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Comment by WheatMillington | Hacker News Reader

I don't floss, brush once per day and have never heard of sealant, and I also have zero cavities. n = 1

It boils down to your dentist, too. Some will leap to drilling and filling every little speck they can find (and charge you for it), while others will monitor them and see if they progress.

Having been to both types, I’d say I strongly prefer the latter.

Yup, sadly many of them (in greater Los Angeles area) tend to over "find" cavities so they can put money in their pocket. This is not ethical, but I've had different dentists do this and I simply left for another dentist.

The former makes me irrationally angry. Once you have fillings, it's apparently rather easy for more cavities to form right alongside them. As a teen, I had a dentist who drilled out every speck in a majority of my adult teeth. Since then, every cavity I've had for the rest of my adult life has been a cavity that formed adjacent to one of those fillings.

I had the latter kind growing up. Moved away, and went to a dentist with a fancy name and close to my office. Huge mistake. I’ve lost track of how many they drilled. My mouth hasn’t been the same since.

I have a new dentist now who’s much like my previous one. My advice to anyone with a new dentist - if your new dentist suggests a bunch of new fillings when your track record differs dramatically, get a second opinion!

That's weird, I was terrible at brushing my teeth as a teenager and have 4 or 5 mercury fillings from then, once I started being a bet more hygeine conscious in college I've not had a cavity since and that was 20 years ago.

Some people have harder teeth genetically. Probably also diet matters. And habits that alter salivation.

Yeah this, everyones teeth are different. And we all have different enamel thickness etc. And diet definitely plays a role.

Also, it's not inherently bad to brush once a day, IF you're doing a crazy effective job. It's recommended to brush twice a day because most people don't do a good job, so best to disturb the plaque twice a day before it hardens into tartar (which only the dentist can clear). Plaque usually hardens within 48 hours.

But always best to talk to your dentist / dental hygienist about what's best for you teeth, as everyones teeth (diet etc) is different.

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