I’ve receding gums and wonky teeth.

Each time I eat, food gets stuck in the many gaps between my teeth. The main culprits are seeds like sesame and sunflower, and nuts. A close second is cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, oh my… it always shows me up by getting caught in my upper teeth, plus the fibrous bits of meat that are difficult to get at. They fight tooth and nail, and refuse to budge.

Equally tricky are sticky foods like chocolate and dried fruits that tend to settle on the tops of teeth. I don’t mind them, mainly because they are sweet and yummy. That pretty much covers all food groups that require attention after every meal.

I have the choice of gargling and brushing my teeth when I’m at home. When I’m out. Hmm. I’m not a toothpick tooth-picker. Not nice. So how?

My non-aligned teeth is an inconvenient food trap. The not-at-all good news with having this food trap is it provides space for particles and bacteria to gather. It makes cleaning challenging as it is hard to reach. And, the gradual accumulation of food particles invariably increases the risk of dental issues like decay, cavities, and gum infections.

I place my gum-teeth-condition not solely but a lot of it on poor dental hygiene in my childhood. I probably brushed my teeth but am not sure if I did it twice a day. I didn’t know about soft, medium, and hard bristles, and which best suited my gums and teeth. Colgate was synonymous with toothpaste. I didn’t know any other brand or even if they existed.

I remember my mum saying that in the old days, people used twigs from the Neem plant to brush their teeth. They chewed on the twigs until the fibres frayed and used them like a brush-tip to clean their teeth and gums. Clever. Neem has strong antibacterial and antifungal properties that help fight germs, prevent plaque, and freshen breath. Burnt charcoal powder or ‘samba’ was the other alternative toothpaste.

I also never flossed. I didn’t know what flossing was. Or that there were such tools as floss threaders, sticks or water flossers. To be honest, even if they were available in my hometown in Alor Setar, I couldn’t have afforded any of it.

Not consuming much dairy in the form of milk, cheese, paneer or calcium supplements could be a factor. My mum also bears a little of the blame for not passing enough good nutrients to me. As the youngest in a family of nine children, two died, even before I was born, my poor mum was probably depleted of nutrition herself. Not a good start. Ah well. 

This is interesting.

‘Three epidemiological surveys have been carried out in Malaysia since 1971. All showed a high level of caries prevalence. Caries is tooth decay or cavities. Ninety per cent of school children between the ages of 6 and 18 suffered from dental caries, with a Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) of approximately 3 and a DFT of approximately 2. Ninety-five per cent of the adult population had caries experience, with the mean DMFT being 13.2[1].  

In the early 70s, I was in primary school, and actually remember having my tooth extracted at the one public dental clinic in town. Cotton sticking out of my mouth, with blood still oozing from the raw gap that once held my tooth, are not happy memories.

Sadly, over the years, I lost even more choppers from my original set of  28 to 32 permanent teeth. My mouth is like a construction site. I’ve had bridges, implants, and crowns built to replace and link lost incisors, canines, pre-molars, and molars. I’ve often thought that at some point my faux teeth might trigger the security alarm at airports😊.

This is true. I only realised, much later in my adult life, that not brushing and not flossing daily, particularly not flossing, will lead to plaque build-up. Plaque is that soft sticky film that forms on everyone’s teeth. If not cleaned, it can harden into tartar.

The tartar stage is already a little late as only a dentist/dental professional can remove tartar/calculus. Too much plaque and tartar can lead to cavities (tooth decay), early gum disease like gingivitis, and the more serious, periodontitis – that causes inflammation and infection of tissues supporting the teeth. This is worth noting. If not treated, it can damage the bone and soft tissue that hold teeth in place, potentially causing tooth infection and tooth loss.

I started flossing in my 40s, and haven’t stopped since. It’s now a part of my routine. In fact, I use both the floss threader and water flosser for good measure. It’s my dentist deterrent.

Other to-dos include using mouthwash twice daily and switching to a soft-bristled toothbrush. Not smoking and chewing tobacco also helps.