Threads like these always make me want to ask rsat3acr about the worst mouth/dental case he’s ever seen.
On the other hand, given I have a dentist appointment tomorrow (just a check up - at least I’m optimistic it’s just a normal cleaning and check up) maybe I don’t really want to hear that tonight. 
Until rsat3acr answers, this may tide you over:
https://m.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ymf1a/dentists_of_reddit_what_is_the_worst_thing_youve/
Varies depending on what constitutes worst.
Seeing a two year old with all teeth rotted to the gum line with numerous abscesses is right up there. The specialist took them into the OR and removed them all.
Youngest person I made dentures for was 23. Former meth addict. Had only twelve teeth (all grossly decayed and non restorable) when I met her.
Had one adult with tarter covering all the teeth. Hygienists fought over who was going to get to take the ultrasonic scaler to him. They like gross things like dentists do. Stuff came off in huge chunks. The gums underneath were somewhat inflamed but not much. No decay present. IIRC he was middle aged and had never been to the dentist. He came in because a chunk of tarter had come off and left an edge that was sharp.
Grossest ones are the ones with huge periodontal abscesses that gush pus and stink like hell when you pull the tooth.
Hope your appointment went well.
Yes, the appointment went extremely well. I kept the hygienist laughing the whole time (I use humor as stress control and tension relief. It has beneficial effects for those working on my teeth, too.) Because I like to eat healthy stuff like dark colored berries and fruits, and I do like my tea, after 6-7 months I always have some staining but it’s strictly cosmetic. The gun disease is still in remission (worst gum pocket level was a 3, upper left 3rd molar, and the other side of the tooth was a 2. Everything else 2’s and a lot of 1’s), healthy bone and gums, still have a thick layer of enamel (looking at x-rays is interesting), no new cavities. The doc has stopped pushing me to get the remaining three wisdom teeth pulled as even he concedes I’m keeping them clean (although he again stated that if I change my mind or have any sort of problem he’ll do the job).
Actually, I think knowing that those 3rd molars require proper attention acts as an incentive for me to keep up with the home hygiene in general. I have to brush and floss the properly to keep them, no slacking allowed.
I do have one old silver amalgam filling that is starting to show signs of deterioration. The dentist said it’s not a problem now, but he flagged my chart to keep an eye on it. Given that the filling is over 30 years old and on the biting surface it’s not entirely surprising (I have two fillings that are forty years old, but they’re in low-wear areas). I’ve heard horror stories of bad fillings that failed after a short time but that’s never happened to me. Either I’ve always had really competent dental people or I’m lucky or something.
I want to be like the 86 year old lady who was recently a customer in my store. She proudly declared that she still had all her own teeth and intended to die with a full set.
I am kind of wondering about that two year old with teeth rotted to the gumline - what, no brushing and too much fruit juice or pop? I’ve heard stories of “Mountain Dew Mouth” which, from what I’m heard, is almost as destructive as meth. Poor kid. Hope when the permanent teeth come in they last him/her longer.
Baby bottle tooth decay. Put to bed with juice or milk everytime went to sleep. I see decay on kids everyday often severe and wonder why the parents don’t bring them in when the teeth first start turning brown.
My guesses are as follows:
A toddler isn’t responsible - the parents are the ones who put food/juice in their mouth and who either do or don’t clean the kid’s teeth.
The other fun thing is reading the reviews of my dentist on line. One lady was upset because, apparently, she thought he didn’t prescribe enough drugs and the ones he did prescribe weren’t strong enough. :rolleyes: (I have never heard of a dentist prescribing more than codeine, like Tylenol 3) And she complained about how much agony she was in after an extraction but that was just after she detailed how much “gunk” she had to keep cleaning out of the hole and about how he didn’t give her a waterpik, she had to buy one to keep cleaning it out … um, lady, I think you just gave yourself dry socket. Frankly, what she described was completely different than the aftercare instructions I was given (one of which was “don’t mess with the hole, let the scab form up”) and hey, I took 1 Tylenol 3 and about 2 days of 800mg Ibuprofen then no more pain and everything healed up just fine. Sometimes people are their own worst enemies and I’m sure you have plenty of stories about those folks, too.
I’m sure it’s exaggeration for effect. However, when I had to have a broken molar pulled (after a kickboxing accident), there was a point when my dentist had a knee braced on the edge of the chair to get a better angle and was grumbling, “Let go, already!”
FWIW, it wasn’t particularly painful. I’d gotten a root canal and crown right after the accident, so the tooth was dead. (It had to be pulled because I somehow bit off the titanium post, and it couldn’t be re-crowned.) It did feel rather like trying to win a tug of war using only my neck muscles, though.