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.

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.