Hey I’m not sure if anyone knows this, but often trades schools/post secondaries will have an option to have what you need done by students for cheaper. They are watched over by the instructors as they do it, so less of a chance for messing up irreversibly. They do tend to take longer, but is usually much cheaper. Examples in my city:
- Hair cuts
- skin care
- dental care
- car repair
- message therapy
- probably more that I don’t know about…
Careful with dental though:
A badly/poorly/half treated tooth problem can become a financial burden in the long run and cost you much more than you saved by going to the student practice.
The school I go to has the dentist check in multiple times and they are the one to treat patients. The dental school is for hygienist and assisting. So, no dentist training.
Not sure if this is what you’re after, but based off reading multiple pubmed studies, I was able to confirm the legitimacy of Dr.Ellie’s tooth maintainence protocol.
Her protocol consists of:
- starting with a Closys sensitive mouth rinse, which in studies is as effective as Chlorhexidine, a potent prescription only mouth rinse, but without the negative side effects from long-term use. This step ensures the mouth is at the correct pH before brushing, and effectively breaks up the biofilm of caries causing bacteria between the teeth, where the brush can’t reach.
- Brush with a low abrasive toothbrush (sift bristle) and low abrasive, non-whitening toothpaste. I personally recommend standard Colgate Total, since it uses the more advanced Stannus Flouride, which is more resistant to a lower pH compared to standard sodium flouride.
- Rinse with a standard antiseptic rinse (Listerine original or equivalent off-brand). This step must be done after brushing, as Listerine is mildly acidic (which would make your enamel soft enough for your brush to wear it away), and Listerine is much more effective after the bacteria colonies have been broken up by physical agitation first.
- Finish with a standard ACT flouride rinse or off-brand. Flouride is actually most effective at binding to the teeth in an acidic environment, so doing it after Listerine is synergistic. It also is alkaline, countering the low pH of the Listerine. Lastly, it has its own unique antibacterial, cetylpyridinium chloride, that further kills caries causing bacteria.
The end result of that protocol is an insane reduction in caries causing bacteria that completely eliminates tge ability for plaque to form for around 8 to 12 hours. If you do the protocol twice a day forever, you will likely never have another cavity for the rest of your life, unless an existing filling fails.
Taking xylitol mints between brushing, after meals, can further deprive caries causing bacteria from growing, as it will ingest xylitol, but ultimately cannot use it for fuel, causing it to die.
I’ve been using this protocol personally for 2 years, and can confirm that I no longer have plaque buildup on my teeth, and as a side-effect of the closys and Listerine, no longer have bad-breath, even in the morning.
