never saw anyone who liked sweets as much as her.
I’m in the same boat. I’ve eaten a lot of junk in my life (standard North American trash diet), and have never had a cavity or any serious dental issue in my life. I also get a cleaning every 6 months at the dentist. I’d be shocked if the likelihood of developing a cavity didn’t have a large genetic component.
My guess is that it's mainly the composition of your mouth's microbiome. Some bacteria really like creating acid that eats away at enamel. Some don't. Whichever happens to have a foothold in your mouth (which probably has a very inherited component) is probably the determining factor in tooth decay.
I'm 36, and I've had 32 cavities filled in my lifetime. I can't stand the procedure every time, and it's been heartbreaking for me not to be able to pinpoint why I've had so many cavities. I'm vegetarian, and I don't drink soda or alcohol. I brush regularly but should probably floss more. I do drink a lot of coffee and a lot of water. I completely avoid any candy and processed sugar (except for the occasional bit of something sweet in a restaurant dessert once or twice a year). I also eat a lot of acidic fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, lemons, limes, and pineapples.
Most were in my early teens (I had eight filled at once one time) so I was convinced it was the dentist racketeering and my parents wouldn't let me out of getting them filled. I should note my parents have a similar diet and a similar amount of major dental work. The handful of cavities I've had in adulthood have been major blows to my mental health.
I've sometimes wondered if dental hygiene may actually be counterproductive by killing harmless or even beneficial bacteria and leaving a niche open for harmful ones.
if you're mid-30s you probably had an extra enamel coating applied to your teeth at some point that may be doing some pretty awesome work protecting your molars
why would someone in their mid 30s "probably had an extra enamel coating applied"? I've never heard of that. Of course, they give you “super fluoride” when you go in for cleanings, but that's not an extra coat of enamel. I'm pretty sure there is not such technique, when your adult teeth reach their full size that's pretty much all the enamel they'll ever have, dentists can't just apply another layer or we'd all be cavity free.
it's usually called a dental sealant and yes I did have that when my adult teeth came in. it's all chipped off by now but we'll see the next 10 years I guess.
my childhood dentist said at 18 that if I just regularly take care of my teeth I shouldn't have any issues the rest of my life.
Downvoters, have a link to an article discussing some studies: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140926-how-often-must-w...