Toothbrush and toothpaste

So I went to the dentist yesterday for my overdue 6 month check up. I had such a great experience with my dentist in Japan that I figured I'd continue the tradition over here. I got more or less the same experience I had 2~3 years ago when I was forced to go in from teething pains (I had a wisdom tooth coming in and coincidentally forced to go again in Japan from gingivival pains most likely associated with said wisdom tooth). The result was basically this "wow... you have no prosthetics in your mouth" and then after looking at the x-rays with scrutiny finding borderline shadows that MIGHT be cavities.

Going to the dentist makes me conscientious about my oral health so getting home I renewed the research on the topic... here are my findings:

The toothbrush has been around for freaking ever so it really doesn't matter what you get on the shelf as long as the bristles are soft and the head is the right size (not ridiculously huge but not so small that you'll forget to cover everything)

http://www.sheldoncomics.com/archive/090503.html

Sorry, that was just a useless comic illustrating the useless evolution of the toothbrush. Here's something a bit more involved:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/fashion/20SKIN.html?ref=health

Which basically states buying anything more than ol' reliable is an effort in futility (because your brushing technique doesn't require all the bells and whistles) or catering to sloth or ignorance.

Here's a bit of news (well kinda... it IS the onion) that makes me think the toothbrush industry in this country would do well to get their noses out of their own design books and look elsewhere for inspiration...
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/32636
because it was disappointing to come home to america and find that the toothbrush I was quite happy with over in Japan to be non-existent on this side of the Pacific. I suppose it was a pretty rare brush over there because the dentist said you could only get it from a dentist office. The imitations off the shelf (that have also made it here at the asian supermarkets) don't quite have the same zing... the slim brushes are too long. The brush is called Ruscello III, while the stuff you can find here are something along the lines of mooble mooble and Dentek.

Prior to toothbrushes, I was looking at something a bit more involved... toothpaste. Because I don't want the hassle of dealing with fillings and the constant fear that one might fall out. I had one fall out when I was a kid and while picking food out of the hole was fun at first... it became really annoying after awhile... and breaking in a new filling with its sharp edges sucks too not to mention the idea of having mercury stuck in your mouth or having to compromise with with structurally inferior resin composites for those superficially aesthetically appealing pearly whites.

so there are a number of flouride options, which some debate to be bad for your health because of some claim that putting flouride in our water and toothpaste was a good way to get rid of some of our WWII toxic waste.
http://www.aroma-essence.com/research-reports/fluoride.html

And here's a bit of info on flouride pastes... you gotta scroll past all the generic info that you prolly know already to get to the statistics
http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/toothpaste.htm

The basic on flouride... it kills bacteria and prevents the bad stuff from forming for awhile... and it supposedly promotes remineralization, which hopefully means fixing cavities.

Unfortunately the popular belief (or fact depending on who you ask) is that the only way to fix a cavity is to fill it with crap but that's something I want to avoid for as long as possible.

And then there's some cool new crap called Novamin which is some water-activated bio-glass that one dude claims to have cured his cavities. It can be found in toothpaste form through a company called Oravive. Unfortunately a 6 pack costs freaking 40$ T.T
I guess Sensodyne is pretty up there too...
http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/forum/archive/index.php?t-1309.html
Another note: aside from the dietary changes... one useful thing is his take on dry-mouth. I get it from time to time and its gross... so it might be a useful product.

So what's up with all this info about Dental care? Sitting on the bench with my mouth wide open, it always feels like the Dentist is digging around in a treasure box looking for lucrative tidbits to pillage. I figure as long as my teeth work and aren't taking a nosedive in health, I don't need to get any major dental work done. Sure they're a little imperfect, but I kinda hate that unnatural rack of pearly-white look that hollywood tends to shove down our throats. And my family in particular have had a bad run with the dental industry harassing us with phone calls about our need to get our teeth fixed. Yeah... Right...

Oh... and please don't feel offended when I say people that buy into expensive brushes and the like are tools because I'm guilty of doing the same... I have that mace looking 360 brush sitting in my cup right now and don't follow the proper brushing/flossing/rinsing schedule I should half the time. Whatever gets you to brush the amount you need to get the job done and keeps you healthy is the important thing. Although I hear you shouldn't brush more than 2 times a day especially with a hard bristle brush cuz you'll erode the dentin under the gumline... which is essentially the same thing as sawing your tooth off at the neck (enamel stops at the gumline).