I’m assuming there is a genetic and/or epigenetic component to tooth cracking as well as cavities. I’ve only had a few cavities, but I’ve lost count of how many of my teeth have cracked (the extraction that prompted this thread was the result of a tooth being fractured to the point where the dentist said it could not be saved).
I just had a bone density scan and was told I need an appointment with my PCP due to low bone density. No idea whether that and the brittle teeth are related, but if they are, it’s not for lack of calcium. My mother made me drink 3 glasses of milk a day while I was growing up, and as an adult I’m pretty sure I get plenty of calcium through cheese, calcium pills, and various high-calcium foods I eat often like yogurt and greens. So I’m guessing something besides lifestyle accounts for my bone/teeth characteristics.
Oh, yeah, me, too. I can still remember the pain when you had to hold those metal things in your mouth to take x-rays. The metal would cut into the corners of my mouth, and it hurt. But that’s in the past, and my teeth are good enough that all I’ve had to do in ages was teeth cleaning. I have good insurance, too, and the only money I’ve to pay out of pocket since going to this dentist was cancelling an appt within 24 hours ($50).
I can’t brag about my teeth. I’m lucky that way. Two cavities only and one of them wasn’t really necessary.
Many moons ago our dentist was a family friend, he treated the entire family and was the only dentist I had ever known. When I was about 8 or 9, I was having some kind of treatment and I told him I was gagging and was going to throw up. He told me I wasn’t. I won.
He ended up having to call a plumber as I managed to clog his spit sink so badly the entire thing needed to be disassembled and cleaned by hand.
I have a terrible case of dentist phobia going back to the Navy dentists that tortured…eh, treated me as a kid. My fear caused me to avoid dentists for years, which resulted in some serious issues that required several root canals and gum surgery.
When I was referred to a periodontist though, I hit the jackpot. Of all the dentists (and health professionals, really) I’ve seen, she is the absolute best. After the gum surgery I’ve continued to see her for all my dental needs. It’s inaccurate to say we’re “friends”, but both her and her assistant always express interest in what’s been going on in my life and ask to see photos of my recent adventures. I can’t say I like going to my routine cleanings, but I kind of look forward to my appointments now just so I can chat with them.
I think I’m a pretty good patient, which is surprising after the asshole who was my dentist when I was a kid. I was actually at the dentist today for a cleaning and oil change. It’s been over a year because I had my knee replacement eleven months ago. I apologized in advance for the buildup and explained why I had waited so long (not wanting to risk infection).
My last dentist told me a story about one of his patients who had a long beard. They had to knock him out for some surgery, and when he went to sleep, bugs started flying out of his beard.
Being a dental patient is a lot easier than it used to be. The tech is improving rapidly. When I was a kid, high-speed air-powered drills existed but they may have had limitations because my dentist had both the old style mechanical drill and the high-speed type. He’d always start with the mechanical one and finish off with the high-speed one. If you’ve never experienced a mechanical drill, it tends to make your whole head vibrate. Not painful, but not fun. Today with lots of modern equipment, electronic X-rays, and very durable fillings, dentistry is much less of an ordeal for the patient. I’ve had two procedures in the past few years and both ended up being trivial non-events.
Yeah … I get it. Before my most recent dental visit, I kinda fell off the radar, dentistry-wise, and not for the first time given my living-in-lots-of-developing-countries-life, for a couple of years, because Covid-finances-busy-yeah-something-something … and because my dentist is awesome, they didn’t judge when I finally went back, they just cheerfully set to work.
But I regretted my lapse, because two words: tartar buildup. Like @Beckdawrek, I’m not your mom, but as a fellow poster, I simply advise: get the horrible, embarrassing, first-visit-after-many-years visit over with. The removal of tartar buildup will not. be. fun. But then … you get to start anew! With a nice-feeling mouth, I might add.
For those youngsters here who may not know what I meant by “mechanical drill” – which I’m sure is not the correct term – this is a pic of what I mean. Before dentists universally adopted modern high-speed drills powered by moist air, this is what they used. The sphere over at the right is an electric motor that drives a cord wound around a bunch of pulleys, one at each hinge of the hinged sections, and finally driving the drill at the very end. The difference from modern air-powered drills is that it couldn’t even come close to the super-high speeds of modern drills, so it felt like it was trying to shake your brains out.
Speaking of not going often enough. The Lil’wrekkers boyfriend has the most beautiful white perfectly aligned teeth that look great in his smile. Just right.
He claimed he went for check-ups as a kid. Never had a cavity. Quit going by highschool.
Brushes, never flosses. He gargles with some really strange crap his mom sends him. She sends a powder, he mixes it with warm water. It smells like burnt rubber.
Anywhoo, Lil’wrekker decided even though his teeth looked perfect there had to be 200 cavities by now.
She sent him to the dentist. Of course it was cleaning, X-rays and exam.
He was one mad fellow when he got home. He said it was like the torture of a 1000 tiny cuts. It hurt so bad he swore he cried like a 7yo girl.
It cost him $150.
And no cavities. None.
I told her, well, you’ll never get that to happen again and steal us some of that powder to have analysis done on. We’ll make a mint. Oh, yeah we’ll have to add mint to make Americans buy it.
I have strong teeth, but probably weak enamel. also love to eat treats and snacks through the day, hummngbird style
. I had braces in the 50s, with high levels of misery,(dentist slipped and gouged me) mixed with fear of needles, and I skipped going to the dentist…until the problems started in the 80s.
Now, many years and many appointments later, Im half full of gold, crowns and root canals… have one implant, go for cleanings 4 times a year, all the xrays they suggest, and all the tools and procedures to help. High powered water flosser is my new favorite, kinda messy, but really works well. My dentist is a perfectionist, she took over the practice from my previous dentist. Both gave “great shots” which I still tell her. I had 2, 30yr old crowns redone last month, they were starting to leak around the edges. I thought doing them both would save time and money…uggg it was so long in the chair that my back spazzed and cramped,(old injury) so I had to do isometric exercizes to keep from jumping up. “I’m fine, I’m fine, its not you doctor” Im a pretty good patient, though as others have mentioned, sometimes the gag and suction and blocks and general appliances that are snuck in your mouth get really tiresome and painfull
Wait, if he was comfortable, happy, and had nice teeth with no cavities, why are you and the Lil’wrekker proud of yourselves for sending him to the dentist to waste $150?
I speak as someone who avoids dentists except when essential. What is this “cleaning” bullshit? I brush my teeth and occasionally rinse them with mouthwash. Anything brushed and rinsed has got to be clean, right? Presto! Clean!*
* This is not serious dental advice. IANAD. And cleaning plaque is actually important. I guess. It’s just that when one gets into one’s later years, and metabolism slows down, teeth problems seem to slow down, too.
I didn’t send him anywhere. The Lil’wrekker has decided he must have some problems.
Any dental person will tell it’s a bad idea to wait til you have pain. Preserving what you have is better than losing it or reconstruction. Both which are painful and way more expensive.
Dental disease can be bad for your over all health.
Cleaning is not just brushing your teeth for you. It’s scaling and tartar removal and making sure you have no pockets in your gums waiting to bloom into full fledged gum disease. Which is one bad thing to have.
FTR, this is absolutely correct. I was just being silly. As I said, that was not serious dental advice! A certain amount of preventative maintenance goes a long way.
Still, it’s true that I’ve had far fewer tooth problems in my elder years than when I was younger. In fact, recent problems have mostly been related to ancient fillings crumbling and having to be replaced.
A year ago, I had a dental cleaning with a new (to me) dental hygienist. I don’t consider myself particularly sensitive to gagging, but several times during the cleaning she jabbed her tools particularly deep.
After the third time, I was annoyed enough to calmly ask her to be more careful. Her response was to suggest that it was my fault for not telling her I was super-sensitive; I’m afraid I was rather sharp in my reply at that point.
In the end, the dentist agreed with my request to not have that person clean my teeth from now on.
I doubt I’m significantly less susceptible to pain than others. It may be an example of Dental Psychology 101, where it’s beneficial to the relationship to praise the patient and suggest they’re tougher than the common herd.
