i have not been to a dentist in probably 10 years

(kidding, gerard)

electric toothbrushes make it more FUTURISTIC.

Use listerine.

Floss whenever you can, if you start bleeding when you floss that means you should be flossing more, not less.

Soft bristled brushes help you brush the gumline better, so buy those.

Don't skip a day. You can get by only brushing once a day if you have to, and even just brushing without toothpaste if there's none around once in a while, but don't ever skip. That 48 hours vs. 24 or 12 is what kills your teeth, think about mitosis and the whole bacteria population doubling every 20 minutes and you get the picture.

If all else fails don't blame yourself too much, research with twins and families has shown tooth decay is highly influenced by your genetic makeup to the point that twins will sometimes end up getting all their cavities in EXACTLY THE SAME TEETH as one another.

So so so so true. "Bleeding when you floss means you need to floss more" is the "if the topical cream burns, it's doing its job" of dental hygeine.

i find painful teeth and gums sort of fascinating, so long as they're not *too* painful. i also find it kind of cool when one of my teeth is sort of loose. but i also go to the dentist regularly and i've never had any serious dental problems.

i find going to the dentist perfectly pleasant and occasionally sort of fascinating. i don't quite understand the "fear dentists" meme. (well, maybe if you've seen von stroheim's "greed"--that's fucked up.)

amateurist, yes the dentist is expensive. esp. since i can't even pay rent tomorrow, much less a dentist.

But man, gimme that laughing gas.

that said, i'm gonna bookmark this thread and look at it whenever i'm tempted to skip a day. brrrr.

[xpost] my husband had his wisdom tooth pulled out in pieces (it was broken)...and he kept it. on the nightstand. still has it. it's gross.
I'm making him a gift of a matchbox & some cottonwool. I just want it to go away.

Hence I'm really paranoid about people looking at my teeth. Especially with my having three canines and all.

my dentist story is on the "scary things yr hairdresser sed" thread: i haven't been since then

Rather shamefully, I haven't been back since. I have rediscovered the joys of flossing though.

(I also get a weird, uncomfortable, maddening sensation if I touch papers napkins (or other similar kinds of paper) when my fingers are too dry. And not dry to the point of cracking or flaking or anything, just the kind of dryness that comes from wind or air. If this happens I have to put the napkin down and get some kind of wetness or even like pizza grease before I can touch it again. Does this happen to anyone else?)

But the thought of me not going to the dentist for ten years is horrifying. I've gone to the dentist pretty much every 6 months for as long as I can remember, but I've always been lucky to have good dental insurance. I basically never floss (I flossed like 3 times last year), but I've never had a cavity. I do usually brush twice a day, and it usually brush for a couple minutes. And then a lot of times I start reading something while I'm brushing my teeth, and I end up sitting there with a mouthful of toothpaste for like 5 minutes, so maybe that somewhat makes up for not flossing?

Also, the last time I went to the dentist, they gave me a walkman to listen to, which is like the greatest idea ever. It totally helped distract me. The next time you go to the dentist, I highly recommend bringing some kind of portable music player. You also get to avoid awkward dentist conversation. It still baffles me when they ask me questions while they're doing something in my mouth. How do they expect me to answer with more than a wordless noise?

I found a very local NHS dentist who fixed a broken filling for me for very little cash, but I left his surgery actually feeling he hadn't done enough work in there (I can feel, clearly, the fissure between the patched-up filling and the body of the tooth, and if that isn't a bacterial pleasure palace I don't know what is), which is entirely unlike my reaction to my previous, private dentists, who fucked my mouth about at enormous expense and caused problems for years where there had been none before.

I won't be going back to Kennington then. (The missus has just registered at one in Crystal Palace - they actually put a leaflet through our door courting our registration! NHS shortages a media myth, blah blah blah).

You can put your name on a dentist's list in the same way that you can register with a family doctor (GP). Find a dentist, ring them to check they offer NHS treatment and ask to put your name on their list.

Some dentists will only register you as a patient after an initial examination. When you visit the surgery you should remind them that you want to be registered as an NHS patient.

Your period of registration will last for 15 months. If, after registering with an NHS dentist you have not made an appointment within 15 months, your registration will no longer be valid and you will have to register again.

If you see your dentist regularly, you will not need to do this.

Yeah, same here! Have gone every six months since I was able to remember things at four or whatever, will be going in a couple more weeks. My dentists always say I've done a very good job with my teeth, with the exception alas of two small cavities I got back in 1984. Otherwise, smooth sailing. And my wisdom teeth came out in one piece and with no fuss. I love me.

this makes me feel rotten.

i never had dental issues as a kid, not one cavity, and then about age 15 all of the sudden they would find new ones all the time, which i find very odd becuase it seems as though i take better care of my teeth now than when i was seven. anyway, i have insurance, but i haven't made an appt yet, i think because i'm secretly afriad. also, i don't want to pay the deductible and copay for a filling.

I need to go, but I have hated every dentist that I've ever gone to. When I take my car to the mechanic, he doesn't give me a hard time because it's been years since I've gone. No, he just fixes the damn thing. Dentists, in my experience, just want to throw a guilt-trip over you before taking a thousand x-rays for no reason at all.

i didn't find that to be the case when i was a kid.

what's up with all you dental slackers??

This same doctor slapped my cousin once because he thought she was being a bit too hysterical. Never mind the fact that he TORTURED KIDS AND CHARGED THEIR PARENTS FOR IT.

no dental insurance!

Fuck American health care

i hadn't gone in 10 years and i went over xmas. i was told that i was RUINING MY GUMS because i brushed INCORRECTLY! i have been going side-to-side for my entire life. the dentist was like NO NO NO AAAAGGGH NO. brush in the direction your teeth grow he said. he said "be gentle." i was, apprently, brushing my gums into oblivion. i should probably floss too huh, i said. "just the ones you want to keep." i remembered hearing the same line from him, 10 years earlier. and i still had them all! HA.

anyway, i have decay on two teeth, but they're my wisdom teeth and he said i should get em yanked soon anyway, so he didn't bother doing anything to them.

i reported all this to my dentist friend who lives in glasgow. he had a somewhat glaswegian attitude, i guess. he emailed back: "why did you go to the dentist? were you in pain?"

One dentist said to me once, "You don't wash your hands until they bleed, do you? Then why do that to your gums?" Makes sense, I guess.

I'm going in on Thursday for my first appointment since the Clinton administration. Never been to this guy before. If he recommends braces, I'll be excusing myself once more.

yes, too much of the former, plus genetics, led to gum surgery for me. never had a filling, though.

(well, I assume - I was 17 and had an NHS dentist anyway when mine were pulled)

That sounds pretty awesome in general. I wish I could do it without having/needing surgery.

Is this plausible? Also my dentist reminded me of Dr. Nick and had huge snot stalagmites in both nostrils. :((((

I've had root canal work, 6 fillings, hygienist cleaning, the works - all with NO pain

no trouble but I will try to not not go for that long, again

Anna, you could try this http://www.nhs.uk/England/Dentists/Default.aspx but I reckon word of mouth (mouth! ha!) is usually best. But what do I know, I've not had a dentist for 9 years.

the previous dentist always x-rayed and always found something to do on every visit. the current one doesn't and hasn't. i'm not sure which i prefer.

unfortunately, i have 5 cavities and have to get a deep-gum cleaning :-( this is the 1st time in my life that i've had cavities, or have had to get fillings so i am NOT thrilled.

and now i gotsta floss, so no more cavities, no more drill-and-fill, etc. i'm gonna be one of those nasty mofos @ work who brushes and flosses after every meal (and junks up the sink b/c of that).

Except for writing that.

Gross.

Invest in a Sonicare or similar, check out the Showerfloss, use xylitol with abandon. Mr. Jaq and I have gone from having those scary bloody gum pockets to none whatsoever due to diligent application of same. Xylitol's the newest thing I've been researching - pretty amazing, can actually reverse mild instances of caries, disrupt bacterial plaque and remineralize your teeth.

then again, i went to the dentist 'round Easter, for the first time in 3 years: STILL NO CAVITIES, BITCHES.

I'm going to go have some coffee now.

Dear lord.

but my cavity-free mouth required oral surgery a decade back for some weird gum thing and it was nofun in the extreme. I've been a stickler for regular cleanings and dental exams ever since.

The dentist is talking about sealing my molars, because the valleys are deep on them. Insurance won't cover it for an adult - has anyone else had this done? I wonder if the cost is really worth it.

Still my parents suck. I've had to put so much money into my mouth it's stupid (well above 10 grand). Damn their genes and lack of hygiene.

I dont understand this deep cleaning, bloody gum pockets (!!), wtf is wrong with you peoples mouths!? :/ I cant help feeling flossing is mostly bad for ones gums - it can cut the gums, and that isnt good. I only ever floss when I have actual food stuck in my teeth.

I am also strongly suspicous that some more shifty dentists will tell people they need cavities for no reason, to make more money. I mean obviously if you have a painful tooth, you know you need one. But what if you go for a checkup and suddenly you need a mouthful? I say - go see another dentist!

I floss every day. Probably 364 out of 365 for the last 10 years.

They were like "oMG you never ever floss we can tell from your gingivitis"

I was like "bitch when i was a kid i had real gingivitis and knoe what it feels like. I floss every night and if you are not listening to me you are a quack."

They told me I needed $1300 in dental work (no insurance) i was like fuck that i'm going elsewhere for a 2nd opinion. That was a fucking scary dentist visit.

Rainbow bum - good luck with a second opinion, sometimes I think they are just trying to pay off their in-chair tv systems and such.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AJ7Cy_19S8

2 extractions & a filling = I look like I've been in a bar brawl but it was painless and I got it on the NHS so it's all good mostly. Would like mouth to thaw so I can have a kebab tho.

i am going to the dentist tomorrow, for the first time in 10+ years

http://scribalterror.blogs.com/scribal_terror/images/2007/05/29/cmi695.jpg

i am afraid to even read this thread because i have not been to dentist in like 3-4 years

well i hadn't been in almost 10 yrs and now i need a bunnnnch of stuff done. but it's the way of the world. it'll get doine. my benefits are oK.

you know, we don't realize that these scary dentist ppl, they see a LOT of really bad teeth

i have a $600 dentist bill -- anyone have any hints for negotiating it down

can anyone recommend a dr in ny in the cigna network? i gotta go through my hmo...

i dunno i'm about to be on Empire in NY... meeting with the Benefits woman today.

Dr. Michael Herman is really great, 128 Central Park South I think. not sure if he's on cigna but maybe worth cheking

whoa Guardian is like really good, my new dental plan

i don't nkow why i said Empire before, what the hell is that

bell labs, ask these people:

http://www.docnet.org/physicians/phys_bios.asp?phys_id=1635

they are pretty pricey as far as dentists go, but they are GREAT. I TRUST them. I broke a tooth after not going to the dentist for 5 years. Went to some mcdentist who said I'd need a root canal when the dr was in next week and untill then there was nothing they could do and that I should just avoid eating with that tooth. BREATHING hurt. I went to the linked dentist the next day, nice little office in brooklyn heights. She said I might not need a root canal, I didn't get one, got a crown instead, and she put some temp ceramics on it to cover up the exposed parts prior to the crown.

And as i've said many many times. The tooth breaking SUCKED. It hurst and cost LOTS of money. Get cleanings and check-ups every 6 months people and don't let that happen.

And that dentists other device was to get a Phillips Sonicaire Toothbrush. I did and it was great. I stopped using it after a while and hadn't been there for 3 years. Went back and recently, had major cleaning and now am using the Philips again. It's expensive, but it's worth it. It's like getting your teeth cleaned every day. It's not one of those 20 buck ones that just spin around.

who's your dentist in brooklyn heights?

see the link.

i'll try them - lauren told me about a dentist who sounds great, but they don't take my insurance, and i'm afraid i will need stuff done.

I can't recommend her enough. You can go cheaper, hell, there's about a dozen dentists in queens right outside of the 7 train that offer real bargains AND free electric toothbrushes, but dental care isn't something I'm looking to get a bargain in. And if you have good coverage...when I had all that work done (the crown, etc) I had Met Life and it covered most of it.

I now have some shitty plan care of Freelancer's Union, and have yet to see how that'll pan out.

and I got it on the NHS

how do you do that? last time i needed any dental work done (all wisdom teeth out, 2000 - eek, 7 years...), i filled in all the forms and sent off all the proof cos i was so sure i would qualify - i was making like £200 a week gross (so, what, £168 net?) and living in london - i remember reading in the metro about average wages and discovering i was below the poverty line - and they told me i did not qualify for any help whatsoever.

We managed to register with an NHS dentist. We still have to pay charges, but my check-up and the subsequent treatment I had today are charged at NHS rate which is less than 50 quid for everything. I think if you have below a certain income you have to pay less, maybe right down to nothing. But the standard NHS charges aren't means tested and they're still a lot lower than private charges.

ok thanks. i am so confused! i didn't go private, i specifically asked about nhs dentists... ohwell. maybe next time.

The charges might've been a lot different in the past tho. The poster on the NHS site here says "since April 2006".

I'm so squeamish about bodies, teeth & especially gums that I didn't go for twelve years, and when I did I had to have nine fillings and three pure-black wisdom teeth chopped out of my gob. It was a good job I was on the dole at the time - it all came free and I got some sedation for the squeams thrown in.

That was three years ago, though, and recently, while eating a fucking ciabatta that I didn't even want, one of those big fillings came out, or a quarter of a tooth did -- I swallowed it and I'm no expert anyway -- and I have to begin again I reckon, this time paying, I suppose.

All four of my wisdom teeth have impacted...it wld cost $1200 to get them removed. I am kind of nervous abt spending this; I can fit it in my budget but it will hurt my 'oh shit my dog ate a tractor' emergency savings. Will my mouth be like 'eh, don't worry bout taking out those 4 weird choppers, we've grpwn used to them," or will it be like, "When will you please fucking mutiny these supposedly wise teeth, we are getting twisted into uselessness." ???

impacted meaning 'grown out,' I am 98% sure I am using it correctly but wanted to clarify in case I hadn't

I've got decent medical insurance, but the dental plan kinda blows. I always feel like I've been gipped every time I get a standard cleaning, so I end up going maybe once every couple of years. I'm a 2/3 times a day brusher and fairly regular floss-a. I'm probably tempting fate, but goddam I really hate going to the dentist.

i haven't been to the dentist since i was 15, and i only have one filling. i'm thinking i should get a check-up before i leave the country but i'm too scared about what might be secretly wrong with my teeth.

Do it before you have to pay for it w/insurance! You will seriously, seriously not regret it and it's probably nowhere near as bad as you think (went to the dentist for the first time in seven years to find "look ma, no cavities!").

Oops, I mean before you move to U.S., the country where you will get no decent insurance, if any at all.

I don't think impacted means anything until they start getting cavities or somehow going wrong on you? I think the reason dentists take out most people's wisdom teeth is that a) sometimes they're pressuring other teeth, b) they're harder to reach behind and tend to get cavities, and c) dentistry is a business. But if you have nice hard resistant enamel to begin with, maybe you'll NEVER get cavities in them! Just brush, mouth wash, whatever, be good to yr teefs.

If, sometime in yr adult life with a job & insurance, they show signs of problems and have to come out while your body still heals pretty well/quickly, then fine. I suppose one wouldn't want to be like sixty-something and then have to have major oral surgery with older-person healing times. But that's a long ways off.

That seems sensible & accurate. It's what I suspected, that it wasn't a danger will robinson thing & could be tended to when I have a Real Job.

i'm kinda scared my wisdoms are finally coming through. i'm getting a really aching jaw, but i always getting an acutely tense jaw when i'm stressed, so i'm not sure if it's just that. and i've been clenching my teeth practically non-stop lately.

dentists really scare the shit out of me :/

I have to have a tooth removed, she put two injections in me last night and one was in the roof of my mouth - absolute fucking agony.

Ugh I had this happen when I had my wisdoms out. I'm not that afraid of needles, but when even your dentist says "I'm sorry but this is really going to hurt" you know its gonna be bad. Holy crap.

this is really enabling my capacity for procrastination when it comes to health check-ups

Have you ever had a tooth rot from the inside, the nerve shriveling up and dying while still encased in yr tooth, from raging infection? If you have, it looks much, much less tempting to putt off dentist visits. Any root canal, in fact, any TWO OR MORE root canals, are worth avoiding nerve death.

I actually fell ASLEEP during my last root canal, and I've been deathly afraid of needles for about twenty years. I promise you it can be done.

Please spare yourself and go in. You don't want to have a slight twinge on a Friday afternoon that you shrug off, but which by the midnight hours of Saturday has turned into a monster that rules your head until the inflammation swells your eye(s) shut and makes your face feel on fire, so that you can stagger around Brooklyn looking for a hospital at sunrise because there is no fucking way you can stay in the house any longer.

It was my pre-bike days and I had no internet at home, and no money for a car service or similar, not that I was even thinking that clearly, and I left the house without really knowing where the nearest hospital WAS, and had to ask a policeman for directions and walk and walk. Then I was in the ER for four or five hours begging for antibiotics before anyone would even see me. I apologize for the drama, but srsly really please don't do this. Go to the dentist.

Not you, Abbs -- but people who HAVE insurance and avoid the dr because it's scary and there are needles and sometimes mildly bad news involved. Because even once I HAD a Real Job I still tried to avoid the dentist but it ends badly, it always ends badly.

i don't have insurance (practically no one does in NZ). so i'm looking at pretty hefty financial damages if i need any work done. i think that's scaring me more than the needles and pain.

also: thanks laurel. i know you're right and i need to suck it up and just make an appointment.

You will seriously be very fucking grateful and if you have it done (say if you have to have wisdom teeth pulled or root canals) maybe up to $35, at least $250 just for a cleaning & x-ray. Do it there, plz, you will be so glad. ONe, two days of your least favorite for overwhelming security & relief...half the reason I was afraid to go is I was afraid things wld be beyond help. But I was pleasantly surprised they weren't!

oops I meant $3k not $35...maybe with the exchange rates it wld be cheaper here. Also, maybe there's a discount clinic in yr area?

i think it's maybe cheaper here. my best friend is getting her wisdoms pulled this week, and it's costing $2000 (NZD), but half of that is the cost of a general anaesthetic, because hers have to be cut out from deep in her gums.

In dental terminology an "impacted" tooth refers to a tooth that has failed to emerge fully into its expected position. This failure to erupt properly might occur because there is not enough room in the person's jaw to accommodate the tooth, or because the angulation of the tooth is improper.

So Abbott, your teeth are the opposite of impacted.

exchange rates would fuck me - NZ$1 buys US$0.72

Aw thx mh! I knew something was wrong there. What is the proper word?

Erupted, I think.

that is it. hhoray!

i just made a dentist appointment after 4 years of putting it off.

i am so afraid.

It'll probably be fine, I didn't go for a decade, and I only had to have one filling replaced. Though, it that falls out, I have to get a crown which is ££££!

i wonder how hstencil's teeth are

i still haven't been (since the "scary things yr hairdresser sed" thread) and mine are "fine"

i didn't go for four years between appointments. between filling five cavities and a cleaning, i've had to go six times since january

so, yknow, there's that

i didn't go for ten years and when i finally did go it was not all that bad. but i have "good teeth" whatever that means. ALSO: the first dentist i went to wanted to put me under to clean my teeth, so i found another dentist who didn't want to do that kind of dumb shit

can you tell when you have cavities? do they hurt? i've never had a cavity or root canal or any of that stuff but i'm convinced i'll have 12 of them this time.

if youve never had a cavity, and you cant feel anything now that definitely feels like a cavity (extreme sensitivity to cold, air, food, etc), and its only been four years, i bet you will have a maximum of two cavities, and probably none.

something cool about having small teeth is that its easy to floss them!

i definitely have a chipped toof but it doesn't hurt.

my teeth are sort of horrible anyway (impacted wisdom teeth due to small jaw, sensitivity), but i've been taking much better care of them this year

I stand by my "go for the gas" advice.

relax! if you've never had a cavity and aren't experiencing pain, then it's highly unlikely that after four years of inattention you'll need a root canal.

also, i am SO AFRAID of the dentist but managed to go after about 10 years of putting it off and nothing terrible happened. i had to get my old fillings replaced, which wasn't fun, but it was totally tolerable.

ok, you're making me feel better! i just keep reading horrible stories of people needing $15k worth of dental work and getting really paranoid.

there is probably a lot of cosmetic stuff that is wrong with my teeth, they are very crooked. i had braces, but it was when i was in 2nd grade and half of my adult teeth hadn't even grown in yet...which seems kind of counter-intuitive. but hey i know nothing about orthidonture!

but i am not too worried about that. it's not like i ever smile or anything!

but hey i know nothing about orthidonture!

it's orthodontia

whatever it is, no child of mine is ever getting a pallette expander because that was just unnecessarily cruel.

funny you should mention that

my teeth are all hillbilly snaggly/crooked cause my mom didn't think I needed braces. "it's just cosmetic and you're a boy" anyway my son is undergoing the orthodontal experience now and holy shit I can't believe how complicated it is, before he gets the braces he has to wear all kinds of gear and spacers and retainers and last week they put something in his mouth that wasn't fitted right and he was in agony for few days. and the cost! when we first met w/the orthodonist he couldn't say the amount out loud, he wrote it down on a piece of paper and slipped it across the table (presumably smelling salts were on hand) like a funeral director.

maybe my mom was on to something.

see i had that stuff done and i still have hillbilly teeth! and my jaw is fucked up, possibly from that stuff. i don't understand why they don't wait until the kids at least have their adult teeth in to fix them? i'm sure there is some logic, but it seems questionable to me.

like my palette probably would have expanded itself when i grew up, without the torture device?

Been about 4-5 years, and I finally got round to getting the details of a dentist to make an appointment next week.

Things is I stopped bcz, in my every 6 months check up it used to always be 'fine' (also my former dentist went to the private sector). I know I should have gone about two years ago when I had this slight persisting ache. The slightness meant I kept putting it off, and when it finally subsided after a period I forgot all about it.

I'm terrified really. I really don't make this appointment...

when i underwent the orthodontia, basically anything that required my active intervention just didn't happen -- i wouldn't wear the headgear or the retainer or whatever. i still turned out relatively human-looking.

waiting for the tmj to kick in, tho

When my daughter was 8 or 9, she had a friend whose parents went overboard on the orthodontia - that poor kid seemed to have had every tooth in her mouth pulled, then when the new ones came in they immediately got wrapped in metal and clamped into place. I couldn't imagine subjecting my kid to that much painful intervention, so she has one bicuspid that is out of line. Which she hates and occasionally blames me for not slapping her in braces, but if she really wants it dealt with she can pay for it herself now.

ok, you're making me feel better! i just keep reading horrible stories of people needing $15k worth of dental work and getting really paranoid.

-- bell_labs, Thursday, April 24, 2008 1:27 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

ive had cavities and have some tooth pain :-/

when i underwent the orthodontia, basically anything that required my active intervention just didn't happen -- i wouldn't wear the headgear or the retainer or whatever. i still turned out relatively human-looking.

Me too. I would actually fall asleep with them on and then in my sleep take them off and throw them clear across the room. My teeth totally shifted and I hate them because I swear I was Jaq's daughter's friend. I had 10 baby teeth pulled at 8 to make way for braces which I then had until I was 14. I deserve perfect teeth dammit! I just wonder what the hell I would have looked like if I hadn't had all that crap done.

I am also going to the dentist in a couple weeks and scared shitless. I already know I need to have one of my wisdom teeth pulled and am dreading what else they'll say I need done.

wisdom teeth weren't that big of a deal for me because i had them done at once, while i was under general anesthetic. i'm a big fan of being unconscious whenever possible.

I didn't go to the dentist as a teenager, and in my 20s (I'm 25) I've spent well over $6K fixing them.. with insurance these last three years. $2400 to remove my four grossly rotted wisdom teeth that took years to come out. I blame my Dad and his "we don't need dental care" attitude :(

GO TO THE DENTIST! SEND YOUR KIDS! etc

I went to the dentist yesterday. Three cavities, lucky me. I have teeth like marshmallows!

wisdom teeth weren't that big of a deal for me because i had them done at once, while i was under general anesthetic. i'm a big fan of being unconscious whenever possible.

See, I'm TERRIFIED of getting general anesthesia so that sounds awful to me. I've had one wisdom tooth pulled already (they all came in without incident) and that was a "Hey we're just going to fill that cavity today oh wait no we're not - it's too deep. How'd you like to get a wisdom tooth out with no advance warning or prep time?" type situation and ended with me in tears because I was so scared. The anticipation was worse than the actual extraction though.

I think I'm most afraid they're going to say I need root canal because everyone makes that sound so scary.

root canals aren't so much painful as they are tedious

i felt like i was sitting there forever. bored out of my skull as they bored into it.

Wisdom teeth was actually kind of fun with the drugs and all

i didn't mind getting my one wisdom tooth pulled. it took about thirty seconds.

I didn't get any drugs! My dentist is an asshole.

I was under completely. When i saw the shit going into my veins my eyes rolled back

i had four of them pulled, and they had to drill into the center of the lower to break them up for extraction. anesthetics don't work well for me; i woke from the general sobbing in pain.

omg that sounds awful.

oof, yea mine were broken up. I woke up and said "when do we start"

it was pretty terrible. what's worse is that i couldn't have any of the painkillers the next day for reasons of allergy, so i had to try and numb the pain with tylenol, which is about as effective as sugar-water

i had all four wisdom teeth out, and yeah, my bottom two had to be broken up before extraction. i was still a little bit awake when they started, it felt like the dentist was leaning on my lower jaw with a railroad spike with his full weight. then i went under. pretty freaky.

good luck ENBB!!

I can't really comprehend a dentist getting away with putting someone under for a clean up! That's weird.

I was having tooth pain until I went to the dentist, and then after they said that there was nothing wrong, it went. It was probably the guilt of not going for so long.

i woke up sobbing too! but it was after the surgery, at least.

I woke up from my laughing gas after having my wisdom teeth taken out, and said "you're so pretty!" to my Grandmother who was sitting across from me waiting for me to wake up. Awww.

Root canals don't hurt nearly as much as the cavity that necessitated my getting a root canal! Ugh.

my wisdom teeth are all fine and dandy

my friend's brother, an alcoholic/substance abuser, had to be put under for a cleaning after not going to the dentist for several decades.

i go to the dentist 3x/yr. i'm not gonna do the wisdom teeth thing unless absolutely necessary.

You're not making me feel better!! See, the wisdom tooth I have to get pulled is already broken so I'm pretty sure it's just going to shatter as soon as they go near it. ugh. I know I have to go but it sucks. Maybe I should get over my fear of being put under.

I wouldn't have done the wisdom tooth thing either but the one that has been pulled and the one that needs to be pulled both had cavities. The dentist said I have really soft cavity prone teeth. :-(

Linds my mom had a palate expander! In her late thirties! She had a very narrow jaw, though, and needed it to fit her teeth in (even though she had like 5 pulled). It hurt tons but she lost a fair bit of weight by not being able to eat for a day after every half-turn... o_O

Then she had braces for a while, then one of those clear trays. They told her since she waited until adulthood her teeth will never STAY in place without help, they'll always eventually try to shift back if she stops using the retainer.

waited until adulthood her teeth will never STAY in place without help, they'll always eventually try to shift back if she stops using the retainer.

I looked into getting invisalign or something like that because I'm so mad that my teeth shifted and was told the same thing.

Blessedly, Mr. Gladwell makes his point without reference to Oprah, that Great Connector in the Sky. Instead, he does a splendid job describing mere mortals such as Texas economist (and "Maven") Mark Alpert: avid reader of Consumer Reports , electronics wizard, evangelist and all-around know-it-all, a paragon of the "pathologically helpful." You know the type: hell at dinner parties; heaven when you're shopping for a car, or need emergency Yankees tickets. Walking data banks like Mr. Alpert–along with the Connectors, and the Salesmen–are crucial to the spread of social epidemic. Together they explain why the New York family in need of orthodontia will end up, sooner or later, in the office of Marc Lemchen, D.M.D., P.C., Park Avenue at 62nd Street (570-2333).

looool

ENBB, I had my wisdom teeth pulled under general anesthesia and had no problems at all. Sobbing (also laughing) after any kind of anesthetic is very common and generally not related to pain but as a reaction to the drugs. My younger sister is deathly afraid of going under, and had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled in the same session while wide awake - she prepared with some self-hypnosis and I think acupuncture.

i'm a big fan of being unconscious whenever possible.

yesssss. except that when i woke up, the anaesthetic make me puke, which is mildly unpleasant after having yr wisdom teeth pulled. other than that, it wasn't bad at all.

i was in high school and had to read 'canticle for leibowitz' during my recovery, which was kind of a downer.

i should get another retainer

i think teeth & jaw just shift around no matter what, right?
but yeah i'm pretty o_O abt going to the orthodontist as an adult
i remember this pink putty tray thing they put in to take impressions and it tasted like mint+plastic+cement but there was something sort of satisfying about the way it went schlock!fhup! when they pulled it out. obv they wld have to use that again. also the around-the-head xray.

if i actually had money i wld be all about this and skin lasers

and some other stuff

sometimes when you have pain and think you have cavities, it's actually just really sensitive teeth which may or may not be related to gum issues which may or may not be caused by having too much plaque which may or may not easily go away.

boob job? xpost

yeah anyways i'd try the lasers too. and ass implants, obvs.

how about boobs in your teeth that would be fun

i wanna get diamonds implanted in my nips

my boobs should get jobs!

to pay for my orthodontics

i don't know what kind of applicable skills and abilities they have tho. i mean their resume is all "1989 - 2008 - sitting there, wearing shirts, getting in the way, sometimes being awesome, yknow whatever"

I had all four wisdom teeth pulled over the summer, and my mom went with me so that she could drive me home. The doctor showed us the calculation: $175 per tooth without sedation, $800 with (or maybe it was a package deal--I can't remember, and my mom and I looked at each other and decided to go forgo the savings. It was fine, really, the worst part was hearing the loud crack!s. The dentist also advised against sedation--he said it wasn't really necessary.

i went to the dentist today. i nearly fainted when he showed me the fee schedule of what my procedures (which i still haven't had done) would cost. i'm thinking i'll just wait until that dream job with the dental plan comes through. dear democrat presidential candidates: you better be serious about universal health care.

the more dentists i see, the more convinced i am that they're all snake-oil salesmen.

I think you're right.

When I finally went to one about 18 months ago, he said I had a hairline fracture of my right rearmost molar, should be crowned, etc., only cost $600 if you want to go ahead and do it, blah blah. It's never given me a minute of trouble so I said no thanks. Oh and three cavities mysteriously turned into four when the filling started.

has anyone used care credit (or whatever it's called)? seems like a ripoff even if you go for the "no interest" option -- it's still around 22% APR, and if you want the extended payment option the interest is 11% on top of that. on the plus side, it comes in handy if the dentist wants all the money upfront and you don't actually HAVE the money.

Oh wow. I thought I had contributed to every teeth thread ever.

I didn't go to the dentist for, like, 14 years. Basically as soon as they took the braces off and I went to college I just never went to a dentist, probably from a residual resentment of my creepy twin brother orthodontists.

When I went, about five years ago (because a tooth just broke into a zillion pieces while I was eating)I eneded up having four cavities (and fillings) and three root canals.

My wisdom teeth never came in and never became impacted, so I guess I lucked out.
I didn't get (wasn't offered) general anaesthetia for the root canals - just the basic huge needle filled with numbiness shot into four or five gum areas.
Oh and a crown for the shattered tooth.
I had it all done in a three or four month time period - so, I was at the dentists or the oral surgeons, once a week for many weeks.
it wasn't that bad! maybe I felt empowered by having it all done at once - like, I've been avoiding this for so many years, and now I'm really taking care of business!

I also had the palette widener, which actually has made my teeth more fucked up (and i will repeat - creepy twin brother orthodontists). My dentist(s) are always trying to get me to go to an orthodontist and get braces again.
I went, once, a few years ago, and the guy suggested breaking my jaw and re-setting it to get my teeth aligned. Uh...no. I mean, what the fuck - it's the twenty first century! Break my jaw?!
(Also, if something that drastic has to happen I would prefer going down after some gigantic brawl.)

So, not sure if any of this is helpful, but I didn't suffer all that much through the months of weekly fillings and/or root canals.

oh man i had kind of major emotional spaz yesterday b/c of profound realization of jaw misalignment issues which have become more pronounced in the past year but also come and go and have something to do with neuromuscular issue of some sort (involves some tmj pain and even intermittent numbness/drooping/crookedness of one side of face. fun! dumb.) so anyway i called a recommended orthodontist and they were like, well, since you're not a still-growing teenager and this is a jaw issue and not a teeth issue, then here's the number of the maxillofacial surgeon we work with. aaah! so i looked into it more and am going to try to avoid the major surgery on jaw route thanks... b/c it wld seem the misalignment actually gets better when i do yoga every day and exercise. which seems weird to me but hey. am going to see what accupuncture & chiropractic stuff do b/c wtf. also i am using my left hand on the mouse! it is weird
that is all

rrrobyn i feel you on all of that. tmj may be causing a bunch of problems for me, but nobody can really say for sure if it's tmj cause they don't KNOW very much about it and i would NOT trust any of them doing surgery on my jaw or my spine or whatever it is that's fucked up.

myosfacial pain is making me a really unpleasant person to be around these days.

Wow, that's really saying something! My chronic foot pain just makes me look like a whiny whimp for not wanting to walk places. :D

aw man :(
yeah i'm getting on it now b/c it's only going to get worse and also i've got a job with a decent insurance plan. and omg i had like 6 years of high-quality orthodontic treatment via braces and appliances etc when i was a teenager - my jaw should be perfect! so yeah wtf will re-align self in whatever ways possible
xpost
pain blows - i am all about doing anything to not have it. like dudes i am off the beer and the wheat and the sugar even.

see, beer is one of those things that i think helps more than it hurts :D

i am getting an MRI in like, one hour. if they can't figure out how to fix me after this i will be all over the alternative medicines.

my dentist appointment is in less than one hour. terrifying.

A cleaning or check-up or what? I can imagine you being terrified at a head-lice search.

cleaning & check up but i haven't been in 4-5 years. but i don't know what you are implying about my hygeine w/ the lice thing.

My grandmother went back to the dentist recently because some procedure they did a month or so ago was bothering her, and they told her she needed a root canal, so they started, and then the dude had to stop because it was more involved that he realized and he didn't have the right tools, so they sent her to the dental surgeon next door, and I'm not sure if that guy did anything or not but basically they can't finish until May 27th. Do WHAT?

so annoying. all dentisty goes like this unless you're rich. haha.

good luck BL. i always worry about dental appointments but the feel-good factor coming out the door after is one of the purest i've experienced.

Had a cleaning earlier this week. They said my teeth were in better shape than ever, which is nice.

My dentist always tells me that I have great teeth and that I really need to start flossing regularly. I figure why mess with a good thing?

they want me to do their job at home for free

And then charge me to check my work!

My filling fell out yesterday :(

I'm gonna ask for a gold tooth :)

oh that was fine. there is nothing wrong with my teeth besides the fact that they are all going to break off eventually if i don't get braces. but fuck no i am not getting braces.

ugh not flossing is gross, i mean, i didn't floss regularly when i was younger and some of my best friends don't floss, but i don't know why. i am total flossing advocate
xposts

i'm glad your dental visit was fine, l!
i wonder if you could get a retainer or that invisiline thing or something that is not braces? get a second opinion maybe?

Going to the dentist was always weird because my mom was my dental hygienist. Like, an hour before she was making me a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich cut into triangles like I like them, y'know, cuz she's mom, then suddenly she's dressed like a mad scientist and cramming painful esoteric machinery into my mouth.

Yeah I totally haven't had a check up in like 5 years and I have somewhat poor dental hygiene. Yeeeeesh.

The dentist started drilling my tooth without anaesthetic yesterday. Oww. Should I pay £350 to get a gold tooth that no one will be able to see? Or just stick to the standard crown for £198? Decisions, decisions.

I hate when they do that. "We can stop and give you anaesthetic if it gets too painful." Okay but by that point it will be too late! My sympathies.

Where is this tooth? And can you afford the gold tooth?

The standard crown will stay in place for longer.

do you mean a crown or a fillinf because thats a crazy cheap crown

filling

wait, how much for a filling? i pay about 75 euro per filling.

id expect a filling to be US$150ish and a crown/cap to be US$1200ish

NHS standard rate for a crown is £198! I thought it was way more. There are 4 payment bands for NHS treatment: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/Chiefprofessionalofficers/Chiefdentalofficer/DH_4138821

oh. so this is no cosmetic dentistry we're talking about here.

seriously, dont go with gold.

Nah, I don't think I will. I kinda want to get a new laptop instead. Plus a gold tooth won't really make me a pirate.

I'm having a gold crown fitted on a the NHS tomorrow.

fingers crossed.

I made my first appt. for a checkup since...um...maybe the first Bush administration. Bush 41. Possibly early Clinton years.

you'll be fine. you'll just have some cavities to fill, maybe a route canal or two. nothing could be so bad. just don't fuck up your gums, they hate that.

I just made my first appointment since 2005! Been flossing though.

i went for the first time in 3+ years a couple of weeks ago. no cavities, but they did do a whole hell of a lot of scraping.

ugh i hate that, and then all the blood :/

PS what's with all my girlfriends getting these caps when they were little? it's like, no wonder you never had any cavities. "sealants" or something. wtf is that, why did i never hear of that?

> they did do a whole hell of a lot of scraping

I anticipate the use of a circular sander.

i think i got sealants in my molars at some point in high school?

that prolly would've helped me in my chips ahoy or bust phase

i also have a cap over my front bottom tooth where my sister threw a rock at me and knocked it out (one of my first permanent teeth). it was all because i wouldn't let her listen to my michael jackson thriller album. i would shut my door and turn the volume on my turntable so low that i would have to lay my head right against the speaker (no headphones) to hear it. the rock was indoors because her 4 year old sunday school class had decorated them with felt & glitter to say "Jesus Loves Me".

That is a great story and needs to go in the mini family anecdotes thread.

i went this week to a new dentist. she is so hot, and so is the dental assistant. and i'm fucking sitting there with my mouth open, gums out, drooling all over the place.

you should have made your desire for them a little less obvious

bahahaha

It's been a good 4+ years for me. I'm finally seeing a student at OHSU day after tomorrow. I take good care of my teeth but they feel a little achy overall...

hey people in the US/AUS,

if you need a lot of dental work done, like over $1000, we have found a really good dentist here in Cusco (Peru). A round trip for two weeks from the US is around $700. I just got a new crown for $80 (!) and three fillings for $100. That would have been around $1200 from my dentist in the states. So even with the plane ticket you come out ahead.

that actually sounds kind of fun. take a vacation to peru, get all your dental work done and then blow the money you saved on a good time.

that's what I'm sayin! I'll be happy to give the info to any interested parties, the dude is a total professional.

wehre did he go though, peru dental school?

looks like it, yeah. he's got a bunch of diplomas etc on his wall.

my gf is there right now getting two new crowns put in.

wow you guys are just goin crazy

^^^ this is pretty common, btw. def knew ppl that went to like costa rica for dental work, cuz it was cheap and you got a vacation out of it

i went to the dentist a few weeks ago after....2 years? 28 years and still no cavities, suckas. the dental asst said i brush too hard, maybe :-/

ohh yea like the enamel is wearing off? i've started to think about that too lately -- i can be kind of an excitable brusher

i am going to the dentist.
my tooth BROKE!!!!!
there was an old filling that was always strange. i felt a tiny crack in it last week and then sunday the back corner FELL OFF. WTF?
estimate for crown is $$$$$$ i am screwed.

shit i wanna go to peru for this stuff! sister is there now, i'd have a place to stay.

Double extraction tomorrow. One of 'em is a molar split in half. The other is a supernumerary. VICODIN WEEKEND!

i wish there was a way to get vicodin out of this.

instead all my student loan $ for the semester will go to paying it off instead of redecorating my house :((((

girl, i feel your pain. i'm sorry. but this will make you stronger.

fucking better

you'll at least get hydrocodone tza. V expensive hydrocodone.

for a crown?

eastern europe is the big destination for dental holidays here. sofia is the most common spot, i think. will do it some day, just get them all ripped out and replaced clark gable stylee.

well, if the tooth broke im assuming root canal but i could be very wrong

also, sedation dentists will give you valium the night before your appt and a whole cocktail of benzos to take on the day

actually not sure a root canal is necessary bc of the way the filling is there. god, i hope a root canal is not necessary.... al;ksdgj :(

just dont become the guy my dentist told me about who started knocking his teeth out for the codiene/benzos

it might not be. im no dentist.

it won't be. root canal is for decay, usually, no?

oy valium

i actually am in possession of some valium but valium is no vicodin.

prague is apparently a top destination for cheap dental work too - by best friend and her husband took a 'dentistry' holiday their awhile back.

i love how everybody's known all about these dentist holidays and i never had a clue

right? i love multitasking! i should have been on this.

its like the old days when women went to some alpine spa in europe to have a little work done. that always sounded like fun to me.

it won't be. root canal is for decay, usually, no?

not always they can also be done for cracked teeth and when i had a tooth knocked out i had to have a double root canal done because of the infection.

also tza you may not want to read this but i had to have the procedure done w/o any anaesthetic becuase the infection made it ineffective and it was, by a really wide margin, the most painful moment in my life

i do not think it is infected. that is why i am getting it taken care of NOW.

way to turn it back into a nightmare thread lamp eugh

omg lamp :(

yeah the valium is probably not worth the price of the sedation dentist. My guy stopped what he was doing with me once to go bid on a $450,000 dining table + chairs on ebay.

As it turns out, I have gum disease and need $400 worth of scaling. : (

were your gums bleeding?

(are)

dear presidetn obama,
pls to give me healthcare soon.
<3,tza

xpost: no, it's not that bad yet, but there's plaque under my gum line.

tbh i have not been to a dentist in a long time and i'm scared they're going to tell me my whole mouth needs to be replaced for the sum of $569,399.45

me too- hence prague dreams of when i'm rich.

if you pay upfront they might take off $99.45

o-rnaldo bama

is the tooth/filling old enough that you might have had a root canal and forgotten? it is unusual, although not unheard of, for teeth that are still alive to break. once you have the RC, that's when they start getting brittle.

I have had three teeth break, all had RCs. now I have nightmares about it.

the nyu college of dentistry might be cheaper than a regular dentist

I have had one root canal. It was totally painless and I got no painkillers for it afterward.

Coincidentally, I had to visit the dentist this morning. She wanted to get a better xray of the area under my gold tooth. There's a dark spot under the roots. She said it could be scar tissue from the root canal (best case) or a cyst or an abscess. I had the root canal 4 years ago, so I'm hoping it's scar tissue. If it gets worse, they may have to redo the root canal or if it gets really bad, operate. For the time being, she's just going to xray it once a year.

i wish this would allow me to get an awesome grill or something.

anyway, he says the filling broke, and then broke the tooth. he thought we might be able to do an onlay, which is slightly cheaper than a crown, but after looking at x-ray said i should put a new filling in or get a crown. since a crown lasts longer and i'm not really feeling too great about weird fillings, i am getting a crown. he drilled out the old filling and put on a temp crown for now. gotta get the rest done in a series of visits (impressions, then after the crown is made, the application).
ugh.
so much $$$.

damn im gonna floss hard 2nite

on the lol side of things, this dentist likes his ipod and was playing wilco while drilling away at my tooth, and asked me about my musical tastes. he was pretty nice. he also said if i have like, a decent portion paid by the time we finish this process i can do the rest in monthly installments.

damn im gonna floss hard 2nite

― max, Thursday, February 26, 2009 5:14 PM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

http://www.searchviews.com/wp-content/themes/clean-copy-full-3-column-1/images/bling.jpg

tbh i have not been to a dentist in a long time and i'm scared they're going to tell me my whole mouth needs to be replaced for the sum of $569,399.45

― yur twit (tehresa), Thursday, February 26, 2009 5:28 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it was also weird watching it all unfold in reflection on the dude's glasses. i don't remember that from before, but i was very relieved that they didn't have any of those stressed cat 'hang in there' posters on the ceiling.

omg the jaw pain today ;(

:( drugs?

tza take ibuprofen (not acetaminophen)

My guy stopped what he was doing with me once to go bid on a $450,000 dining table + chairs on ebay.

― quadratrillionaire (sunny successor), Thursday, February 26, 2009 5:16 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

i hope this is a fucking joke.

nope.

jesus fuck

http://www.movie-blast.com/images/steve-martin/little-shop-of-horrors.jpg

took some ibuprofen. the whole right side of my face hurts (like the upper jaw, too). is this normal? probably, and i am just being whiney.

Tee minus two hours! Got my valiums, got my vikes.

i want vikes!

i saw hottie dentist and hottie dental assistant again yesterday. i think i'll be going to the dentist a lot more often.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j278/oilyrags/toofiescropped.jpg

pix or it didn't happen

eeeeeeeee

my temp crown fell off!
i left my dentist a message but i don't know what to do.

i don't go to the dentist often, but i have been blessed witha near-perfect mouth-- for my entire life, i've brushed once a day, i've never flossed, and yet i've never had a cavity and my teeth are straight. except for the horrors of my impacted wisdom teeth (i looked like a woodland animal cartoon for a week), no problems. ever.

so weird.

Trust me, it's never too late to start having problems. I was the same for many years until one day I woke up with nasty intermittent pain in a back molar. The tooth was a mess of rot; when I got to a dentist, he took an impression, sawed it off and I was root canal'd in a hour, gold toof'd in a few days.

i just got back from a check up and everything is perfect.

Does anyone here use a soniccare? pp bought me one in dec (by request) and i cant keep that thing in my mouth for more than 10 seconds because it tickles so much. Its hard to brush your teeth while you are laughing.

wtf why has dentist not returned my call about temporary crown falling offage!?

my housemate once marched into his dentist's and demanded his broken tooth be fixed despite the fact that he had no money or insurance coverage.

it worked an' all.

my new toothbrush tickles the sides of my tongue. it's a little distracting but i've learned to combat it by adopting a 'dog with head out the car window' expression while brushing. now my girlfriend can't watch me brush my teeth without laughing, but that's her problem i guess.

they called and said i could come in today and have the temp put back on, or i could just wait til monday. they did not seem to care. lol!

My temp crown came off too. Just don't eat there.

yeah. i think it is v sensitive bc of nerve exposure after the drilling down and by gum feels a lil swollen. i will power through it, though!

First cleaning in 10 years today, and basically clean bill of health except "floss more." I AM HOV!

My total bill from my 4+ years of no dentist came to $610, w/scaling plus two fillings.

going back next week for the real crown. this temp has stayed on so far!
still getting sporadic jaw/gum pain, though :(

after my last visit to the dentist (first time in almost four years), i resolved to floss every day until my next checkup. i can't wait for my triumphant return in June... unless dude is all "yo, you really need to be flossing" at which point i will lol and then punch him in the nose.

"My total bill from my 4+ years of no dentist came to $610"

amazingly,thats exactly what happend to me today at the dentist :(

I feel incredibly lucky. I do brush extremely thoroughly though.

two fillings on the right side. $258. Face still pretty numb.

I'd like to have all my teeth extracted and replaced with some sort of titanium/polymer non-corrosive, basically indestructible set. I would just give them a daily rinse and not have to worry about setting foot into a dentist's office ever again.

http://www.comicvine.com/evelyn-cream/29-30980/

Urrgh. I havent been to the dentist since 1993 (yeah. I know. Shuddup). My teeth are generally fine - I dont eat sugary foods at all, brush regular, etc etc

Recently: bad bad BAD tinnitus, worse than usual (I always have it but this is shitting me to tears), an ache in the left side of my jaw and shoulder. What feels like a nagging canker sore in the space where my wisdom tooth was that I've realised has come and gone for... ages.

I suppose I should get it seen to but now I'm worried I've got mouth cancer or something horrible.

youve probably got an infection under the gum. all they do is get in there, shove some medicine of some sort in, give you antibiotics and send you on your way

That sounds pretty drama-free. And its a good excuse to go for a general cavity check and clean anyways. Its annoying dental's not covered under medicare, but oh well.

yeah. that would be my guess because ive had it and the pain is so severe you and encompassing that you start to wonder where its really coming from. if its under a tooth youll have to go the root canal route, i think.

-you obv

Christ it better not be a root canal job! I mean it's on a spot where no tooth is (either my wisdom or back molar would have been yanked out back there - I got so many teeth removed when i had braces I've lost track). But yeah I better get it seen to, cos ow.

do go, and go soon, it could be an abscess and they can be dangerous. you might just need antibiotics. but root canals are not nearly as bad as people make out, i've had a couple of them and they were no trouble at all.

I'd like to have all my teeth extracted and replaced with some sort of titanium/polymer non-corrosive, basically indestructible set. I would just give them a daily rinse and not have to worry about setting foot into a dentist's office ever again.

― Imaginary Dead Baseball Players Live in My Cornfield (Pillbox), Friday, April 10, 2009 4:00 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark

did you know that you can already do this, with your own teeth?

All the dentists in my 'hood are crazy shouty russians, they scare me, but I better get it done.

xpost: fuck that. yours and my teeth will eventually rot, within our life-span, regardless of personal maintenance, unless we seek the regular care of a professional. Our teeth have not evolved with us! Yeah, so give me the fake shits then (not dentures, but like badasss teeth)

After last weeks 'deep debridement' (sounds DIRTY don't it?) I was informed that my gums are a little saggy and therefore I should increase my intake of folic acid and vitamin C. So, apparently I have scurvy.

or youre pregnant

I just look pregnant.

Oh I went to the dentist in the end. Despite 15 years since the last visit, and even that one being the first in some years, still no cavities, not a one. Havent had afilling since my early teens. Teeth are fine - only needed cleaning.

This is what you get for never eating any sugary food or soft drink/fruit juice, kids.

£1200 FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

i would never pay that mnuch for a fuuuuuuuck

but yeah fuuuuck having teeth, they really aren't worth the hassle

Rotting teeth: My friend and I have just parted company because he refuses to do anything about his lower teeth which are brown. They look rotten to me. Molars and others are missing. He has upper dentures. He is a very healthy 81 year old man and says at his age he is absolutely adamant about not doing anything about his lower teeth. Yet he expects kisses which I will not give him, telling him "I am not going to kiss a germ and bacteria laden mouth." Wouldn't my own health be at risk? Anyway his mouth is a complete turn-off under the circumstances. Also, if a man with rotten teeth nibbles on a woman's breast, isn't it possible that the bacteria can travel down the mammary glands and eventually cause cancer? ... Visitor from NJ

I has a rotting, broken tooth.
Pull or crown? I call dental school to set up apt, and apparently there is an initial diagnostic appointment but a crown is $600 (at the dental school!!) so like, should I just get this shit pulled? DIY dentistry tips?

Pliers and a bottle of Jameson.

I avoided the dentist from being 11 til I was 29 and one of my molars finished up like that. My tooth got pulled. If nothing else getting your tooth pulled is cheaper (on NHS rates in the UK I paid something like £45, crowns cost something like £200)... Crowns are only viable if the base and root of your tooth are sound.

ian, i think if you get a tooth pulled it can cause long term problems with the rest of your teeth: the other ones start shifting to fill the gap, which isn't always a good thing.

crown for sure dude, i know $600 is a lot of dough but if you dont youll end up sinking a way more money into your teeth later on

i have a tooth like this, it formed without enamel and was rotting away. had parents' dental insurance so i got it crowned and i'm so glad. it is a lot of money but really really try to work something out. missing a tooth will cause you a load of problems.

A crown is definitely preferable if you have a choice, but then I know people who've had trouble with crowns too. The tooth I had pulled was done 8 years ago and I've neither had any problems (I've had regular checkups and no work done since) and my teeth haven't moved at all.

ok i totally forgot to add i'm going to have to have that tooth pulled eventually and have an implant put in because last christmas i went to the dentist and she drilled a hole in it after i was having serious pain that mysteriously disappeared before i even saw her. then told me the crown isn't permanent because the tooth will continue to deteriorate underneath it. it's the second to last molar on top. i think if i had it pulled it would mess up my face.

so yeah it prob depends on a lot of things and the dentist should let you know the long-term consequences of either option, obv. i just don't want ian to go around without his tooth!

I had my back-most upper molar crowned after a root canal; I kept cracking the crown (lol bruxism) and eventually I got an infection and the tooth had to be extracted. Endodontist was all ready to get me going down the implant route to fill in the space, which was going to cost MAD CASH. However my awesome dentist looked at it and my X-rays and said it was fine to go sans tooth; it wouldn't mess up my other teeth or my bite or anything. He said something about the "32 teeth myth" which I thought was kind of o_O for a dentist. Anyhow I took his advice and am living happily ever after without that back molar.

Advice not likely to apply to anything but a backmost molar, however.

Ow ow ow ow owww.

I have chipped my third canine. So the back of it is now really super-sharp. Now this wouldn't be such a bother if it weren't for the fact that it keeps catching food and also my tongue CAN NOT LEAVE IT ALONE so I keep nearly slicing mine own tongue on the really sharp bit.

Now, really, it needs to come out. No one needs three canines. But I haven't been to a dentist in so long I wouldn't even know where to start. (and I'm sure I have lots else wrong with my teeth, but it's only this tooth that ever bothers me really badly.)

HALP.

Are NHS dentists a myth like the tooth fairy?

Have to sign up to some 'care plan' thesedays.

Well, when I say "have to", who knows...

NHS dentists exist! But you'll probably have to make a hundred calls to find one. Maybe since you're happy / preferring to just have it removed rather than go for something difficult and costly you could visit the nearest dental school. They're generally happy to set nervous students loose on drop-ins.

YES BUT WHAT ABOUT NERVOUS DROP-INS.

There's a reason I haven't been to the dentist in 10 years.

And I would actually like it replaced. With a GOLD canine. That would be expensive.

It's really too bad that my employers don't do cosmetic dentistry, because then I could get it done for free. :-(

Cosmic dentistry!

I'm not sure if that sounds more like a Stereolab song or an Aphex Twin album.

cosmetic dentistry = first full week after my big lotto win

Actually, as much as I slag off cosmetic surgery, if I ever did fall into huge amounts of money, I'd walk across the road to Claudia Schiffer's dentist and open my mouth as wide as I could and say FIX THIS FUCKING MESS.

(I mean, I had some cosmetic dental surgery when I was a small child, when I first moved to the States, otherwise my teeth would be even MORE fucked up Big Book Of British Smiles stylee, but I guess the whole surgery and recovery and having to wear a retainer for years afterwards just traumatised me so much that I stopped going to dentists as soon as I was able.)

((I can still remember quite clearly some of the seriously fucked up hallucinations that I had while under anaesthesia for that surgery, and this was, like, 30 years ago!))

Argh argh argh, now I have seriously scared myself out of going to the dentist and I'm just going to suffer this chipped tooth rather than face that horror again.

"Fucked up hallucinations" sounds like nitrous, which they don't use any more, do they?

Good luck with the tooth, anyway.

This would have been about 1979. I've no idea what they use now.

(but if my wrist op is anything to go by, the Cluster style auditory hallucinations from whatever they're using now are much better than the old insane medical instrument hallucinations the previous anaesthetic used to do)

((if only I could use lucid dreaming techniques to make being put under a nicer experience))

stroszek that shit

Sometimes I wish I was the chauffeur of ILX, driving everyone to appointments they were terrified of and calming them down on the way. "There now, it'll be over before you know it." I'd be good at it, but it wld not be a lucrative venture.

and i would probably physically assault you in order to escape as we neared the dentists. sorry :(

You have turned my mild wish into a monkey's paw nightmare...I guess I should know better having seen all of the Wishmaster movies.

Oh, I'm quite good at turning up to appointments that have been booked. What I'm seriously not good at doing is booking those appointments in the first place. (look how long it took me to get that awful growth on my wrist checked out.)

I HAVE TO GET EMERGENCY ROOT CANAL TOMORROW

:( :( :(

Sorry to hear that ENBB - hope it's relatively ok

I put off going to the dentist's for... about twenty years? Basically I've still got a milk tooth (lol dentally retarded), and back when I was 15 they said, we'll pull the milk tooth out the other tooth SHOULD come through, but if it doesn't we'll attach a little chain to it and pull it down bit by bit. And I said 'no fucking way' and didn't go back for twenty years.

Finally decided it was time to be adult about this, in spite of the fact I've still got a milk tooth, and went back just at the end of last year. Bricking it. Sweaty palms in the waiting room.

And it was fine! Nothing doing. 1 very disappointed dentist, who saw megabucks coming their way, but 1 v happy me.

Sorry, that's not very helpful. I'm not being smug, honest. I do genuinely hope it's about as painless as the phrase 'root canal' makes it sound like it can be.

my lil bro had this done last month it was fine e, he didn't feel a thing

Thanks guys. I'm sure it won't be that bad. I mean, it can't be worse than how it feels now. Since it's a temp/emergency root canal It'll only take 45 mins and then I'll have to go back for the rest in a couple weeks. It's more annoying than anything especially after being really sick for a week. Not my month!

gl

My third canine finally shattered and came out in bits on Friday.

So today I went to the dentist for teh first time in (I had to ring my Mum and ask) 25 years. One of my colleagues at work had to ring the dentist and make the appointment for me, I was too phobic to do it.

jesus christ I am high. When are the tip of my nose and eyelids coming back online? They numbed it all so they could pull out the little bits still stuck in the gum. Oh, the weird numb pressure. They are going to refer me for DENTAL IMPLANTS. Isn't that something off the X-Files?

I am so disappointed that I only have the two requisite canines instead of three now. I hope that I can specify that my dental implant is a third canine again. I would not look like myself without it.

When are the tip of my nose and eyelids coming back online?

I love this question.

They'll implant a fake tooth that looks like the real one it is replacing.

The tooth it is replacing is my milk tooth canine. However, my adult canine came in where my baby eye tooth was. So they would have to give me another canine. (Or yet more crazy orthodontical surgery and hijinx to move them about which I already endured when I was a child and my adult canine came down in the wrong place, pushing everything out of alignment. Which I really refuse to go through again.)

one of my teeth, evidently in solidarity with WCC, broke off at the gumline while I was chewing gum the other day. having lots of fun getting that situation sorted

Chewing gum? oW! I thought granary bread was fierce enough. Sticky situation. Hope you can get that sorted.

On a related note, when I was about 13 the dentist discovered that one of my canines was actually the milk tooth. They did an x-ray and found that the adult tooth had never descended and for some reason was lying sideways in my gum. After about six months of wearing braces I had surgery where they pulled out the milk tooth, sliced open my gum and essentially rammed the adult tooth into the hole. They said the tooth was actually dead, but was kind of fused to the bone and should last for 5-10 years. It looked normal at first, but gradually got higher and higher compared to all the teeth around it. After 24 years it was still there but my dentist said it needed removing and I had to go to hospital in April to get this done. I now just have a gap where the tooth was. The solution they recommended would cost about £3,000, but I think I'll just do nothing and keep the gap - I put up with a weird looking tooth for so long, I think I can cope with the space.

Ha! I always thought that having a persistent milk tooth was some weird rare thing, but here are 3 people on the thread with adult milk teeth.

i used to have FOUR eye teeth, the adult ones growing from high up the gum over the top of the milk teeth, giving me shark-style layers. then i had the overlapping ones removed. so i guess both of my eye teeth are milk teeth?

I did have five Wisdom teeth, which my dentist reckoned he'd never seen before.

I also had that 'long away from the dent, tooth shatt" thing, it was a Heston Services pie that did it.

I dunno, I remember being back at the dentists, having the fingers in't gob and all that, and thought to myself "Is this really so bad?" and decided no.

So, not phobic, not exactly regarding it as a pleasure, it now rates as 'more desirable than my yearly review'.

Oh, and more recently, I got a gold replacement for the shatttooth. Gril.

If I could get a gold tooth out of this, I would die of happiness. But that would probably cost a bomb, right?

Last time I went to the dentist he gave me a filling with no anaesthetic at all! Apart from a few chair-gripping moments it wasn't too bad, the pain was only temporary. Probably for a bigger filling they'd make more effort, or then again maybe not what with budgets being slashed and all.

We enrolled in a 'dental plan' just so we could get the kids NHS cover (!)

The tooth (actually a filling) was about £120 on top of the 'plan' price..

still pretty cheap from everything i've heard
i mean, dentists here (canada) usually charge over $200 for a cleaning (incl standard xrays) alone

i got my teeth cleaned last week after 2 years of not going to the dentist (no insurance, then just was being lazy abt making an appointment) and everything is good + my teeth are so clean and stain-free! my dentist gave me a deal and i promised to go to the dentist for a cleaning once a year, done and done.

I went today! My dentists love my teeth.

Ha! I always thought that having a persistent milk tooth was some weird rare thing, but here are 3 people on the thread with adult milk teeth.

Tell me about it - it's been quite a relief. Finding NB&S's story particularly reassuring. When I was about the same age (13/14) the dentist said that I should have my remaining milk tooth out, because the tooth above it wasn't coming down. They said they'd attach a chain to it, and gradually pull it down.

I didn't want to have a little chain in my mouth, so I didn't go back to the dentist for 20 years.

Fortunately, when I went to the dentist, there was nothing wrong with my teeth and no more talk of mini chains being put in my mouth. I was bricking it beforehand - going up and down the street in a cold sweat. My milk tooth is still there of course, and from time to time it becomes a little loose, and start getting worried, but then it seems to firm up again. Staying away from granary bread.

any other holders out out there who do not go to the dentist?

Yes I have not been in probably 10 years or more. I know I should go but I am afraid to, plus I don't have a dentist and am not sure how to find one. I'm nervous about finding one I will be comfortable with. I might just give in and go to my parents' dentist that I used to go to even though I never especially liked him. At least he has my file. I don't want to be lectured by him or his dental hygienist, who has lectured me before. I also had a bad experience with him while having my wisdom teeth removed.
Last night I had a terrible dream that my teeth were cracking and in it I thought, Yes, I really should have gone back to the dentist sooner.
I have always been afraid to go to the dentist (as well as the doctor). I did go regularly as a child and for some time after.

Ahhh, the dentist. I got my wisdoms removed and one of them messed up the side of my outermost tooth. The hygenist was poking it and it hurt real bad. I said "ouch" and she said "do you know why this is hurting you?", and I said "yeah because you're poking it!" then kicked her tray over and walked out of the office

did that happen in reality?

frogbs

I last visited the dentist in 2001. I had my wisdoms removed and was scheduled to do some other work, but then I moved and never got around to following up with that.

harsh dentist - they wouldnt let you move? at all?

Neither have I because I know when I get my super large inheritance (pool and pizza for everyone whee!!!) I am getting my teeth done along with the rest of my glamorous lifestyle!!

I know that day is coming.

Every ten years I skip going for a couple years, a mistake that inevitably results in a deep cleaning thus a deep fucking with my bank account.

Me too but I need new veneers put on my teeth and wanted them fixed anyway. It's just that the last time I went to the dentist I got scare stories. I mean, I take care of my teeth but I don't need the abuse.

Dentists and their hygienists tend to take themselves rather seriously.

Like, I had a chipped tooth that I got in high school, because healthy people are physically active and do gymnastics and lift weights.

And he saw my chipped tooth and implied that I was "abused" and you know how condescending that can be.

I broke a molar in Feb and the filling disintegrated two months later; I'm going to have a "three-quarters cap" fitted because it sounds like another filling would just break again. So I have two appointments booked, one to measure it and one to fit it, and I thought "measuring, that should be NBD, right?" but I've just looked it up and actually measuring sounds more horrible than fitting as apparently they drill your tooth down to a stub and then give you a temporary cap for the next fortnight which probably won't even fit right.

It needs done I guess, but the measuring appt is on Friday afternoon, the dentist is shut all weekend so no emergency adjustments, and I have a birthday day out booked on the Monday and I do not want anything to ruin or force me to cancel that :(

Anyone have a cap or a crown fitted before? Am I worrying about nothing or should I postpone?

(PS as per thread title I went ten-ish years without visiting a dentist and my first dental visit after that went fine, but now my teeth seem a bit fucked and I'm scared they'll all fall out before I'm 40, so - hey kids! see your dentist! I have a ridiculously sweet tooth and love sugary drinks tho so all my own fault I guess)

^^^ I didn't go to a dentist between the ages of 18 and 28 and my teeth are fucked up as well - although in a different way. Not realising you have impacted wisdom teeth and the damage they do to the teeth in front = huge fillings and huge bills.

I had to have that done last year aps. If the tooth has been root-treated, as sounds likely, then it's easy - drilling down can't hurt because there's no feeling there. I don't think I even had anaesthetic.

The temporary cap isn't a cap, it's a sort of thin cement that smoothes over the stump and gradually disintegrates over the fortnight until the cap has been made. When it comes to fitting, I can't remember how the cement came off but the cap just gets glued over the stump. Again, I don't think any anaesthetic.

The finished job is indistinguishable from an actual tooth. It feels a little bit weaker, and slightly weird if I'm knackered (presume this reflects something to do with sinuses rather than anything else), but otherwise does the job perfectly well.

In short, it's remarkably painless and you should go ahead imo.

xp should be ok, i have a crown on a molar where i had had a root canal; it was prob ~6 yrs ago but i dont recall the drilling down & fitting being bad really

yea what IK said. my crown has actually come un-cemented twice in the 6 yrs but that is painless too and they jam it back in for free

My total bill from my 4+ years of no dentist came to $610, w/scaling plus two fillings.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Tuesday, March 10, 2009 12:22 PM (5 years ago) [IP: 144.171.206.112: Washington, United States] Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Didn't learn my lesson as I waited through the whole first Obama administration to go again. Hundreds of dollars of work in the last year. No surprise.

Part of my weird problem was that whenever the receptionists would ask me when to schedule my next appointment for, I wouldn't do it because I didn't know where I would be or what I'd be doing in 6 months. It didn't occur to me that I could reschedule closer to the date of the appointment if that date didn't work for me!

Hmm, I haven't had a root canal... yet. But thanks for the reassurance on the cap itself.

I am also not learning my lesson as I forgot to buy anything to eat for lunch and am going to eat Easter eggs instead of an actual meal.

By "yet" I mean I haven't had a root canal, though one of the links I looked at said they might x-ray you before measuring and give you a root canal there and then if there's decay underneath. Which, urgh.

FFS my temporary cement cap came off the day after surgery on a bank holiday weekend. It doesn't hurt; let's hope it can stay that way until Tuesday at least.

Sigh.

i just got one, on a front tooth, following a small chip in the exterior. i made the mistake of looking over in the mirror, after they finished "preparing" my real tooth for the cap. i felt like i was trapped in a horror movie. now the cap looks fine. the dentist said that the temporary cement they used might just stay permanently, since there's very little "play" in the tooth. i hope that's right. it doesn't hurt when the cap is off, but it's ultra-sensitive and feels lousy, to say nothing of how it looks.

The temporary cap isn't a cap, it's a sort of thin cement that smoothes over the stump and gradually disintegrates
FFS my temporary cement cap came off the day after surgery on a bank holiday weekend

OK, how is anyone meant to eat with this stuff in? The dentist said "don't eat anything too hard" but I lost 80% of it on some mashed potato on Saturday night and the remaining 20% on a cheese sandwich just now, despite trying not to chew on that side. Going back to the dentist tonight to see what he says but I'm not getting the real cap until next Friday and the prospect of trying to feed myself for 9 days without dislodging whatever replacement I get is currently a bit daunting

or maybe he'll say "since it doesn't hurt very much it's fine and you've wasted my time"; most of the back enamel of my tooth is missing but I'm not really clear whether the stuff I can feel with my tongue is tooth-core (everyone's favourite genre) or the dentist's cement.

so many appointments for one tooth! and I am 99% convinced several others are fucked too, so I look forward to repeating the cycle again and again

hope yours is going OK, Daniel!

it's going okay, but i have the same issue you do. i won't put a lot of pressure on the cap, for fear of it falling out (which my dentist warned me could happen, especially with the temporary cement saying in as a hoped-for permanent solution). so that makes eating certain foods, like sandwiches, a real challenge.

how's it going for you, a few hours since this post? i would hate it to have to deal with an exposed "nub" for a day, but maybe it's easier with a back-tooth.

ahem, he put some more putty on but told me I was basically worrying about nothing (though he put it much more nicely than that) because although the outer wall and lid had come off there is apparently a pretty sound core of filling material still there. I'm only having a 3/4 cap, only half the back and one side are missing, so I guess I underestimated what was left behind the half-back

so, now I am suitably ashamed for panicking. I am not really dealing well with the whole tooth breakage, ever-rotting body, reminder of mortality thing tbh, more than any actual physical issues

I hope your fears are similarly unjustified... and that I can make it until next Friday without further incident, psychological or actual. When's your real cap to be fitted?

don't be ashamed, really. i was so horrified and sad about the cap that i can barely describe it, and for the same reasons you mentioned.

my real cap is in. the cement they initially used was supposed to be temporary, in case the "funny feeling" i had in the tooth meant i needed a root canal ("no reason to drill through a new, permanently-cemented cap, if that's the case," is the way my dentist described it). when i went back, she said there was "no play" in the cap or tooth, so she said let's just leave it as-is, and that the temporary cement sometimes works forever. the "funny feeling" has gone away, but i'm constantly aware i've got a cap where my front tooth used to be.

Time for more fillings :( though at least the broken-and-capped tooth mentioned above seems to be doing fine (famous last words, etc).

Anyone have any thoughts on the silver mercury amalgam vs white composite fillings? The thought of mercury in my mouth is a little unnerving (they're right at the back so how it looks doesn't really matter) but it'll be nearly £200 cheaper and I'm probably worrying about nothing. Right? Right??

I wish I had sprung for the white ones. Every once in a while I open my mouth in the mirror and am horrified. I mean it seems silly to pay that much for such a tiny vanity, but if someone told me now "you can pay like $2 a month to not ever have that terrible "oh god my whole mouth is a PIT OF ROTTEN DECAY oh wait" feeling I'd take it.

I have not, however, died, nor gone mad.

Latest bit of fall out from my years of dental inattention was a root canal two weeks ago. Went back in yesterday to have av temporary crown put on. I didn't Google it beforehand so I didn't realize that in order to fit the crown over your damaged tooth, they have to file the tooth down to a nub. So that's a bummer.

In the continuing saga of "spacecadet starts seeing dentists again after many years", just saw a hygienist for the first time since, oh, 1997ish. Way more intense than I remembered, surprised various teeth didn't pop out or snap. Whole mouth feels weird now.

I was of course told to floss more often (I hate flossing, I am really manually un-dextrous and malcoordinated and find the whole thing awkward and anxiety-inducing); also, upsold on an electric toothbrush, though I had been meaning to buy one anyway.

not been in 8 years :(

looking forward to all of mine falling out so i can just do it all by post

yes, looking forward to dental 3d printing reaching the point where I can have a new set every few years

think sharks have the right idea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_tooth

I'm so squeamish about bodies, teeth & especially gums that I didn't go for twelve years, and when I did I had to have nine fillings and three pure-black wisdom teeth chopped out of my gob. It was a good job I was on the dole at the time - it all came free and I got some sedation for the squeams thrown in.

That was three years ago, though, and recently, while eating a fucking ciabatta that I didn't even want, one of those big fillings came out, or a quarter of a tooth did -- I swallowed it and I'm no expert anyway -- and I have to begin again I reckon, this time paying, I suppose.

― Eyeball Kicks, Monday, November 26, 2007 11:34 PM (7 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Haha so I actually went a couple of times in 2008 after the ciabatta business, and the dentist had a root canal thing going on in that tooth but she ran out of time, so she temporarily filled it and I was supposed to go back the next week. But I was broke and didn't turn up, and literally every day since then I have thought "Shit, I should really go see a dentist some time," but obviously I never did, even when that whole area got super-painful and super-swollen for a few days in 2010.

Then last weekend I had a stupid accident in someone's bathroom and totally smashed up my front teeth. Holy fuck, it is a disaster. Had no choice but to go to the dentist twice this week already, and will be going many, many times in the months to come. Torture upon torture! It is like the worst possible thing that could happen has happened. In a weird way, though, it is kind of good because while I fear for my looks at least I'm finally going to get all the other stuff done.

oof! fingers crossed for you EK

Thanks! At least now I am sort of in a position where I could possibly get my hands on whatever money is needed to sort it all out, whereas in 2007 the £300 or so I needed to fix things up was beyond me. Seems so sad now.

I went through this last year and had a tooth pulled and various fillings - one of which is so big that the dentist reckons additional root canal surgery will eventually be required, and he said that with some relish. I find it hard to keep it civil with him because he is such a slimy tosser. He isn't like one of the mouth butchers that I encountered in the 70's/80's that scared me off for decades, but there is definitely something John Christie+ about him and he can barely disguise the contempt he has for NHS scum who don't pay for the extra services.

went for quarterly checkup a few days ago and found the surgery was now managed by some rapacious twee fucks who wanted me to fill in a form where I rated my smile from one to 10. was then informed that the price was going up 50% for the same service. good times

went to one last year for the first time in about ten years. everything in good order, besides a tooth I had pulled which was rotting (it was too far back in my mouth to brush behind). dentist v impressed with my gums, said I had "good strong teeth". did not get a sticker. :( was nhs dentist so ended up seeing a hygienist as well. 10/10 would recommend, had been worried about going for ages.

Gotta get three cavities filled tomorrow, two between the teeth (never had that before!) - kinda freaked by it since my last 6-7 appointments were cavity-free, guess I'm just not flossing enough. They're in two different spots so I'm getting two shots...barf

I don't know why I'm nervous for this. The needle sucks - sticking it in isn't bad, to me it feels like they really jam it in there and it gets really painful after a few seconds. I think it's just the general discomfort of it all, plus all the horror stories I've heard over the years. First time I got novocaine it hit my nose and I had this nose itch that I couldn't scratch and that was hell. For some reason I'm just really freaked out even though there's no reason for it, I know it's most likely all gonna be alright, just the thought of needles and drilling and novocaine really freaks me out, how do you put your mind at ease?

i was so anxious about visiting a dentist since i hadn't been in like 5-6 years but i convinced myself to go by telling myself that it would only get worse if i didn't get it looked at. i don't know if that'll help you. i ended up lucking out in that no work needed to be done.

i broke a tooth recently and was slowly getting around to visiting the dentist about it, but the other day it started giving me excruciating pain. went this morning, and they said, ok it's only a wisdom tooth come back this afternoon and we'll remove it. so that's in a couple of hours. this is going to be fun/ok/not painful isn't it?

if nothing else that's good service 8)

(i've had wisdom teeth out before with no problems that a day's worth of paracetamol didn't cure)

koogs i love you. i feel soothed and reassured already. dentist assured me the post-op pain wd be "no worse than a cut hand". an evaluation which had me frowning slightly, but was mainly heartening.

and yes, although i have a regular dentist, they couldn't see me until next week. fortunately i live p much next to a first class dental unit. touch wood of course. a senior student will be conducting the operation under supervision. if I don't wake up from the local anaesthetic tell my books i love them.

also, my op appt is at 2:15 so it's not entirely improbable that the op itself will be at 2:30.

Good luck Fizzles! I guess you're out now so I hope it went OK.

I have some dental woes myself, been putting it off for ages as they're somewhat hard to explain and I know I'm a terrible hypochondriac but finally booked an appointment for Wednesday morning. Immediately a completely different tooth started to hurt too...

cheers, space cadet. he was a student and a little nervous, so there was a bit of his supervisor saying no you need to go round this side no no you need to twist it this way *FIRMER* which made my fists clench somewhat but it done now. also, beads of sweat on his forehead.

if I don't wake up from the local anaesthetic tell my books i love them.

― Fizzles, Monday, May 23, 2016 7:25 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol this is a little too real/relatable. glad a book reunion is imminent

If you fall asleep from a local anaesthetic, they've done it wrong.

well yes, tho when he was testing the effect to see whether i could feel anything i was "yep felt that, more give me more".

Never been to the dentist before - my parents didn't have the money for it as a kid, I guess, never had insurance as an adult but also never a toothache.

Broke a molar Christmas Eve w/ no pain; root canal one week before my first-ever dental insurance kicks in (though it doesn't look like it would have been a miracle in terms of cost anyway). Guess no spring vacation for me.

Fuck 2016.

I have an acquaintance who moved into town last year and while seeming like the really fastidious and responsible type, shortly after we gave him the name of our very good local dentist, I was helping him home from the oral surgeon with a bag of painkillers and a list of irrigation instructions. DON'T NOT GO TO THE DENTIST

also sorry milo that sucks

I can't believe the dentist gave me 30 vicodin for this. A dull ache is not opiate worthy to me.

but i convinced myself to go by telling myself that it would only get worse if i didn't get it looked at.

This is so true. The last time I went to the dentist was to have my wisdoms removed in 2001. 15 years later, my mouth looks like Berlin after WWII, and that's with consistent brushing and not-consistent-enough flossing.

Once my insurance kicks in, I'm going to get the full work-up and find out what's about to go bad. I actually planned to do that before (hence dental insurance) because my dad's teeth are absolutely horrible (aesthetically and for eating and probably heavily effecting his other health problems) but lol2016.

I've actually begun looking at implants in passing. Another tooth broke about a month ago, though, and it's been aching off and on for the last few days (nothing so severe a couple of Aleve won't solve), so it's really just a matter of psyching myself up for a huge procedure (or several procedures) at this point. I think my co-pay is really manageable.

I can't believe the dentist gave me 30 vicodin for this. A dull ache is not opiate worthy to me.

I've had dental pain where I would've killed for vicodin (dentists in Ireland never prescribe anything good). I got an infection in a root canal a few years ago while on holiday and was taking eight nurofen a night just to get a few hours sleep. Fixing the thing was three visits in total, over an hour in the chair each time, massive pain during and after the procedures, no decent pain relief. I've been so observant about the dentist since then. I wear my bite guard every night, I use those interdental brushes after every meal, and I get my teeth checked every six months. I never want to have that kind of pain again.

I think I got off lucky - I fell asleep during the root canal, the worst part was half my face not working for several hours due to the anesthetic. Also learned when eating dinner to be extremely mindful of which side I chew on.

I'm so squeamish about bodies, teeth & especially gums that I didn't go for twelve years, and when I did I had to have nine fillings and three pure-black wisdom teeth chopped out of my gob. It was a good job I was on the dole at the time - it all came free and I got some sedation for the squeams thrown in.
That was three years ago, though, and recently, while eating a fucking ciabatta that I didn't even want, one of those big fillings came out, or a quarter of a tooth did -- I swallowed it and I'm no expert anyway -- and I have to begin again I reckon, this time paying, I suppose.

― Eyeball Kicks, Monday, November 26, 2007 11:34 PM (7 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Haha so I actually went a couple of times in 2008 after the ciabatta business, and the dentist had a root canal thing going on in that tooth but she ran out of time, so she temporarily filled it and I was supposed to go back the next week. But I was broke and didn't turn up, and literally every day since then I have thought "Shit, I should really go see a dentist some time," but obviously I never did, even when that whole area got super-painful and super-swollen for a few days in 2010.

Then last weekend I had a stupid accident in someone's bathroom and totally smashed up my front teeth. Holy fuck, it is a disaster. Had no choice but to go to the dentist twice this week already, and will be going many, many times in the months to come. Torture upon torture! It is like the worst possible thing that could happen has happened. In a weird way, though, it is kind of good because while I fear for my looks at least I'm finally going to get all the other stuff done.

― Eyeball Kicks, Friday, May 22, 2015 1:23 PM (one year ago) Bookmark

I have been to the dentist many, many times since that last post, and honestly it is mostly OK.

The teeth I smashed were fixed superficially though I will never bite into an apple again.

I was lucky, the dentist said, that I didn't lose many of my other neglected teeth: I had left it about as late as I could. In the end, one tooth – the one damaged by a ciabatta in 2007 – had to go.

Recently, I had my first six-month appointment after all that treatment – though I actually left it about nine months of course. And for the first time since I was a kid, I got the all-clear. Nothing needing doing. I very much intend to turn up on time to my next check-up, and the one after that.

+ I remembered that I was allergic to the antibiotic they were just about to prescribe me
+ It probably won't cost more than $1000
- OWwww
- One of the teeth that they are going to take out is a wisdom tooth, and that will probably hurt?

Had a tooth out yesterday.

i need to get 3 wisdom teeth out soon lol

thankfully got decent "bennys" so it won't cost me too much

my dental insurance now isn't any better than it was pre-Obamacare, so I guess this is a fitting thing to happen to me today

ugh sorry that suuucks :(

Got to go back in 2 weeks and see if the rest of my teeth are ok.
Had rot under an old filling which dentist said I might be able to get root canal work on. But would be €400 roughly and might still only make tooth last couple of years.
So had it out and kept it. Now got great gap.

getting your wisdom teeth out is kinda fun actually

coming down from the cool drugs they give you sucks

also hope you like spaghetti o's, cuz you'll be terrified to eat anything else

I like spaghetti o's so it was no problem for me

I broke another tooth (right next to my other broken tooth) y/day, the dentist was obv shut on Sunday, and now they're not answering their phone or email. c'monnnnn

It doesn't actually hurt so it's probably not actually urgent (yet?) but I would really like not to spend too many more days being scared to eat anything and using all the mouthwash and then wondering if mouthwash is also bad for whatever is now open to my tongue and bacteria

I've also developed a weird compulsive tooth-sucking/lip-chewing habit which I've been failing to train myself out of so I guess I'd better confess that to the dentist even though I know they're just going to say "well, that's a weird and stupid thing to do, don't do that then"

(if anyone has any tips on correcting bad mouth habits please let me know but I am aware that it is so far into the category of weird and stupid that probably nobody else has ever a) done it b) been unable to stop doing it)

My dentist is always on at me to stop clenching my teeth (I have a bite guard for that now, which is honestly the greatest thing I've ever spent money on) and biting my lips and the insides of my cheeks. Obviously these things are involuntary, so it's hard to stop, but I have started chewing on toothpicks, which does actually help a bit.

Ooh. Do you have a proper fitted bite guard or did you get a home-mouldable one? I tried one of the mouldable ones but couldn't really get it to fit. Toothpicks could be good as long as I don't manage to choke on one while stabbing the back of my throat - will try it out, thanks.

I've tried gum and it helps for a short while but eventually I notice I've moved the gum aside and gone back to chewing. Plus for some reason it really annoys me watching/hearing my coworker chew gum all day so I'd rather not do the same. Also weird, I know.

I got my tooth filled and the dentist told me to see the orthodontist in case teeth breaking in weird places + jaw grinding = both caused by alignment issues, as I do have an overbite and v crooked/crowded teeth - so that's next on my list of dental appointments in my new era of actually going to the dentist. Suspect tooth breakage is just because I eat way too much sugar and didn't see a dentist for 10 years but hey.

Ooh. Do you have a proper fitted bite guard or did you get a home-mouldable one?

I have a proper one, and I'm going to have to get a second one, because my dentist now reckons I should wear it while driving as well as while sleeping. I don't mind, though. Having it properly made was expensive, but it fits really well, so it's very comfortable. Bloody thing is nearly worn down already, though, and I've only had it two years.

All my back teeth are split. They've all got heavy filling from my teenage years, and I'm about to get a second crown put in back there. The tooth I'm just about to get crowned was so badly split that we didn't even know if the root canal would work, and I was going to have it removed, but then all the force of my bite would just come down on the next tooth along, so then I'd just have to get that one root canaled & crowned instead. Ugh. Stupid jaws.

My sympathy, that sounds like no fun.

So far my 4 back lower teeth are p screwed. TBH I just hope I can keep the chaos at the back where nobody can see it.

I saw the orthodontist and I might get a splint which AFAIK is like a mouthguard which does the double duty of being shaped to make my nasty teeth line up where they're supposed to instead of just at the back. That's phase 1 of a horribly expensive 4-stage, 4-year plan which I'm really not sure about, but I might do the splint anyway and hope it gets me out of bad habits...

read this thread at lunchtime, thought "i should really do something about that." Just shattered a molar on a peppercorn :(

sorry to hear & good luck sktsh!

Just had a tooth drilled out and refilled, but at least it didn't have to come out like the one above it.
Got another being done tomorrow.
Lovely.

i would totally get veneers if i could afford it.

xps thanks!

I'm kinda grateful for the broken tooth now, because it turned out to be pretty surface level stuff that waseasily fixed, but I had a bunch of cavities that needed urgent work. Had my first bit of treatment yesterday and apart from a bit of a sore jaw and huge guilt at having let this happen (my old man was a dentist and must be rolling in his grave) I'm ok.

700 pounds though!! :(

the two most expensive things i own are both dental 8)

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/the-trouble-with-dentistry/586039/

I switched dentists about four years ago and lo and behold I haven't had to have a filling since. Last guy always wanted to drill out something or replace a filling, which sucks because I have the same dentalphobia that everyone else does. My habits haven't really changed much so I'm starting to suspect the other guy was maybe doing unnecessary work on me. Imagine having to get a root canal you don't actually need.

I've never had a cavity, had some orthodontics in '84-'86, wisdom teeth removed + some cosmetic dentistry in '99, and haven't seen a dentist since. I'll continue avoiding all foods with added sugars, brushing w/mouthwash every day I have to leave the house, flossing when I'm really bored, and avoiding the dentist till I actually have an issue.

I would not be surprised if preventative dentistry is much like medicine, where there's no benefit for patients with annual checkups (when assymptomatic), and remarkably little for screening. I certainly have seen no benefit and quite a bit of potential harm for the full set of head x-rays the last one needed annually.

why does this article contain a picture of space ghost

frogbs i'm sorry about you getting an unnecessary root canal, that totally sucks

mostly i just need regular deep cleaning because my gums are shit

i don't think that was a good article, there's some good stuff in there making the argument that dentistry needs to adopt more rigorous self-regulation and adoption of evidence-based standards but then it all gets thrown to shit by talking about one super-egregious fraud and then titling the article "is dentistry a science?"

but i guess the general public doesn't particularly want to read about the need for stronger self-regulation and perpetuation of evidence-based standards in the dental profession, i admit it does come off as a little dry

had a crown (the same one) come loose twice in like a month

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jswebxVzEYA

I was talking to my mum who was giving me an update on my brother who lives in Dubai. She says he has finally found a really good dentist, who has taken every single last tooth out of his head.

"i have found a good veterinarian who has put down all my cats"

my grandma had all her teeth taken out as a 30th birthday present.

All my back teeth are split. They've all got heavy filling from my teenage years, and I'm about to get a second crown put in back there. The tooth I'm just about to get crowned was so badly split that we didn't even know if the root canal would work, and I was going to have it removed, but then all the force of my bite would just come down on the next tooth along, so then I'd just have to get that one root canaled & crowned instead. Ugh. Stupid jaws.

Looks like I'm about to have root canal and crown number four, less than a year after number three. I'm so fed up with dental pain and the whole rigmarole of having shitty, awkward teeth. The needles terrify me and they hurt like hell and yet here I go again, having to drag myself into a position where someone sticks them into me for hours on end because the alternative is fucking endless nerve pain in my mouth. Whose idea was it to have fucking teeth in the first place, they are bullshit.

last part certainly otm

im bracing (aha) myself to embark on a course of action around dental insurance, serious ongoing work etc. even a clean and a check up has me imagining fifty other things i suddenly have to do instead of picking up the phone to arrange an appt

The dentist with the largest practice in town was at my cocktail class earlier this week. He introduced himself to me and I said "ah yes, I know you, I need to make an appointment but I'm scared to death of you."

I've had two teeth with large 90s fillings in them collapse in the last year or so. both fixed easily and with zero pain (no jabs even) so I've been lucky. but i wonder how much of this is yet to come.

it was a thing, especially in Scotland, to have all your teeth out when you reached 21...

recently ended a ten year no dentist streak and my teeth felt so small without the thick layer of plaque and tartar they’d accumulated. especially the bottom incisors. i was compulsively running my tongue across them for days

i enjoy the cleanness but the gaps between my bottom teeth after are definitely a weird thing to handle for a while after

but i wonder how much of this is yet to come.

In my case it's all because I clench and grind my teeth when I sleep or when I'm tense, so I've been slowly splitting my teeth since they appeared. And now my forty-year-old fillings are no longer up to the task of holding the old fortresses together. Root canal number three happened because I dozed off in front of the telly a couple of Christmases ago for half an hour and woke up with a splinter of tooth in my mouth.

To be honest, the occasions I have had to have fillings (eg last week) I'm so whatever about the needle. It's a drag, and afterwards I have to remember not to eat owt in case I chew my mouth interior.

I did have a root canal job about five years ago. Led to believe it was the worst pain ever, it was the least painful filling job I ever had. Times have changed I guess.

Having said all that, my molar with the gold filling was giving me major ag, which was why I was at the dentist in the first place. If that needs more work, that will get complicated. Might have to all get gone for a replacement. Thankfully, I dabbed it with clove oil and it's calmed down for now.

Of course, that's me and YMMV.

God, you're so lucky. MM definitely does V compared to that. On Thursday I went in to have an old filling removed and a new one put in. Six giant anaesthetic needles later and I could still feel the drill, so we had to call a halt (and that's how we decided I'd need another root canal). And now I still have a dodgy tooth and my face is all swollen and sore from the giant needles. Anyway, never mind. I just wanted to have a whinge about it. I don't have a lot of other options if I want to keep my teeth, which I do.

Still bewildering to me how the teeth have been separated from the rest of the body in the realm of medicine, at least in the U.S. Dental pain & problems is still probably the #1 ailment for a lot of folks, especially in the younger years, and can have all kinds of social effects including employment options

I like my dentist.. she's pretty no-bullshit and never tries to upsell me on anything. But she did point out that some of my fillings are fucking ancient and I should think about replacing a couple with crowns while I still have insurance, so we're figuring out a plan for that, that won't be too expensive... like one a year

I've gotten much better about flossing the last few years, and (knock on wood) still have all my teeth, or at least the roots! They're not pretty but they still work

everything but the most routine work is not paid for by the NHS in the UK so the US is not alone there

Dentistry was one of the last, if not the last, of the practical health fields to be absorbed into the general medical field, a few decades after bonesetting, surgery, and obstetrics were allowed in.

Also, I stopped rinsing my teeth after brushing, and it made a world of difference--my teeth have mostly stopped splitting apart, and I'm not getting blood on my toothbrush any more. I still don't expect to be able to see a dentist until I'm old enough for Medicare, though, if it still exists by then.

I stopped rinsing my teeth after brushing

A long time ago i read a document written by a dentist called "the perfect dental routine" or something like that -- i think it got mentioned here on ilx -- and this was one of his key pieces of advice. Brush with fluoride toothpaste and leave it to sink in so to speak.

(Ah, this was the post about it, though the link seems to be broken.)

Medicare doesn’t have dental coverage atm. Maybe someday (there is plenty of lobbying for it), but definitely so not gonna happen with the current political situation.

I am still into hardcore dental routines! Which does not mean I actually adhere to them all the time. . . latest thing I need to try is interdental in lieu of/in addition to flossing.

(apologies for womansplaining Medicare stuff; my day job is to help people navigate the Medicare labyrinth and ppl are stunned about traditional Medicare not covering even routine cleanings. Medicare Advantage plans may do that, but there are significant tradeoffs with that route)

*interdental BRUSHES. I swear I haven’t been drinking

Dentistry in Australia is also not part of our Medicare system except for children between 2 and 17, unless possibly your teeth get so bad you get hospitalized.

I do really like my dentist though, Dr Tina who came from Korea to study dentistry and never left. Not that I’ve had to have anything particular major done apart from replacing a crown. That was pretty amazing, after she did the cleanup and prep work I asked when I should come back thinking it would be a week and she said come back in 20 minutes and don’t drink any coffee in the meantime time.

They have a little milling machine that mills crowns out of blocks of ceramic material. It’s almost magical, if very expensive and only partially covered by insurance.

I don't know anyone with traditional pay-per-service Medicare. Is it even possible now? I once had a client who was grandparented into it until their family neglected to respond to the notices one year, so they were put on a default plan.

Original Medicare is still available. It's about $185/month currently, then you generally add a prescription plan (Part D, around $35/month) and a Medigap plan (varies widely). I'm looking at going that route due to planning a move to a rural area. If I stayed in Seattle, I could do a Kaiser Medicare Advantage plan for around $325/month.

latest thing I need to try is interdental in lieu of/in addition to flossing.

I have three different sizes of interdental brushes, and a special long-handled one for doing the front and back of my molars. I also have a special kind of small-headed toothbrush for doing the outer edges of my very back teeth. My gum health is, according to my dentist, exceptional. It is not bloody well helping.

Our medical insurance does cover dental work, but instead of just taking a photo of your receipt and sending it to an email address, you have to fill in detailed three-page forms for every procedure and send them in the post. Obviously they are hoping you won't bother.

The small-headed one is called a "single tufted" toothbrush. I have one and I use it for the same thing. My gum health is apparently also exceptional after years of neglect and being probably weeks away from needing my two front lower teeth extracted. Unfortunately my wisdom teeth, which remain submarined beneath the gumline in my lower jaw, are pushing against my back lower molars and creating gigantic "pockets" - which is why I need the single tufted brush, to try and clean those pockets. Ideally I'd fix that problem by getting the wisdom teeth removed but they're both apparently so close to a crucial nerve that nobody will touch it so I'm stuck with my good ol' single tufted brush to the end of my days 😭

I have an ongoing argument with a buddy... he says that you can reverse receding gums. I say there's surgical interventions (grafting) but there's no daily process that will cause your gums to return to their old coverage

You are correct

Yep, you can only prevent further recession aiui.

everything but the most routine work is not paid for by the NHS in the UK so the US is not alone there

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 10 August 2025 bookmarkflaglink

Today dentistry. Tomorrow the rest of the public sector.

(I actually have never read a deep dive on dentistry and why its so fucked here, like even check ups are going up in price every year)

interesting recent radio program on the current miserable state of American dental health

https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910811/why-americans-flock-to-mexicos-molar-city-for-dental-care

Oooooh I'll listen to that in horror because I probably need so much work.

There's a podcast from the New Republic a few years ago that had good history re American dentistry/medical history:
https://newrepublic.com/article/163012/reasons-hate-dentist-malpractice

The article referenced in that radio program:

Mexico’s Molar City Could Transform My Smile. Did I Want It To?

More than a thousand dentists have set up shop in Los Algodones. Their patients are mostly Americans who can’t afford the U.S.’s dental care.

I spoke to my dentist earlier. She conferred with my endontist and they think my nervy tooth last week might be a hangover from the shingles I had earlier this summer. So we're just going to do nothing for a few weeks and have another go. It's not exactly heartening, but at least I don't have to think about it for another couple of weeks.

i got over a general mental block about going to the dentist in the last year or two, after a huge gap of many years. even tho i don't necessarily fear it, it had become some troubling procrastination that sort of went back to a time in my life when i had a lot more of that behaviour, almost the last thing left from that time.

it took a fair bit of mental effort and exploring of why it was such a black hole where i just couldn't bring myself to go. when i did, they said i needed to get a broken tooth removed, like one that isn't visible at the back of my mouth. again, didn't love the idea of this but forced myself to go and do it.

when i went to the dentist who was to remove the tooth, he said it was fine and should just get a filling in it, why lose a tooth forever etc. seemed logical and he prodded it to show me it hurt and therefore was still alive, then did an x-ray to show me it had good roots etc.

xpost

great, i thought, a lucky escape and now i can go to the dentist once a year like a normal person.

but now the dentist who sent me to get the tooth removed has said he disagrees with the other dentist. i have no idea what to do and it throws me back into procrastination.

*curb your enthusiasm music plays*

I had a bunch of dental work done in Mexico, and I absolutely plan to do it there again the next time I have something major going on.

they said i needed to get a broken tooth removed

And replace it with what? Or is it a wisdom tooth?

it's at the back so the options were replace it with a really expensive artificial tooth, or they said just take it out and don't replace it, which given it's at the back wouldn't really matter.

but the remover dentist seems to think just put a filling in it to stop food getting into it and irritating it and leave it as is.

ange postecoglou ass dental tactic

i have no idea what to do and it throws me back into procrastination.

How annoying. I at least have a good enough relationship with my dentist that in a situation like that I could say "well, you two need to work this out and come back and tell me the plan."

None of this would really be a problem if we didn't live so long. My mam (80) is starting to have trouble now with the back of her jaw where she had teeth removed when she was young. The gum has died and the area is prone to little infections. It's very annoying, because she goes to the dentist every six months for a cleaning and has to have numbing in the back of her mouth in order to clean back there because of her missing teeth.

that is very annoying. i didn't go to the dentist for twenty years (just over in fact I think) and developed a similar... mental block? same as you LG it didn't worry me it was just my brain did that swerving thing every time i thought about addressing it. all was fine - apart from the fact that I've still got a milk tooth which is 'huh that's weird, no i don't think you need to anything *incredibly expensive* about it unless it starts giving you gyp' etc.

more recently had a fine crack in one of my back teeth (technical term), and dentist said you should get a crown. when i told people this they said 'no it will destroy the tooth and they have to put a peg in' which i found a bit disconcerting, so went back and asked a bit more and it turns out these days they do an 3D SCAN (which was quite exciting to see) and then do 3D milling on site while you are there (also fascinating to watch), and then it just fits perfectly with a bit of cement. It was great.

I genuinely haven't got a clue what to do in this situation. Might go to the local dentist and ask if the guy who insists it should come out will explain to me why, since I got a hearing from the bloke who denied that, in person. Or also I've wondered if I can make them decide between them and tell me their decision, but that seems less likely.

it's at the back so the options were replace it with a really expensive artificial tooth,

Maybe your roots are particularly shallow, so root-canal-and-crown isn't an option? With any medical intervention nowadays I usually ask the practitioner: "What's the worst possible end result of this treatment, and what are the odds of that happening assuming I never change my current behaviour?" One of the reasons I stay with my current dentist is that she gives me straight answers to those questions, so at least I can understand what's going on.

i think i just basically decided like just yank it cos don't care to pay for root canal, or do it, or get a crown. like it has p much no function and no vanity value.

but when the other dentist said well no need to pull it, it's fine just get a filling, i thought great, bonus.

i know there are a fair few other pricier solutions but i sort of ruled them out already as i was getting quoted insane figures, like 2k and stuff for a tooth nobody can see.

Yeah, it's not about the visibility, though. It's like knocking down the end house in a terrace. But you know all that. I guess if it was me I'd get it filled and see how you go. You can always get it taken out later on. And who knows, the filling might last forever. I once got three years out of a temporary filling that was supposed to last two months.

i did wonder that but they didn't seem to have any concerns about it not being there as regards effect on other teeth. or if they did they kept them to themselves.

filling prob makes sense really, like there's no pain at all, i think basically whatever way it's broken it's solid and stable as it's been broken for like five years or more.

strong and stable, sorry

build back biter

I've had serious dental problems over the last few months. A tooth that had previously given little trouble developed huge cracks and became sensitive to hot and cold. I went to my regular dentist to get it re-filled. She gave me so much blocker that she wasn't legally able to give me any more, and I could still feel the nerve when she drilled the tooth. So, after several goes at it across an hour, and six or eight huge injections, she gave up and made me an appointment with the endodontist. She got her colleague, who apparently is the best injector in the business. Still extremely painful. However, she worked around the pain and re-filled the tooth. Today we started the root treatment, but first they took a scan of my whole head to see why the blockers haven't been working. Turns out some of my nerves run into my face at a funny angle, so they were injecting in the wrong place. The Injector dude was able to see where he should be aiming for, and in one long, slow, almost-pain-free injection (no topical numbing or anything), he was able to numb me perfectly for two solid hours. Science!

Anyway, looks like I'm not going to get five more years out of this tooth, so there's no point in spending a load of money on a proper crown. Endodontist is just going to finish the root treatment (which takes about two hours each time because the roots have little flippers at the bottom of them) and give me a temporary crown and we'll see how long I get out of it before it breaks and I have to have it taken out. The good thing about getting the root treatment is that if and when the tooth breaks, it won't be painful and there'll be nothing to really infect - it'll just chip or split and I can go and get rid of it at my own pace.

I've been trying that thing mentioned upthread ^^^^^ where you don't spit all the toothpaste out and rinse after brushing. The trick is to floss before brushing

I don't really like it but hoping it helps the enamel

(trishyb that sounds like an ordeal! I hope you're not still in pain)

wait you were flossing after brushing?? andy i look to you in these things and this is confusing me

yes! I've been flossing after brushing my entire life

we might need to do a poll on this one

i just brushed my teeth so my mouth is nice and clean, now it's the perfect time to dislodge a rotten piece of chicken that's been stuck between two molars for the last 36 hours

at least I floss!

A buddy hadn't flossed in years and he went to some charlatan dentist who told him he required some laser gum therapy and btw it costs six grand out of pocket. He paid up and it was done in a single session

I told my dentist and she just chuckled, she thinks he got ripped off

i paid like £400 out of pocket for laser gum treatment (later reimbursed by insurance) at literally one of the fanciest periodontists on harley st in london. it was annoying and didn’t work

my teeth are poor but they're all still there (minus the wisdoms)... my dentist is gently pushing me to get rid of some of my massive 1980's fillings, to replace with crowns. I want to do it but it's hard to cough up hundreds of dollars (co-pay) to go have a miserable few hours in the chair

Thank you Doctor Niazi!! I've been saying the same thing for thirty years

Patients who were successfully treated for root canal infections saw their blood sugar levels fall significantly over two years, suggesting that ridding the body of the problematic bacteria could help protect against type 2 diabetes.

Dentists also saw improvements in patients’ blood cholesterol and fatty acid levels, both of which are associated with heart health. Yet more benefits were seen around inflammation, a driver for cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions.

“Our oral health is connected to our general health,” said Dr Sadia Niazi, a senior clinical lecturer in endodontology at King’s College London. “We should never look at our teeth or dental disease as a separate entity.”