Take this with a box of salt but I am frequent user and before I had my job I didn’t have access to dental care but still brushed, flossed and mouth washed on a regular basis and I had zero cavities after missing almost 7 years of going to a dentist
this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2025
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There's actually quite a bit of respectable pubmed studies that show when a few off the shelf dental products are used together and consistently, you can effectively kill off all of the bacteria that produce the destructive byproducts that actually cause cavities. You can never permantly kill them, of course, but you can maintain those ultra low levels by using those products in a particular sequence (they work synergistically in the right order due to their different Ph levels).
This Dentist explains the protocol in far more detail, but the tl:dw version is:
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Start with Closys sensitive mouthwash (slightly expensive, but is extremely effective at penetrating biofilm, studies show its comparable in efficacy to Chlorohexadine without the side effects)
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Brush teeth normally (I personally recommend Colgate Total Standard, which has a low abrasiveness and uses Stannus Flouride, which can withstand a lower pH than Sodium Flouride, and reduces sensitivity)
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Rinse with bog standard Listerine or off-brand version (the essential oils are the active ingredient, studies have found it to be quite effective at killing the cavity causing bacteria, but it has a low pH [not good to leave on your teeth] and the alcohol can dry out your mucas membrane if you stopped at this step)
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Finish by rinsing with standard ACT (the smaller bottles have a higher concentration of flouride). Flouride actually binds to the teeth best when exposed to an acidic environment, which the Listerine provides, making it more effective. The ACT will raise the pH of your mouth back up as well, leaving your mouth in its optimal state for your saliva to remineralize your teeth.
Since I've adopted it, my teeth are stronger than they've ever been before, I virtually never have plaque on my teeth, and I don't wake up with bad breath! If you stick with it, you'll likely never have another cavity again, especially if you incorporate xylitol gum or mints (or even the raw sweetener itself which is cheaper), as that also helps kill the bacteria.
Use multiple hygiene products in a specific order you say?
You're god damn right I do.
(Genuinely though, you could do it out of order somewhat without much consequence except for brushing after Listerine, but overall that order is genuinely more optimal, as crazy as it sounds)
Bullshit. Why cannabis and not just smoking in general? What about users who vape dry herb vs combust it? What about users who consume edibles? This is just propaganda
Saliva is how your body neutralizes acids in your mouth, and remineralizes your teeth (from the phosphorous and calcium in your saliva).
Weed causes dry mouth, which is a cause of cavities. This effect is also seen in cancer patients, who often have a dry mouth from their treatments.
You could likely counter the effects of dry mouth by using xylitol gum or mints while under its influence.
My immediate thought is that it's not the action of smoking cannabis causing these cavities, instead...
It's fairly commonly accepted that habitual cannabis use can lead to demotivation. I'm a very regular dry herb vaper and with exception of a few strains, I have to make a great effort to make sure I do daily tasks when I'm high.
I'd also suggest that ppl who are self medicating due to depression are less likely to brush their teeth twice a day. Finally, perhaps cannabis users are more likely to consume sugary snacks?
In a nutshell, these findings don't surprise me! But I would be surprised if cannabis was causative and not just a correlated factor.
She discovered that people who reported smoking cannabis at least once a month for more than a year had a 17% higher chance of having untreated coronal caries (cavities), 55% higher odds of root surface caries and 41% higher odds of severe tooth loss compared with patients who did not smoke marijuana after controlling for age, sex, race or ethnicity, education, income or alcohol consumption.
"Frequent" being once a month seemed low, but those risk changes are definitely significant.
Bad headline, as always. They found higher rates of tooth loss and cavities in frequent cannabis users. This could really have a couple of different explanations related to cannabis usage, but is significant enough to take a closer look.