Can not brushing your teeth kill you?

Answer 1

I dont think it can kill you, but you do run the risk of getting sick due to all the bacteria that will be running rampant in your mouth...

Answer 2

Depending on your diet and genetics possibly yes, after a chain of events, the shortest/simplest being:

You never brush your teeth.

You eat a Western/ Modern diet high in sugar.

Your genetics have determined you have relatively thin enamel.

Your genetics have determined your saliva has relatively low amounts of minerals in it.

The bacteria that live in your mouth are one of the strains that are very good at using consuming sugar and making the waste a type of acid as a waste product.

Nothing cleans the bacterial bio film off your teeth by friction or other means. I.e. you don't chew on any twigs, or rub salt or sand on your teeth, thus scraping or polishing the plaque off.

The bacterial biofilm starts to create a hard calculus on your teeth called tartar. This irritates your gums, inflaming them and causing bleeding. It is now gum disease, a.k.a. gingivitis.

The bacteria waste product of acid eats away at the hard outer protection of your tooth, and the now exposed (by gingivitis) less hard root area. These are cavities.

The cavities will progress until they eat all the way though the hard mineral portion of the tooth and reach the "living" soft Pulp portion of the tooth. It is able to quickly infect this area. The tooth would now normally have a "root canal" or be pulled. The pain of a tooth this infected is excruciating. It will keep you up at night. Since you are not brushing many teeth will be at this state.

If the tooth is not pulled or treated the infection may travel up into the bone. It can make a “pocket” of infection much like a boil. This can be the size of a grape or larger. If the body cannot contain the infection, the bone infected and you can get "septic" which is a blood infection. If this goes untreated you would most likely die.

The fever would likely climb over 104 and you would start to suffer brain damage as it rose higher. The other option is the infection can reach your heart through the blood stream and you can have a heart attack.

...I think I will go floss now.

Answer 3

Negative consequences arise from improper or infrequent brushing and flossing. The five major oral health problems are plaque, tartar, gingivitis, periodontitis, and tooth decay.

Plaque is a soft, sticky, colorless bacterial film that grows on the hard, rough surfaces of teeth. These bacteria use the sugar and starch from food particles in the mouth to produce acid. Left to accumulate, this acid destroys the outer enamel of the tooth, irritates the gums to the point of bleeding, and produces foul breath. Plaque starts forming again on teeth four to 12 hours after brushing, so brushing a minimum of twice a day is necessary for adequate oral hygiene.

When plaque is not regularly removed by brushing and flossing, it hardens into a yellow or brown mineral deposit called tartar or calculus. This formation is crusty and provides additional rough surfaces for the growth of plaque. When tartar forms below the gumline, it can lead to periodontal (gum) disease.

Gingivitis is an early form of periodontal disease, characterized by inflammation of the gums with painless bleeding during brushing and flossing. This common condition is reversible with proper dental care but if left untreated, it will progress into a more serious periodontal disease, periodontitis.

Periodontitis is a gum disease that destroys the structures supporting the teeth, including bone. Without support, the teeth will loosen and may fall out or have to be removed. To diagnose periodontitis, a dentist looks for gums that are red, swollen, bleeding, and shrinking away from the teeth, leaving widening spaces between teeth and exposed root surfaces vulnerable to decay.

Tooth decay, also called dental caries or cavities, is a common dental problem that results when the acid produced by plaque bacteria destroys the outer surface of a tooth. A dentist will remove the decay and fill the cavity with an appropriate dental material to restore and protect the tooth; left untreated, the decay will expand, destroying the entire tooth and causing significant pain.

Answer 4

I have never come across this question before. I don't think it is fatal. If it were, none of our ancestors would have survived very long, since they certainly did not have brushes or tooth paste. The more germaine question would be, "Why in the world would you not want to brush your teeth?" It prevents a whole array of dental problems that are unnecessary, expensive, and very uncomfortable.

Answer 5

Theoretically, yes!

If you stopped brushing your teeth, your gums would get horribly inflammed. Then, say, you ate something like a pear or an apple and your gums got a little cut up. Now, because they're so inflammed, they bleed really, really easy, and you just opened up a small sore in them. Because you don't brush your teeth, your mouth is teeming with bacteria that enter the open sore in your gums and from there enter your bloodstream. Then, after the bacteria multiply and make themselves at home in your bloodstream, you're screwed... and could very well die.

There you have it!

Answer 6

Yes, actually, I think not brushing your teeth can kill you for real! Say, your teeth were to start rotting out of your head because of it and you don't get them treated and they become abscessed teeth. The toxins from the infection can make their way to your brain and BAM (!) you're gone.

Please brush your teeth! :)

Answer 7

They say it can lead to a lot of diseases if you don't brush regularly.

Here's an article about Brushing your teeth could reduce the risk of having a stroke or heart attack.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4243893.stm

Not to mention, your teeth will look bad and your breath will stink!

Answer 8

Imagine all the germs you will be carrying around for not keeping your teeth and mouth clean. In time you will get sick. The doctor will not have to check far from where your illness will be coming from, because the smell will be apparent and enough.

Answer 9

Not directly, but unhealthy teeth and gums can become infected and lead to open sores which in turn can permit greater and more malicious infections and germs to take hold. The cycle could feasibly lead to death.

Answer 10

No, although anyone near you would probably want to kill you. floss, use mouthwash, brush. That way you wont have funk mouth.