Yes, folks, it’s true. I haven’t been to a dentist in about twenty years. What can I say, I’ve never been a big fan of pain.
Well, for twenty years my luck has been pretty good. No real mouth pain to speak of. However, in the last two weeks, I’ve developed a small ache in my lower right jaw and a sensativity to cold in that area. So, before it really gets bad, I’m going. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with my wife’s dentist.
It’s been so long since I’ve gone that I have no real idea what to expect. I have no doubt that I have cavities. But beyond that, I’m simply like a man awaiting his execution.
So, what can I expect? I’m hoping some dental procedures have changed over the last twenty years? (For the record, my wife always takes the kids to the dentist…)
(As an aside, feel free to chastise me for not taking proper care of myself. I know I deserve it! )
You will get a right and proper scolding from the hygeinist when you tell her that it’s been two decades since your last exam. The dentist will also scold you.
You will get a cleaning and polishing. You’ll have a metal pick scraped along your teeth to clear off the plaque. You’ll get a full set of x-rays. You’ll have your gums tested for gingivitis by having them poked with a pick to check for separation from the teeth and/or bleeding.
Any problems that are found will be reviewed with you by the dentist. If you do have cavities or otherwise need additional work, the dentist will go over your treatment options, including pain management issues. When you decide on your course of action you’ll set up an appointment to have it done and if necessary you’ll speak with someone about financing and insurance issues.
You’ll set up your next appointment for check up and cleaning for six months from now and you’ll get a free toothbrush and possibly paste, floss and/or mouthwash.
Unless the hygenist has the time for a marathon session, you’ll likely have more than one visit just to cover the cleaning. Plus the appointment with the dentist to fix your actualy toothache cause. Hopefully thats not too serious.
Or you can ask the dentist if they do sedation dentistry and not feel a dang thing!
Otherwise second what Otto said. The only problem I have at the dentist is the x-rays. I have a gag reflex problem and can’t get my back teeth x-rayed without tossing my cookies. The last time I was in I coerced them into letting me do this whole head kind of x-ray (like an MRI, but standing up) which was pretty slick.
Also, TELL THEM that you are not particularly fond of having your mouth poked and prodded. Tell them that your 20 year absence was not from ennui but from fear. They’ll work with you.
You can expect the dentist to start looking though cruise brochures in the near future. I went about 5 years after high school before I got around to going, I might have had 3-4 fillings right away. Unless you’re very good with the dental hygiene, there are likely several cavities. Best case- you’ve taken very good care of your teeth and only have the one achey tooth to fill. Worst case- fillings and root canals and crowns.
Something that’s new in the past year or so for me, that seems to be the Coming Thing in dentistry since other people have reported its appearance, is the dentist “sandblasting” your teeth instead of doing the thing with the gritty stuff and the electric rubber cup. There’s a special washcloth-mask-thing with a hole for your mouth so it dosen’t get all over your face. I gotta say, it’s pretty awful, but then I hated the old way too.
About 6 years ago, I went back to the dentist after a roughly 10-year absence (almost entirely due to lack of insurance). I have been going to the same dentist regularly ever since, and I highly recommend him. In fact, NY isn’t all that far from here . . . hop on a plane to Dulles and come see my guy.
No one yelled at me. I was properly embarrassed and self-chastising when I arrived, which might have helped, but their attitude was largely “Let’s see what shape everything’s in, and you’ll do better from here on out.” As Keweenaw mentioned, it took two visits for the initial cleaning, but I don’t remember any significant pain. They had this stuff they swabbed on my gums to numb them the first few times, but I haven’t needed that again in years. Things went very smoothly, actually – better than I expected.
I’ve needed a couple of fillings with this guy, and the last time was just amazing: he used a laser to clean out the bad tooth. No drilling, no novocaine, no pain. No shit! They kept telling me to let them know if I felt any discomfort – one thing I like about this practice is they are very quick to respond to any signs of pain – but it was actually easier than having a cleaning. I practically skipped to my car afterwards, and went on to praise my dentist to anyone who would listen!
The moral of my story is that I think you’ll be just fine. That first appointment will be kind of scary, but there have been some great advances in dentistry and pain management/avoidance.
I was also in a similar situation but I had only missed 15 years of appointments. I didn’t have any pain but I couldn’t send my kids to the dentist in good conscience without going myself.
The first appointment was purely diagnostic. They poke around each tooth in 6 different places to determine the depth of the pockets under the gumline. Anything over 4mm is bad. You should expect a lot of these unless you’re extremely lucky or have been very diligent in your flossing.
They also did the panaramic xray thing because my gag reflex was so bad I couldn’t handle the bitewings. To add insult to injury, I had 8 cavities.
I went back for 2 treatments. The first was for scaling and planing. The second trip was to fill the cavities. All I can say is, if your dentist offers sleep dentistry, do it do it do it. It costs a little more but it is absolutely worth it. You go to the dentist office and wake up at home. It’s the best thing ever for wimps like us.
I avoided the dentist for about 10 years a long time ago.
When I finally went (because I was in pain), I had 15 fillings over 2 days.
It didn’t hurt (I had an injection) and now I happily go regularly.
One useful tip (provided your friendly dentist doesn’t mind) is to take a Walkman so you have something pleasant to listen to while they work.
You have nothing to fear, but fear itself, young Zev.
Otto did a good job of describing what you’ll go thru during your visit, but let me give some moral support.
I, too, was a dental scofflaw for many, many years. I was even too embarrassed to tell the dentist exactly how long it had been. I just said “quite a few years…”. The hygenist was very nice, and other than her saying 'Oh boy, we might not have time to finish this all today!", it wasn’t bad at all. Also, not only did the hygenist finish the whole cleaning in one sitting, I had no new cavities. I would bet it had been very close to 20 years for me, too.
So, take heart! It’s not that bad, and I’ve been faithful to the twice per year visit ever since.
A John Mace clone here. I’d been a dental renegade for close to two decades, just like you. I did NOT get the chewing out. The last thing the dentist wants to do is drive you away again. I actually got the impression that my neglect was neither remarkable nor noteworthy. This thread bears it out, too. The reality is, some people are scared, some people had bad prior dental visits, and many people have crappy insurance. Teeth are easy to neglect, so people do it all the time. You’re in pretty good company.
I needed some immediate work done (which drove me to the dentist in the first place) and a handful of other work which was spread out over multiple visits. And now my mouth is stable.
When you are done, you can revel in the feeling that you are back in the saddle. No more dental shame. You have done the thing you thought you couldn’t, and from here on out the every-six-month cleaning and exam will be a breeze.
Since we’re all getting this off our chests, I do have to clarify that my lapse in dental visits was pure laziness, niothing else. Once I was out of the house and my Mom stopped scheduling them for me, I just didn’t do it myself. I knew I should have, I kept saying I would, it just took about 20 years is all.
I doubt this will happen, but if it does, leave and find another dentist. You aren’t a kid and don’t have to put up with crap like that.
Liking, and having trust in your dentist is essential. He is going to be poking around in your mouth with drills and other nasty things. You don’t want someone doing that who also thinks it’s OK to “scold” you.
I’m in a similar situation, having neglected my teeth for years and just started going to the dentist again. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how things have changed. I just had a root canal done that was nearly pain free. Certainly much less painful than the simple fillings I had done as a kid.
Heartfelt good wishes for tomorrow, zev_steinhardt. As all these good people say, it should be fine. Of course, there’s knowing that in theory and still being terrifed in practice. Big big sympathy.
(Celyn, utterly in horror of dentists, really must go to toothdoctor, and thinks this thread is a good reminder.)
If you’re going in specifically for pain, you’ll see the dentist rather than the hygienist. He’ll do an exam of the area, then outline your options for treatment. If time allows he’ll take care of it then, and if not, they’ll set you up an appointment. Then they’ll set you up with an appointment for xrays and a full-mouth exam, and another for a cleaning. Depending on what they find, they’ll discuss their recommendations.
I also avoided the dentist for many years, until I broke a wisdom tooth. The thing I really love about my dentist is that when he goes over your options, he goes out of his way to tell you about the good points of the cheaper option and the potential bad points of the expensive ones. He and his entire staff are great.
My new dentist doesn’t have her hygienists use the metal pick for hand scaling- they use a cool ultrasonic probe thingee! No scraping, no bleeding, and done in about 5 minutes!
A friend of mine avoided seeing a dentist for something like 15 years and when he finally did, the dentist said there was so much crud to clean out that she would have to do it in FIVE stages, most of which would be so painful that my friend would have to go under GENERAL ANAESTHESIA.
I had a perfect dental record (no cavities) and then skipped my checkups for about five or six years. By the time I finally went back to the dentist, I had to have three or four fillings – all of them were pretty shallow, though, so I had them done without Novocaine. It was slightly painful but no biggie.
)