I missed maybe 4 years and when I went had nothing wrong really. Just some minor gingivitis that I could easily take care of.
I didn’t go for at least 10 years, maybe 15, and then had a filling replaced and a crown…and I’m not entirely sure those were actually necessary. I hated the dentist. My husband goes to him, and the office keeps asking when they will see me again. Hubby says “She’s more of an as-needed person when it comes to dentists,” which is true. My grandmother had all her own teeth when she died at 93.
Well, I didn’t need any treatment, my teeth are fine!
I missed something like 14 years (no insurance) and had no issues other than a lot of plaque.
Yeah, my husband went about 10 years without a dentist visit before we got married and I forced him to go. His teeth were totally fine.
Holy cow, it’s nice to know I’m not unique! I went about ten or so years, got a clean bill of teeth, then went another twelve or so years–and again not a cavity. Pockets in the gums weren’t all that bad either–and all along I’ve had rather sloppy dental habits.
I have been going regularly for the past year or so. A line from Ishmael about eventuality of tooth decay has stayed in the back of my mind, and my TMJ is now to the point where I can barely open my mouth more than a couple centimetres (if it’s not one thing it’s another) so I figure I’d better prolong eventual rot as long as I can. I have no idea what they’d do if I needed my wisdom teeth out.
I think the longest has been 5-6 years. No issues. The dentist refused to believe it had been that long since I’d had my teeth cleaned. I take good care of my teeth.
I went to the dentist regularly in high school and didn’t start going again until I was about 30 and started having problem. I like to tell people that I had 8 or 9 cavities while I was seeing the dentist, but in the 12 years or so that I didn’t…none.
But seriously, I really just go when I have a problem. The dentist (who’s a friend of mine) nor any hygienist has mentioned any problems with the cleanliness of my teeth* and the only real problems I’ve had are one cavity filled, one wisdom tooth that needed to be pulled and one tooth that hurt and turned out to be nothing more then a toothache apparently (but I spent about $200 figuring that out).
The funny thing is, when I stopped going to the dentist (after high school) the reason was because of this nagging toothache that I had (different then the one above) that for the past few visits I either purposely neglected to say anything about or totally forget about since it wasn’t bothering me at the time. After a while I figure I’m beyond filling territory and probably need a root canal since it’s probably been a year or two since it started bugging me and now I really don’t want to go just to be told I need a root canal.
A decade or so later this tooth still bothers me, to this day I still have to avoid it if I chomp down on something hard like M&Ms. So I’m at the dentist (because something’s wrong) and finally work up the nerve to ask about it and he tells me it’s just micro-cracks along the surface. Sure, it may eventually go but it’s not a cavity and not much to worry about.
*Sometimes I worry that since I don’t go in for regular cleanings that my teeth my not be as clean as they could be. But when I have friends that come back from the dentist and show off their teeth, honestly, I can’t tell the difference. I think my sonicare does a pretty good job. Also, last week I was talking to someone who’s teeth were covered in plaque…that was gross. That’s someone who either needs to see the dentist or at least learn to brush her teeth properly. At the very least, I know the area where my teeth meet my gums isn’t caked with plaque. I wouldn’t be able to leave the house if I looked like that.