Hacker News Reader

Comment by gravitronic | Hacker News Reader

I'm getting worried about the retainer I wear at night to prevent teeth clenching related problems. It's old and starting to decay.. time for a new one but what's worse? grinding my teeth at night or slowly degrading this plastic retainer and ingesting the wee bits?

View on HN

Those "wee bits" will still be relatively big and you're probably pooping most of them out again. Assuming the plastic itself is fairly benign and non-toxic I wouldn't be overly concerned about swallowing a little bit of it.

I'd be more worried about all the tiny micro-plastic fibres you're breathing in every day that are going in your lungs, blood, and other organs.

If it's decaying, then presumably you're clenching your teeth and damaging it over time. So the retainer is working and protecting you from the certain (as opposed to hypothetical/not-yet-proven) harm of tooth degradation.

I’ve been thinking about this, too. I have a few caps due to me grinding my teeth for so many years, so for me, the choice is between plastic from a retainer and little bits of whatever the caps are made of.

Older composite tooth fillings and sealants etc do contain BPA, which is an endocrine disruptor that you probably don't want to be grinding down. Recent filling materials have moved to BPA-free alternatives, though. If your caps (crowns?) are made of composite resin, then I'd be concerned if you're grinding them. Many crowns are made of porcelain now days, though.

I’d bet you swallow more from your toothpaste, face wash, or other microplastic sources.

Depends if your partner strangles you or not.

(this is why I gave up mechanical keyboards)

You're worried about the microplastics seeping from your mechanical keyboard?

get one made out of rubber

Reply on news.ycombinator.com