Tell me about your teeth.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

So I broke my tooth a few days ago, and I knew, despite the fact that the pain was almost non-existent, that it was time to face the music and call the dentist.

I haven’t been to the dentist in years. It’s gotten to be one of those things…I knew I should go, but the longer I put it off the more embarrassing I knew it would be to finally go in. I HATE the dentist. I hate how they lecture me about flossing, etc. I probably don’t take as good care of my teeth as I should, which just adds to the shame.

But I’m going. I’ve moved towns since last time I went, so I had to find a new dentist. I found one that I think looks pretty good. She’s on my dental plan, and she’s got all kinds of certifications and memberships, etc. And a cool website.

Best thing, she does something called “sedation dentistry.” Apparently you take a pill before the appointment, and it relaxes you so they can do six to seven hours worth of work at once. They don’t completely put you under, since you’re still responsive and aware, but they say on the website that you feel no pain, and don’t remember anything afterwards. That sounds great to me…get everything done in one appointment instead of going back two or three different times.

My appointment next week is just an exam to determine exactly what all needs to be done, and then I’ll set up an appointment to get the tooth fixed and whatever else is needed. I’m sure I’ve got cavities, and my gums need work. Who knows what else there’ll be. Probably a root canal or two, and my wisdom teeth have been needing to come out for a long time.

So, I need some confidence-boosting here. Please tell me your dentist & teeth horror-stories, and how you got through them. Anybody else embarrassed by their teeth? Anybody ever try this sedation dentistry thing? Know anything about it?

Also, last night the broken tooth really started to hurt. A few Advil have sort of numbed the pain, but it’s still there and I’m starting to wonder if I can make it until next Wednesday to see the dentist. Anybody have any home remedies or over-the-counter pain medication that might hold me over the weekend, at least?

2

I am anal about my teeth. I brush and floss twice a day. Use flouride rinse. Even have a dental pick. My teeth a shit. Every time I go to the dentist, I have a cavity. I’m due for a crown and a filling next month. I wish they made good dentures. I’d just tell the dentist, “yank em all, I’m going faux” Damn teeth have more holes than Sponge Bob Square Pants and are twice as porous.

3

I’m a lucky SOB who loved milk from a young age. 30, no cavaties & awake w/local for my wisdom teeth.

Home remedies… clove oil will numb the pain in a tooth & not taste as icky as ambisol.

4

Great teeth, but can’t spell…:rolleyes:

5

I looooove milk. I can’t get enough. Always have. Sadly, genetics are more powerful than 2%.

6

HAH! I, too, broke a tooth the other day, Oreo! And I, too, haven’t been to a dentist in years. I hate the flossing lecture, too. We’re teeth buddies!

It really isn’t all that bad. It’s unpleasent, but I found a dentist I really like. Who has TV you can watch. Which is nice. The cleaning was PAINFUL, though. I guess two years of tartar is a lot. Took the full hour, and she thought that she stood the danger of going over.

I don’t know about the sedation thing. I mean, sure, it’s OK for the proceedure, but then you have to let your mouth heal from all that work. As someone who is typing this with a fat lip from ONE cavity, I wouldn’t want a whole mouthful of work at once. I’ll take it bit by unpleasent bit, thank you.

One more cavity, and I’m done. woohoo!

7

I’d much rather go and have it all done at once.
I am absolutely phobic about the dentist.
I never go alone, not in a million years.

Oh, yeah, and I have to go again in two weeks thanks for bringing it up!

8

The last time I was to the dentist was my senior year of high school (I’m now a senior in college), and that was to get five baby teeth pulled. I was another milk-loving child, in 7th grade home-ec we did a study of what we ate for a week and even then I was drinking an average of eight glasses of milk a day. (is it any wonder I’m fat?) So some of my baby teeth didn’t fall out. They just didn’t. The new ones grew in on top of them, at funny angles and in weird places. So for a good while I had like a double row of canines,with the baby canines still in place and the new ones above and in front of them, and then my bottom canines were twisted squashed and twisted sideways to fit in the space because the baby ones never came out. It looked really weird. And it still looks pretty weird, because though I finally got the baby teeth pulled, I couldn’t (and still can’t) afford braces to push the adult teeth into place. Most of them sort of migrated on their own, but my top left canine is still way up high and out front, kind of overlapping the tooth to the right a little, with a bit of a gap to the left. You can only really see it when I smile really big, and I’m used to it so it doesn’t bother me. But it is weird. And I hate dentists and doctors in general (haven’t been to a doctor since senior year either, when they made me get a physical for college), and my teeth are still working just fine with it crooked, so I don’t really care.

Um… I don’t know if I had a point… I just have interesting teeth and I hate dentists.

9

I hate my dentist. I really do. He’s rough. I went for a cleaning about a year ago and my mouth was sore for hours afterwards. Just from a cleaning!

So anyway I put off going to see the dentist for as long as I possibly can. When I went for my crown about a year ago the denist said I’d need to get my wisdom teeth out in about a year. Well so far they’ve not done anything so I’m not gonna worry about them until something starts hurting. No need for any unneccesary dental appoints.

I brush twice a day but I don’t floss. I’ve had a few cavities here and there but they’re mostly straight. I’ve still got one baby tooth (I’m 19) and it’s crowned. There isn’t a permanant tooth under it so I’m gonna have to try to hang on to it for as long as possible.

10

I love the dentist. I love the way my mouth feels when my teeth have been freshly cleaned!

I haven’t had a cavity in 16 years. However, when I was little, I had quiet a few.

11

I’m certainly hoping this dentist turns out to be nice. Her website goes on and on about how their number one concern is their patient’s comfort, etc., and that if you’re afraid of the dentist, or embarrassed, that this is the place for you.

I hope they mean it. I’m seriously considering opening the conversation with the dentist with, “Look, my teeth are in awful shape. I know it, and I really regret letting it get to this point. Please, just fix them, and don’t lecture me. I know what I need to do in the future to keep this from happening again. I’ll do better from here on out, I promise.”

I always picture the assistants (are they called dental hygienists?) sitting around the break room, talking about me after I leave.

“Did you see her teeth? How gross! I’ve never seen teeth that bad!”

I’m sure this is silly, but I can’t help it.

The more I think about this, the more nervous I get. Be brave, Oreo, be brave…

12

dear me :rolleyes:

When I was 11 I had my two front teeth knocked out with a baseball leaving a large triangle shape.(I looked up to check where the sun was and in the meantime the ball smacked right into my mouth)

I caught the pieces in my hand when they fell out. After that, I had shitty dental coverage that afforded me plastic prosthetics that were tinted yellow (my teeth were pretty white).

Then, when I was 13 a dentist decided that I needed braces and because “I needed to make more room in my mouth”, so he yanked out two teeth on the top. (Count three back from your two front) These were perfectly healthy and it was later brought to my attention that I am in no need of braces and he was just scamming insurance.

January of this year I had beautiful crowns put on my two front teeth, you honestly cannot tell that they are not my real ones, and I have two bridges where the jerkface yanked out my good ones.

Oh yeah, I also had to have root canals done on my two front ones, and last year I had 4 molars taken out.

Dear lord I have spent a lot of time in a dentists chair. Luckily, I have ended up with a nice smile albeit a mouth full of metal.

I feel your pain =)

13

The enamel on my teeth didn’t form correctly - genetic thing, my mom and sister have it as well. Therefore, every time I went to the dentist when I was in middle/high school, I was sure to have to go back the next week to get a filling. Worst part was, the majority of them were in my front teeth - so needles into the front. You can feel it behind your nose…not fun. A few years ago, I had my front six teeth capped - definitely not fun in the process (cold! exposed nerves! cold!), but I had an awesome dentist, and he did amazing work. I actually was just in to the dentist a couple weeks ago, and the hygenist complemented me on the work - she said she couldn’t tell they weren’t real until she actually started working. Oh - and I have a wisdom tooth breaking through - a little late!

Susan

14

I’ve never had a cavity, and all of my baby teeth came out before my adult teeth grew in. I did have a big space between my two front teeth, though–like David Letterman. When I was ten years old, it was surgically fixed; they cut out a little piece of the gum, and when my 12-year molars came in, they pushed the front teeth together. I’ve always wondered what this procedure is called? I remember it being a “phrenectomy,” which it can’t possibly be :slight_smile:

I had all four of my wisdom teeth taken out the summer before I started college. Total sedation. The two top ones were stuck behind other molars, and would have grown into my sinuses; on the bottom, one was rotated forward and would have grown back into my jaw, and the other would have come out the side of my gums and into my cheek. So yes, it was good to get all four taken out–and before they’d grown roots, too, so I wasn’t awfully sore. Having my wisdom teeth out had been the major fear in my life, prior to having it done. It wasn’t bad.

I do still have just slightly too many teeth for my jaw, so my bottom incisors are a touch wacky. Once, my dentist talked about a night retainer to correct it, but he forgot about that and I don’t want to remind him.

15

More thoughts as the novacaine has worn off:
1.) Muliple people have told me that dentists have a higher suicide rate then anyone else. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it makes me feel better to think about that while he’s drilling the hell out of my head.
2.) I had all four wisdom teeth surgically extracted, because they were all fully impacted. They had to break all of them to get them out. My jaw was bruised, I got two dry sockets, and they gave me too much anestesia, so I was throwing up for a full day afterward. Oh, and the blonde idiot in billing screwed up my claim, and billed dental when she should have billed medical, which almost resulted in a $300 loss on my part. (I, of course, had to call the insurance company on a daily basis to get it fixed, not them) And that is why I HATE the dentists.

My new tooth looks perfect, although the lower jaw, where he filled a cavity, is still a bit sore. But I have feeling in my lips, and that’s a good thing.

16

I don’t mind going to the dentinst at all. I have never had a cavity in my life AND (at the risk of getting lynched here) only brush once per day in the AM.

I grew up missing 6 permenant teeth. 4 on my bottom arch and 2 on my top. The 4 baby teeth in the center were pulled (since they had nothing under them) and I had a bridge put in there. On the top I still have my 2 baby teech (both eye teeth). They are starting to wear down now (I’m 35) and the dentist says that they could probably come out without much effort at all.

My next appt is next week so I will have to ask him about yanking them and putting in something.

17

I had all of my wisdom teeth pulled in the Army…at the same visit…while I was awake…then I had to return hours later because my mouth wouldn’t stop bleeding. The lunatic Colonel who had preformed the surgery tried to give me stiches without novocaine. I refused and he called me a pussy. I laughed through my swollen chipmunk cheeks and said your damn right! I reported him and found out later that many, many people had let him give them stiches without novocaine! He got disiplined and demoted. So now I don’t mind going to the dentist…what’s the worst they can do? My teeth are good though. Have had 3 cavities in my life and brush and floss regularly.

18

I had to have my tooth pulled because it cracked. I was so upset and nervous. The dr. gave me something for bed and to take it again in the morning before the pull. By the time I got in the chair I knew nothing.

I woke up and said “I should have never let them take my breast” Everyone was confused.

I am now having a scaling done to the tune of $1500. The best part of it is the nitros oxide. The only thing is I think wierd things and am worried about saying something stupid.

I only have 2 cavities in my mouth and one is from when I was a kid and has a silver filling which the dr wants to replace. And the other is from a few years ago.

I hate flossing. Don’t do it.

I use an electric toothbrush cause I am lazy.

19

That’s a great line, “I use an electric toobrush cause I am lazy”!

I’m 33 and just getting my teeth in shape (orthiodontics, root canal etc).
I’m broke but I feel really good about it.

My dentist is awesome with a needle.

20

I had the same thing happen to me. A tooth broke. I went to the dentist and got some stopgap measures. I lived with it for a year before it broke again, and I realized I had to go to the dentist for the first time since I was in middle school.

The thought was terrifying. Even going in to the dentist to make the appointment left me in tears.

This dentist offered sedation dentistry. But I couldn’t afford it. But he offered me the next best thing (and a much better deal)- Xanax.

I had to have two root canals and crowns, one of them very nasty and involveing grinding down bone and stuff like that. Plus some ungodly number of cavities filled. But I didn’t care at all, because I was drugged out of my mind. I just sat there listening to music on my headphones and enjoying the pleasent vibrations for the drill. I’d even slip off to sleep. I didn’t even notice them performing one of my root canals. Then I’d go home and sleep like a rock for the rest of the day. No pain, no lectures (no use lecturing someone in la-la land). It was great.

It got to the point that I’d look forward to my next dentist visit- after all, it meant fun drug time.

So if you can’t really afford the sedation (I think they wanted $200.00 for mine), you might look into, although it might be hard convincing the dentist that your not some kind of drug addict.

It feels good to have a fresh start with my teeth again. And I have a nifty gold molar to boot. Makes me feel like a pirate. Arrrrg!