i have not been to a dentist in probably 10 years

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

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.