I know people who never brush, never floss.  They come in every 15
years to say hi.  They've never had a cavity.
    Are you now of those people?
    Could be, but your past history of cavities (and your admission that a
couple of teeth have fallen apart) would seem to make this unlikely.  So
then the question becomes--how lucky do you feel?

Steve

My brush tale is one of fluoride. I quit fluoride and switched to
baking soda about a year ago. Went in a couple weeks after the switch,
for my hygentist apointment. The hygenist said I had good color, great
bone density, and nearly no plaque or tartar. Gave me excellent
reviews for dental home care.

When I told her that I'd gone off fluoride and gone to baking soda,
she and the dentist both tried to convince me to go back to the high
fluoride prescription paste that he kept writing for me.

Since that time, I've delayed a dental cleaning (why bother?) and
havn't had any cavities. I used to have about one cavity per checkup.

Anyone wish to submit a wild guess why they both wanted me to go back
to fluoride when fluoride appears to give me white teeth, bad bone
density, lots of tartar, plenty of plaque, and cavities every visit?

I usually brush every day before going to sleep, but perhaps once a
week I don't bother. Would it be safe to increase that non brushing to
twice a week, so say I would brush three days, then not brush one day,
then repeat the sequence? My teeth aren't brilliant and I have lots of
fillings but no new fillings since 2000 (although a couple of teeth
have fallen apart and needed to be put together again).

How safe is this strategy, in practice, as opposed to the dentistry as
a religion response?

Not safe if you intend to breath near people or animals.