Are the picks that Maria linked to used for something other than flossing?

Lee, the non-flossing end is tapered to a point. I've used them in place of toothpicks, because I don't end up with a mouthful of wood.

My mom has a full upper plate of dentures. Her teeth have been crap all of her life. My dad, up until recently, has had teeth that he used to crack nuts with (which may explain the up until recently part). I have cavities because I did not brush properly if at all as a child. I also have some calcification from when I wore braces due to lack of proper brushing. I'm also not the world's best flosser and I had to combat early periodontal disease in my 20s because of said bad habits. Now I'm OK. Not great, but still in possession of all of my teeth including the wisdom teeth, except for the four that were pulled to make space in my small mouth (yes, I was shocked too) right before I got braces. Oh, and I had a 33rd pulled from the roof of my mouth. It never descended, so I didn't become the human shark with multiple rows of teeth. I'm a genetic mutant, except without the cool powers.

Flouridated water is one of the classic governmental control conspiracies.

I wonder about kids growing up today who don't drink tap water -- does Brita filter out the fluoride, is bottled water fluoridated?

I don't think the fluoride is filtered out unless you do a lot extra. Bottled I don't know about - isn't a lot of bottled water just tap water?

My mom had decent teeth growing up but said as she got older they all start d falling apart--she's got several crowns. I never had cavities as a kid but have had several (and some teeth that had pieces break off) as an adult. Which sucks because I do go to the dentist regularly! In fact, I have an appointment tomorrow, so this is all very timely.

I know for formula-fed infants, the recommendation is to use bottled water because of the risk of flourosis, so no, I think bottled water is not flouridated.

(I'm also pretty sure that the risk of flourosis was found to be overstated and actually tap water is considered fine now, but I haven't mixed a bottle of formula in over three years.)

These people think that we were administered the "swish" as a way of poisoning us.

You have to get special filters to filter out fluoride - not just Brita or similar, but something installed in your pipes, I think.

I have actually investigated filtering out fluoride because fluoride is an endocrine disruptor and can contribute to thyroid problems, but I'm also an adult with pretty good teeth, so I could probably afford to be without it, unlike, say, a child. Though part of me does wonder if the heavy use of fluoride, and in particular my childhood tendency to swallow toothpaste because it tasted like candy, contributed to my current thyroid troubles. Probably not.

My SIL just told me a couple days ago that she is seriously considering becoming a dentist. Her dentist has talked her into it. She is a nail tech and her dentist has been a client for a decade or so. She convinced her that she has the fine motor skills and temperament to be a dentist. She also said she would hire her if she did it.

I'd be a whole lot better about going if she does become a dentist. I have a cousin in NY that is, but I've never seen him that way. Mom has.

Brita and other pitcher filters don't filter out fluoride. Reverse osmosis removes most of it. Distillation removes it completely, but it also removes all the good minerals like magnesium and calcium. (I fell down the "fluoride is killing us" conspiracy rabbit hole a few years ago.)

Most water systems in New Jersey (the last I knew) didn't fluoridate the water. Neither does Hawaii, although since it's volcanic, the water may naturally contain fluoride. Utah was really slow to start doing it, but I think they do now. Most other states in the US started it in the late 50s or early 60s.

For me, that's interesting, because I lived my first four years in NJ (no fluoride), and then moved to a farm with well water in TN, so I got fluoridated water only at school. I didn't live somewhere where I got fluoridated water all the time until I went to college. Yet I have great teeth, and also some streaks of fluoridosis in my teeth. (Fluoridosis shows up as white streaks, or if it's really heavy, brown. That part of the tooth is more porous and thus more likely to pit and break, and get cavities.) Supposedly fluoridosis occurs in teeth before they erupt.

And, that's about all I know about fluoride.