[dazc]

Good oral hygiene is all that is needed, and (in the UK, at least) we've been mostly failing at this basic level of common sense prevention for eternity.

I guess it's the same for dieting, people looking for magic solutions when the simple answer is to eat less.

[taeric]

Between people looking for magic solutions and other people deriding the masses for being lazy... yeah, not much room left in the field for learning and growth.

I do agree there is something to pushing for a bit more hygiene for things. That said, I also think there is something to be said for looking at the items holistically. To wit, I'm not brushing my pet's teeth every night, and I have yet to ever have one that needed intervention due to cavities. Especially not in mid life. I know some folks that have, of course. So, it isn't like it is completely unheard of in the animal kingdom. I'm curious why it is so different for us, though. Would love to see a good treatment of that topic.

[dazc]

I'm sure you already know that your pets don't consume much sugar and that's the main reason they don't get cavities?

Maybe humans will, eventually, evolve to a state where our teeth renew themselves naturally, without intervention? Who knows?

[whateveracct]

Pets get other stuff though. My understanding for cats at least is there's a heavy genetic component. I have two brother cats and one has bad teeth [1] and one has good teeth. But they eat the same and get their teeth brushed the same.

[1] As in, he lost one and needed his teeth cleaned by age 7 (not old). That said, I didn't get into a habit of brushing their teeth until they were several years old, and both of their teeth are excellent now (vet doesn't see either of them as needing a cleaning in the foreseeable future). So dental hygiene is helpful even for cats!

[taeric]

7 is fairly old for cats, I thought? Not ancient old, but well past early life.

I fully agree on it having a hefty genetic component. Pure breed?

[whateveracct]

I'd say it's neither old nor young. I believe it's like the 30s/40s of cats.

My cats are also pretty healthy otherwise - they're even older now and the vet always says she'd believe it if I said they were 5 by their muscle tone etc.

[taeric]

This is what I intended "fairly old" to be. The framing of the article was about grade school kids, so I really just meant well above that age. :D

[lost_tourist]

My cat is 14 and has never had a cavity and she pretty much just eats high quality dried food along with a bit of canned food every day. Not pure bred, she's a mutt.

[taeric]

Wasn't my intent on that. I was thinking in comparison to elementary school kids. Also just curious, all told.

My expectation would be that mutts have healthier teeth. And general health. That said, that expectation isn't strong enough that counter would shock me.

[wingworks]

Allot of what most people consume isn't great for teeth. Like coffee (and some teas).

[taeric]

I mean, you aren't wrong. They also eat a lot of really hard to chew things that scrape at their teeth and gums. And, I'm sure, breeding selected for pets that don't have massive teeth problems.

That is, I get it, very complex topic. You can see other similar "patterns" that are of little help in the animal kingdom. See a "fat" animal, and it is almost certainly one that doesn't eat meat as a primary nutrient source. Similarly, lean animals are typically predators. Would be a fallacy to think you have to be a meat eater to be lean, though.

The topic that has been intriguing to me lately, is the link between mouth breathing and poor oral health. So many topics that we don't know nearly as much about as we want individually. Much less all mixed up together.

[wizofaus]

Other animals don't eat nearly as much sugary food, or food of a sort that tends to get stuck in your mouth (non-processed food like corn on the cob can do so, but even that's a product of domestication and not so widely eaten by other animals - our dog loves it, but canine teeth are spaced further apart and shaped in such a way it's less likely for bits to get lodged between them. Also I gather dogs at least have much more powerful anti-bacterial agents in their saliva.)

[giantg2]

"Other animals"

Most other animals (at least mammals with teeth) don't live as long. Many do suffer from dental issues if untreated. For example, horses may live into their 30s in domestic settings, which include dental care. Wild horses typically live 15-20 years. If they survive other perils, one of the causes of their earlier death can be starvation or malnourishment due to not being able to chew their food.

[taeric]

Yeah. I tried hinting at that in my first post. Pets will have teeth issues as they get older. Much of that comes from nutrition learning, though.

Humans seem particularly prone to midlife tooth issues. With the obvious caveat that humans also are prone to ignorance dominating the things we believe. :)

[wizofaus]

Sure, but humans often have issues with cavities well before even reaching adulthood.

[taeric]

The food that gets the most stuck in my teeth is meat. Pretty much period. Close second will be stringy vegetables.

Which is to say, you aren't really wrong. But it is clearly more nuanced. I put a longer response to another post. I am not trying to find a single answer here. If we are lucky and there is one, I'm all for it. But, in general, I am very skeptical of many of these simplistic answers.

[wizofaus]

I'd hazard that cooked meat is more likely to have that issue than raw meat. And as another poster pointed out, it's possibly more relevant what food sticks to the outer surface of your teeth, though I'm pretty sure any source of food around your teeth that bacteria can grow on is likely to lead to cavities.

[viraptor]

Meat and stringy stuff gets stuck between teeth, not to teeth. It's the stuff that sticks to the teeth, provides cover and environment for bacteria to grow is (a big part of) the problem. The things that are actually stringy are usually easy to remove. Things that stick to the surface - less so.

[taeric]

As someone that doesn't have any cavities, I'm well aware of many of the subtle points. I also am well aware of just how scatter shot so much advice is... And how dominant genetics can be in this.

[giantg2]

The thing that typically gets stuck to teeth even with a good diet are minerals found in saliva.

[xhkkffbf]

Celery in my case.

[noodlesUK]

I think this is a pretty reductive take, both for dental and dieting.

There are a lot of reasons a person might not be able to take care of themselves very well, and we should certainly try to make it easier for them, rather than just dismissing it as a solved problem and a moral failing of anyone who runs into issues.

[roundandround]

Good oral hygiene is only fixing one reason for needing replacement teeth. Artificial replacement remains subpar and causes gradual erosion in the jaw that will catch up with people who have accidents early in life.