Can You Repair Your Own Teeth At Home?

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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

So, no question/request too big or small 😎

❝I liked your article on tooth remineralization, I saw a “home tooth repair kit”, and wondered if it is as good as what dentists do, or at least will do the job well enough to save a dentist visit?❞

Firstly, for any wondering about the tooth remineralization, here you go:

Tooth Remineralization: How To Heal Your Teeth Naturally

Now, to answer your question, we presume you are talking about something like this kit available on Amazon. In which case, some things to bear in mind:

  • This kind of thing is generally intended as a stop-gap measure until you see a dentist, because you cracked your tooth or lost a filling or something today, and will see the dentist next week, say.
  • This kind of thing is not what Dr. Michelle Jorgensen was talking about in another video* that we wrote about; rather, it is using a polymer filler to rebuild what is missing. The key difference is: this is using plastic, which is not what your teeth are made of, so it will never “take” as part of the tooth, as some biomimetic dentistry options can do.
  • Yes, this does also mean you are putting microplastics (because the powder is usually micronized polymer beads with zinc oxide, to which you add a liquid to create a paste that will set) in your mouth and quite possibly right next to an open blood supply depending on what’s damaged and whether capillaries were reaching it.
  • Because of the different material and application method, the adhesion is nothing like professional fillings (be they metal or resin), and thus the chances of it coming out again or so high that it’s more a question of when, rather than if.
  • If you have damage under there (as we presume you do in any scenario where you are using this), then if it’s not professionally cleaned before the filling goes in, then it can get infected, and (less dramatically, but still importantly) any extant decay can also get worse. We say “professionally”, because you will not be able to do an adequate job with your toothbrush, floss, etc at home, and even if you got dentist’s tools (which you can buy, by the way, but we don’t recommend), you will no more be able to do the same quality job as a dentist who has done that many times a day every day for the past 20 years, as buying expensive paintbrushes would make you able to restore a Renaissance painting without messing it up.

*See: Dangers Of Root Canals And Crowns, & What To Do Instead ← what she recommends instead is biomimetic dentistry, which is also more prosaically called “conservative restorative dentistry”, i.e. it tries to conserve as much as possible, replace lost material on a like-for-like basis, and generally end up with a result that’s as close to natural as possible.

In other words, the short answer to your question is “no, sorry, it isn’t and it won’t”

However! A just like it’s good to have a first aid kit in the house even if it won’t do the same job as an ambulance crew, it can be good to have a tooth repair kit (essentially, a tooth first-aid kit) in the house, precisely to use it just as a stop-gap measure in the event that you one day crack a tooth or lose a filling or such, and don’t want to leave it open to all things in the meantime.

(The results of this sort of kit are so not long-term in nature that it will be quick and easy for your dentist to remove it to do their own job once you get there)

If in doubt, always see your dentist as soon as possible, as many things are a lot less work to treat now, than to treat later. Just, make sure to advocate for yourself and what you actually want/need, and don’t let them upsell you on something you didn’t come in for while you’re sitting in their chair—that’s a conversation to be had in advance with a clear head and no pressure (and nobody’s hands in your mouth)!

See also: Dentists Are Pulling ‘Healthy’ and Treatable Teeth To Profit From Implants, Experts Warn

Take care!

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  • Forks Over Knives: Flavor! – by Darshana Thacker

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    It’s important to not have to choose too much between health and flavor, because the outcome will never be a good one, either for your health or your happiness. And what’s bad for your happiness will ultimately not work out and thus will be bad for your general health, so, the question becomes: how to get both?

    This book handles that nicely, delivering plant-based dishes that are also incidentally oil-free, and also either gluten-free or else there’s an obvious easy substitution to make it such. The flavor here comes from the ingredients as a whole, including the main ingredients as well as seasonings.

    On the downside, occasionally those ingredients may be a little obscure if you don’t live in, say, San Francisco, and the ingredients weren’t necessarily chosen for cooking on a budget, either.

    However, in most cases for most people it will, at worse, inspire you to try using an ingredient you don’t usually use—so that’s a good result.

    The recipes are very clear and easy to follow, although not all are illustrated, and the “ready in…” times are about as accurate as they are for any cookbook, that is to say, it’s the time in which it conceivably can be done if (like the author, a head chef) you have a team of sous-chefs who have done a bunch of prep for you (e.g. sweet potato does not normally come in ½” dice; it comes in sweet potatoes) and laid everything out in little bowls mise-en-place style, and also you know the procedure well enough to not have to stop, hesitate, check anything, wash anything, wait for water to boil or anything else to heat up, or so forth. In other words, if you’re on your own in your home kitchen with normal domestic appliances, it’s going to take a little longer than for a professional in a professional kitchen with professional help.

    But don’t let that detract from the honestly very good recipes.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to level-up your plant-based cooking, this will definitely make your dishes that bit better!

    Click here to check out Forks Over Knives: Flavor!, and dig in!

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  • Brain Health Action Plan – by Dr. Teryn Clarke

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    The author is a physician and neurologist, and she brings a lot of science with her when she sets out to Alzheimer’s-proof our brains:

    • She talks about brain nourishment, and what things in contrast sabotage our brains, and how.
    • She talks intermittent fasting, and optimal scheduling when it comes to food, sleep, exercise, and more.
    • She talks about how the rest of our health affects our brain health, and vice versa.

    The “action plan” promised by the title includes all of those elements, plus such matters as ongoing education, cognitive stimulation, stress management, dealing with depression, and other mostly-brain-based factors.

    As such, it’s not just a “for your information” book, and Dr. Clarke does outline suggested goals, tasks, and habits, advises the use of a streak tracker, provides suggested recipes, and in all ways does what she can to make it easy for the reader to implement the information within.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to dodge dementia, this book is quite a comprehensive guide.

    Click here to check out Brain Health Action Plan, and enact yours!

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  • How Stress Affects Your Body

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Dr. Sharon Bergquist gives us a tour:

    Stress, from the inside out

    Stress is a natural physical and emotional response to challenges or being overwhelmed. It can be beneficial in short-term situations (e.g. escape from a tiger) but is harmful when prolonged or frequent (e.g. escape the rat-race).

    Immediate physiological response: cortisol, adrenaline (epinephrine), and norepinephrine are released by the adrenal glands.

    The effects this has (non-exhaustive list; we’re just citing what’s in the video here):

    • Cortisol impairs blood vessel function, promoting atherosclerosis.
    • Adrenaline increases heart rate and blood pressure, leading to hypertension.
    • Stress disrupts the brain-gut connection, causing:
      • Digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome and heartburn.
      • Changes in gut bacteria composition, potentially affecting overall health.
    • Cortisol increases appetite and cravings for energy-dense “comfort foods”.
      • This in turn promotes visceral fat storage, which raises the risk of heart disease and insulin resistance.
    • Immune-specific effects:
      • Stress hormones initially aid in healing and immune defense.
      • Chronic stress weakens immune function (by over-working it constantly), increasing susceptibility to infections and slowing recovery.
    • Other systemic effects:
      • Chronic stress shortens telomeres, which protect chromosomes. Shortened telomeres accelerate cellular aging.
      • Chronic stress can also cause acne, hair loss, sexual dysfunction, headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.

    So, how to manage this? The video says that viewing stressful situations as controllable challenges, rather than insurmountable threats, leads to better short-term performance and long-term health.

    Which would be wonderful, except that usually things are stressful precisely because they are not entirely within the field of our control, and the usual advice is to tend to what we can control, and accept what we can’t.

    However… That paradigm still leaves out the very big set of “this might be somewhat within our control or it might not; we really don’t know yet; we can probably impact it but what if we don’t do enough, or take the wrong approach and do the wrong thing? And also we have 17 competing stressors, which ones should we prioritize tending to first, and…” and so on.

    To that end, we suggest checking out the “Want to learn more?” link we drop below the video today, as it is about managing stress realistically, in a world that, if we’re honest about it, can sometimes be frankly unmanageable.

    Meanwhile, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Heart Health vs Systemic Stress ← this is good in and of itself, and also links to other stress-related resources of ours

    Take care!

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  • Sweet Dreams Are Made of THC (Or Are They?)
  • Buffed-Up Buffalo Cauliflower

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    This is a tasty snack that also more protein than you’d think, because of the garbanzo bean flour. It also has plenty of health-giving spices, as well as blood-sugar-balancing vinegar, no added sugar, and very little salt.

    You will need

    • 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets
    • ½ cup garbanzo bean flour
    • ½ cup water
    • ⅓ cup hot sauce (we recommend a low-sugar kind; Nando’s hot sauce is good for this if available where you are, as it has no added sugar and its main ingredient by volume is vinegar, which is good for balancing blood sugars)
    • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
    • 2 tsp garlic powder
    • 2 tsp nutritional yeast
    • 2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
    • 1 tsp smoked paprika
    • ½ tsp MSG, or 1 tsp low sodium salt

    For the ranch sauce:

    • ½ cup raw sunflower seeds
    • ⅓ cup water
    • ⅓ cup milk (plant milk being healthiest if you choose one that’s unsweetened)
    • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
    • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tsp onion powder
    • 1 tsp dried thyme
    • 1 tsp dried oregano
    • 1 tsp dried dill
    • ½ tsp MSG, or 1 tsp low sodium salt

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃.

    2) Blend the ranch sauce ingredients until smooth, and set aside.

    3) Mix the buffalo cauliflower ingredients except for the cauliflower, in a big bowl.

    4) Add the cauliflower to the big bowl, mixing well to coat evenly.

    5) Bake the buffalo cauliflower florets on a baking tray lined with baking paper, for about 25 minutes, turning gently if it seems they are at risk of cooking unevenly.

    6) Serve hot, with the sunflower ranch on the side!

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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  • Managing Jealousy

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Jealousy is often thought of as a young people’s affliction, but it can affect us at any age—whether we are the one being jealous, or perhaps a partner.

    And, the “green-eyed monster” can really ruin a lot of things; relationships, friendships, general happiness, physical health even (per stress and anxiety and bad sleep), and more.

    The thing is, jealousy looks like one thing, but is actually mostly another.

    Jealousy is a Scooby-Doo villain

    That is to say: we can unmask it and see what much less threatening thing is underneath. Which is usually nothing more nor less than: insecurities

    • Insecurity about losing one’s partner
    • Insecurity about not being good enough
    • Insecurity about looking bad socially

    …etc. The latter, by the way, is usually the case when one’s partner is socially considered to be giving cause for jealousy, but the primary concern is not actually relational loss or any kind of infidelity, but rather, looking like one cannot keep one’s partner’s full attention romantically/sexually. This drives a lot of people to act on jealousy for the sake of appearances, in situations where they might otherwise, if they didn’t feel like they’d be adversely judged for it, be considerably more chill.

    Thus, while monogamy certainly has its fine merits, there can also be a kind of “toxic monogamy” at hand, where a relationship becomes unhealthy because one partner is just trying to live up to social expectations of keeping the other partner in check.

    This, by the way, is something that people in polyamorous and/or open relationships typically handle quite neatly, even if a lot of the following still applies. But today, we’re making the statistically safe assumption of a monogamous relationship, and talking about that!

    How to deal with the social aspect

    If you sit down with your partner and work out in advance the acceptable parameters of your relationship, you’ll be ahead of most people already. For example…

    • What counts as cheating? Is it all and any sex acts with all and any people? If not, where’s the line?
    • What about kissing? What about touching other body parts? If there are boundaries that are important to you, talk about them. Nothing is “too obvious” because it’s astonishing how many times it will happen that later someone says (in good faith or not), “but I thought…”
    • What about being seen in various states of undress? Or seeing other people in various states of undress?
    • Is meaningless flirting between friends ok, and if so, how do we draw the line with regard to what is meaningless? And how are we defining flirting, for that matter? Talk about it and ensure you are both on the same page.
    • If a third party is possibly making moves on one of us under the guise of “just being friendly”, where and how do we draw the line between friendliness and romantic/sexual advances? What’s the difference between a lunch date with a friend and a romantic meal out for two, and how can we define the difference in a way that doesn’t rely on subjective “well I didn’t think it was romantic”?

    If all this seems like a lot of work, please bear in mind, it’s a lot more fun to cover this cheerfully as a fun couple exercise in advance, than it is to argue about it after the fact!

    See also: Boundary-Setting Beyond “No”

    How to deal with the more intrinsic insecurities

    For example, when jealousy is a sign of a partner fearing not being good enough, not measuring up, or perhaps even losing their partner.

    The key here might not shock you: communication

    Specifically, reassurance. But critically, the correct reassurance!

    A partner who is jealous will often seek the wrong reassurance, for example wanting to read their partner’s messages on their phone, or things like that. And while a natural desire when experiencing jealousy, it’s not actually helpful. Because while incriminating messages could confirm infidelity, it’s impossible to prove a negative, and if nothing incriminating is found, the jealous partner can just go on fearing the worst regardless. After all, their partner could have a burner phone somewhere, or a hidden app for cheating, or something else like that. So, no reassurance can ever be given/gained by such requests (which can also become unpleasantly controlling, which hopefully nobody wants).

    A quick note on “if you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to hide”: rhetorically that works, but practically it doesn’t.

    Writer’s example: when my late partner and I formalized our relationship, we discussed boundaries, and I expressed “so far as I am concerned, I have no secrets from you, except secrets that are not mine to share. For example, if someone has confided in me and asked that I not share it, I won’t. Aside from that, you have access-all-areas in my life; me being yours has its privileges” and this policy itself would already pre-empt any desire to read my messages.

    Now indeed, I had nothing to hide. I am by character devoted to a fault. But my friends may well sometimes have things they don’t want me to share, which made that a necessary boundary to highlight (which my partner, an absolute angel by the way and not prone to unhealthy manifestations of jealousy in any case, understood completely).

    So, it is best if the partner of a jealous person can explain the above principles as necessary, and offer the correct reassurance instead. Which could be any number of things, but for example:

    • I am yours, and nobody else has a chance
    • I fully intend to stay with you for life
    • You are the best partner I have ever had
    • Being with you makes my life so much better

    …etc. Note that none of these are “you don’t have to worry about so-and-so”, or “I am not cheating on you”, etc, because it’s about yours and your partner’s relationship. If they ask for reassurances with regard to other people or activities, by all means state them as appropriate, but try to keep the focus on you two.

    And if your partner (or you, if it’s you who’s jealous) can express the insecurity in the format…

    “I’m afraid of _____ because _____”

    …then the “because” will allow for much more specific reassurance. We all have insecurities, we all have reasons we might fear not being good enough for our partner, or losing their affection, and the best thing we can do is choose to trust our partners at least enough to discuss those fears openly with each other.

    See also: Save Time With Better Communication ← this can avoid a lot of time-consuming arguments

    What about if the insecurity is based in something demonstrably correct?

    By this we mean, something like a prior history of cheating, or other reasons for trust issues. In such a case, the jealous partner may well have a reason for their jealousy that isn’t based on a personal insecurity.

    In our previous article about boundaries, we talked about relationships (romantic or otherwise) having a “price of entry”. In this case, you each have a “price of entry”:

    • The “price of entry” to being with the person who has previously cheated (or similar), is being able to accept that.
    • And for the person who cheated (or similar), very likely their partner will have the “price of entry” of “don’t do that again, and also meanwhile accept in good grace that I might be jittery about it”.

    And, if the betrayal of trust was something that happened between the current partners in the current relationship, most likely that was also traumatic for the person whose trust was betrayed. Many people in that situation find that trust can indeed be rebuilt, but slowly, and the pain itself may also need treatment (such as therapy and/or couples therapy specifically).

    See also: Relationships: When To Stick It Out & When To Call It Quits ← this covers both sides

    And finally, to finish on a happy note:

    Only One Kind Of Relationship Promotes Longevity This Much!

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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  • Behaving During the Holidays

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

    Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!

    In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

    As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

    So, no question/request too big or small

    ❝It’s hard to “behave” when it comes to holiday indulging…I’m on a low sodium, sugar restricted regimen from my doctor. Trying to get interested in bell peppers as a snack…wish me luck!❞

    Good luck! Other low sodium, low sugar snacks include:

    • Nuts! Unsalted, of course. We’re biased towards almonds 😉
    • Air-popped popcorn (you can season it, just not with salt/sugar!)
    • Fruit (but not fruit juice; it has to be in solid form)
    • Peas (not a classic snack food, we know, but they can be enjoyed many ways)
      • Seriously, try them frozen or raw! Frozen/raw peas are a great sweet snack.
      • Chickpeas are great dried/roasted, by the way, and give much of the same pleasure as a salty snack without being salty! Obviously, this means cooking them without salt, but that’s fine, or if using tinned, choose “in water” rather than “in brine”
    • Hummus is also a great healthy snack (check the ingredients for salt if not making it yourself, though) and can be enjoyed as a dip using raw vegetables (celery, carrot sticks, cruciferous vegetables, whatever you prefer)

    Enjoy!

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