sorry about the double post. I don’t know what happened. So I’ll tell you more, since I’m posting again anyway… I am reading this thread.
My Mom fell about two weeks ago and basically landed against the edge of the bathtub with her upper lip and teeth. They wired them back in place (they got knocked around, but not knocked out) and sewed up her lip. They are hoping the teeth will stay in and not get infected.
The image of her right after she fell is one I will remember forever, no matter how hard I try to forget it.
I’m 40 and I have all my teeth, which have 5 fillings from root canal treatments. I also have veneers on two of my teeth for cosmetic reasons. Fortunately, I didn’t ever have wisdom teeth. I visit my dentist at least twice a year for regular check ups and a scale and clean. In fact, I think I have a bit of a dental fetish.
bwk, that was what the dentist wanted to do with my teeth (seal them) because my ridges are too deep. I said no to that, since I had never have a problem and the teeth showed no signs of decay. In your case, though, it might be helpful in preventing more cavities and further decay.
I had very poor dental care as a child, and was very afraid of dentists. When I had to have EIGHT wisdom teeth taken out in my early twenties, I decided I was never going to a dentist ever. I didn’t for 14 years, then I found Dr. Stern and have been going to him twice a year every since. You know he’s amazing if he could get me to go on a regular basis.
One false tooth, two crowns, and about a million filings.
I’m 47. Never had a cavity. Had four wisdom teeth pulled a long time ago. Had gum surgery a few years ago. I have a hideous overbite (although most people tell me I’m being overly sensitive about it).
My husband is almost out of teeth on the top. He’s getting those screw-in teeth. WooHOO!
Never had braces - Dentist wouldn’t do it because I had fillings in all but 2 baby teeth, and he thought my adult teeth wouldn’t be strong enough. He was right.
11 crowns - each for a broken tooth
9 fillings - 2 for broken teeth, others for decay
Bonding on front 4 because of spacing
Need - 4 more crowns and the 1 remaining impacted wisdom tooth removed. (Which will be when the pain gets bad enough, not before.)
I brush and floss daily, and go to the dentist every 6 months. I am just cursed with VERY weak teeth. Thanks Mom.
twk having had quite a bit of dental work done, I can’t imagine all that work will be less than 2 grand. The wisdom teeth alone usually cost about $800 for 2 (depending on where you live.) Fillings are about $150 each for metal amalgam, more for tooth-colored (I get tooth-colored on my front teeth).
I had my (4, all messed up) wisdom teeth out under IV sedation, they used Demerol, IIRC. I went to sleep* in one room and woke up in another wth 4 fewer teeth. Talk about an ideal dental experience!!!
*Apparently, you never loose consciousness in the traditional sense, just the ability to form memories of the experience. So it seems to you like you were “out” but you are able to respond to questions, etc. during the procedure (it is also a very strong painkiller). This is my understanding, anyway.
I am extremely dental phobic and my dentist has worked with me over a period of years to help me out. When I started with her I hadn’t been to the dentist in 5 years. My cleaning alone took two visits (they took “before” and “after” pictures for their records!) When they told me how many fillings I needed, I started to cry uncontrollably. They were very kind and told me that I wasn’t the first patient to react this way and we’d all get through it together. I recommend her frequently, I think half my office goes to her now.
If you are phobic, ask if they will do the “easiest” (not the very front of very back teeth, or depending on the depth of the filling) fillings first so you don’t have a too-traumatic experience on your first visit back.
Perfect teeth, no cavities, no orthodonture. I’ve had all 4 wisdom teeth removed, but I have started growing a miniature fifth wisdom tooth in one of the empty sockets. Weird…
22 y/o - I’ve never had any cavities, never had any dental or orthodontic work done (I have the good fortune of having naturally straight teeth). No gum disease, either.
My upper wisdom teeth are in; they erupted sideways, and there was some concern they’d poke into my cheeks, but they’ve straightened out, now. And it looks like they fit fine.
My lower wisdoms haven’t erupted yet, and they can’t tell from the x-rays whether they’ll fit or not.
Well, this may sound bad, but from the ages of 7-22 i never brushed my teeth. The last time i saw a dentist (until a year ago) was sometime in 1995 or so. In 2002 i saw a dentist and after 10+ years of never brushing and not seeing a dentist for 7 i had 1 root canal & 2 cavities. So i started brushing daily, using listerine, brushing my tongue, etc.
After a year of doing that, i had 6 new cavities. Maybe its just a coincidence and those teeth were on the verge of rotting, hell if i know. But its very ironic to have htat hapen. I never got my wisdom teeth pulled. the first time, one of the 2 cavities was in a wisdom tooth. This time around (with my 6 cavities) 3 of them are in my 3 remaining wisdom teeth which i need pulled.
After i realized that a root canal was 20x more expensive than a filling i’ve started going to a dentist regularly.
I don’t know if this is common knowledge or not, but there are dental discount plans you can go on to get cheaper dental work. I’m on the Careington dental plan. Its kindof like a PPO, except if you go to a preferred provider you get a 30-75% discount off regular price. amalgam fillings are $39-71 (depending on whether you have 1, 2, 3 or 4 surfaces), a root canal plus crown is about $800.
bwk-
Did the dentist say what teeth he wanted to seal? i was going to ask my dentist about sealing my teeth but i forgot. I always thought they only sealed the molars. Did he mention sealing the incisors or cuspids or just molars?
The Calculus of Logic, my little sister (16) never brushes her teeth and hasn’t for years… However, she doesn’t eat sugar, flosses sometimes, and bleaches her teeth so they look fine. She brushes before big events and dates, and never has bad breath due to breath mints/Listerine. She hasn’t been to the dentist since she was 12 so we have no idea how she’s faring, but her teeth look okay, I guess.