Tell me about your teeth.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

My teeth are okay. Regular dental care from childhood to age 16 (when I got my braces and final retainer off–and all 4 wisdom teeth out). Then nothing until age 32 when I got dental insurance for the first time as an adult. After 16 years of no dental care and no flossing, I wasn’t in too bad a shape. I think I had two cavities, and I didn’t need scaling, either, just some rather intensive cleaning of the normal kind.

My dentist is great, his hygienists vary from rough to not quite thorough enough.

42

I have finally found my people! I have the worst toothache right now, and I too have not been able to work up the courage to even call the dentist.

My grandpa was my first dentist and he was great, so I don’t know where this paralyzing fear comes from. I had a sadistic SOB in grammar school and high school, but a nice (if slightly incompetent) old man since then. I just haven’t been back in two years because I have yet to have my wisdom teeth pulled like they told me to do in 1999. Right now, I can feel them decaying out of my head (or maybe that’s my imagination), while my other back teeth suffer because they won’t do the root canals and crowns till I get the wisdoms pulled (don’t wanna break crowns during surgery).

So now I have to find a dentist I like (shame and a nagging sense that he doesn’t know what he’s doing keep me from going back to the most recent one) and an oral surgeon who will put me so far to sleep I won’t know my own name to have the other ones pulled. This thread has steeled me to call tomorrow to set up an appointment though. I promise. No. Really.

43

PS wonder if a shot of tequila would accomplish the same thing? off to try, wish me luck! :wink:

44

I’ve had very good dentists over the years, as well as good orthodontists and oral surgeons.

When I had my wisodm teeth pulled I was eating pizza and playing basketball the same day; I still wonder what the hell is worng with people who say that they spent a week or so laid up after having their wisdom teeth pulled.

The only experience I’ve had that wasn’t that pleasant was after I had freactured my back upper left molar in a car accident and had to have it removed. I could teel by feeling it with my tongue that it was fractured in half, so off to the oral surgeon I went. he doped me up nicely and then got a pair of surgical pliers/clamps and proceeded to start yanking.

Nothing doing, beyond lifting me out of the chair.

Finally after 20 minutes of this he went and got a hammer and chisel and went ot town on the molar. I’d thought that nothing sounded more ominous/annopying/scary then a dentists drill until I heard the sounds the hammer and chisel were making on my tooth.

Her was finally able to get the molar out, but only after literally shattering it into 8 pieces, which was a shame because I had wanted to save the tooth as a souvenier.

Over the past three weeks I’ve had my first root canal done, which while it was more uncomfortable then having a cavity filled, wasn’t the end of the world.

One thing, has anyone else noticed an awful stench when the dentists is drilling into the actual tooth?

45

I’m cursed with bad teeth I think. I never drink any sort of pop or soda, very rarely eat candy or any other kind of refined sugar, and I brush my teeth religiously AT LEAST twice a day.

Last time I went to the dentist, I had 5 cavities. Yes, 5. So they filled them in. 2 weeks later, I was getting this sharp pain in a couple of the filled teeth whenever I ate something hot or cold. So I went back, and they re-filled them. Now a different tooth is doing the same thing. I don’t want to go back so I’ve been using that Sensodyne toothpaste and it workes rather well.

Really, it all depends on your dentist. All my life I went to the same dentist, and I absolutely dreaded the needles. Oh yes, they put that numbing gel on your gums before they stick you, but it never works. But now I go to a new dentist, and he’s so awesome - I can’t feel a thing when he works on me.

46

Going to the dentist isn’t generally as bad as most people make it out to be, even when some fairly major work is involved. Really. And I’m not even getting paid by the ADA to say that.

A couple of years ago, I had a bit of a kickboxing accident, receiving a kick to the jaw from a certain heavyweight champ. Not entirely his fault–I was falling down because the ring floor broke as his foot came up; the combined force was…impressive. My mouthpiece had come slightly out of position as I fell, and one jaw tooth on each side cracked under the impact. “Cracked” as in “shattered”, you understand. With much foreboding, I called the dentist.

The next day, the dentist looked around a bit in my mouth, asked me why I wasn’t screaming in agony, and informed me that I needed a double root canal and two crowns. I went back in the next day and walked out with two root canals and two temporary crowns, without ever feeling anything but a slight sting from the needle. My jaw was a bit sore from holding it open for hours, but I was able to eat supper that night.

Let your dentist take care of you, and don’t be shy about asking for extra shots if you need them. In the meantime, avoid anything hot or cold, brush carefully, and use an over-the-counter numbing agent like Anbisol.

47

So, DaisyFace, have you called yet? Hmmm? C’mon! We’ll do this together!

I almost wish my appointment were today. I’m having a heck of a Monday. Stupid tooth kept waking me up last night, so I’m working on about 3 or 4 hours sleep. Tooth pain has now spread to the rest of my head and neck, so I’m no Mary Sunshine to say the least. Top it all, tight deadline at work today so no lunch break for Oreo! And now the application’s down, so I can’t finish the project, so I can’t go home until they fix it. Who knows how long that will take.

grumble

Anyway, point is, I think if I were to face the dentist now, she could lecture me until she was blue in the face and I wouldn’t care. I’m in a “Yeah, yeah Lady. Whatever.” kinda mood.

On a cheerier note, thanks to everyone who’s replied so far. You really have made me feel better. Now I just can’t wait to get it over with.

48

Oreo, when is your appointment? Call the office in the morning and explain that while the tooth was not hurting when you first called, you have been in almost constant pain since Saturday morning. Most dentists will try to get you in sooner if you have pain. Calling will also let them know your first visit will be for more than just exam and consult.

49

I haven’t been in a couple of years, and I really should. My problem with dental work is the needle bit; once that is over, I’m not happy, but I’m better. I panic at the thought of needles in my gums, though.

I found a good dentist who advertised for cowardly patients, but since I’ve moved, I haven’t a clue. Mama Tiger (my mom) is possibly a hair more dental-phobic than I am so she hasn’t been in a while either. Her husband is one of those people who takes naps while he gets fillings. He doesn’t understand us.

The solution for me is nitrous. With that, I don’t mind that they’re sticking needles in my gums. And I get to feel like I’m floating.

But I HATE HATE HATE getting anything more than a cleaning done. HATE it. Pain is the only thing that’s ever motivated me to get to a dentist fast, when one of my wisdom teeth broke and the sharp edge started doing horrible things to the skin on the inside of my cheek. The tooth didn’t hurt, but my cheek sure did. I was just happy to have it quit hurting.

50

I’ve never had a cavity. However, I will share the story about the time I was diagnosed with five cavities.

Let me tell you a tale of unemployment. My dad lost his job last September, and, as a result, I no longer have dental insurance. The way that I was raised, however, dictated that I go to the dentist at LEAST once a year, and ideally once every six months.

Nine months after my last dentist appointment–which puts me in early this August–my mom finds an ad in the Yellow pages for a 50 dollar cleaning and exam with X-rays. Angel, she says, you should get your teeth cleaned here. I agree, being short on funds and long on desire for dental perfection.

So I go to this place. The person who cleans my teeth is really nice–we talked about astrology and Wicca–but does a really shit job of cleaning my teeth. Then, the dentist comes in. He immediately diagnoses me with five cavities.

I’ve never had a cavity in my life.

Numb with fear, I ask if he’s sure. He said he was, then proceeded to ask if I drink a lot of sugar soda and/or eat a lot of candy. It was then that I woke up.

I may be a bit overweight–nothing gross, mind you, but definately not skinny; I’d call it voluptuous ;)–but I do NOT drink sugar soda. I hardly ever eat candy. I don’t LIKE either of those things, and I crash if I have too much sugar. It dawns on me then that this is probably a scam. I look like I can afford to pay $500 extra for five cavities to be fixed–can’t help that, really, I can dress well on a small budget and my shoes still LOOK new and non-Payless–and, obviously, since I’m overweight, I must not pay any attention to my dental hygiene.

I realize that spending $100 to go see the real dentist is cheaper than filling even ONE cavity that I don’t have, so I make an appointment with them. They clean my teeth much more thoroughly. Then, the dentist comes in.

I have one hole in one of my sealant (sp?) on my 12-year molars. It’s not a cavity; I got the sealant 10 years ago and it’s getting old. I have nothing else that could be even remotely mistaken for a cavity. I thank him and tell him the story, then go on my merry way.

Other than that, no dental escapades. Never had a cavity, take good care of my teeth. I had braces for a couple of years, so my teeth are very nice and straight. One of my better features. Them and my non-candy-and-sugar-soda-fed voluptuous breasts.

51

how’s this:

i have a form of amelogenesis imperfecta. its where my teeth have little to know enamel on them and break down much faster than the average person’s teeth. when i was younger and i didn’t have crowns or bonding painted on them, kids would ask me if i’d drawn on my teeth with pencils, because they were grey in appearance. they’re also smaller than the average teeth.

so I’m 18 and I’ve reached the point where I won’t have a couple of my molars in a few years - they’ve almost worn down to the gum.

get crowns, you say.

yes, that’s what i say.

dentist says no. allegedly, my mouth is not done growing and crowning my teeth to protect them would not work at this point. let’s overlook the fact that my cousin - who is my age and has the same problem - had all of his teeth crowned by his dentist at 13 (we tried going to his dentist, but he’s not on our plan).

so i have to wait at least until i’m 21, i believe, before my dentist will even consider crowning my teeth.

here’s the best part: my dental insurance won’t cover this procedure - it’s “cosmetic.”
yes. making sure i have teeth in the years to come so that i can still eat solid food is cosmetic…especially when the teeth being crowned are primarily my MOLARS which aren’t SEEN by ANYONE unless i’m showing them on purpose!

so yes. at least you’re getting treatment. i get to sit here and make the years ive hated my smile 19.

52

I haven’t been to the dentist in probably ten years, and just decided to go back recently. I went, because I found one in the area who did the sedation dentistry thing, and I thought that sounded great. I had my checkup, and it turned out that I have 15 or so teeth that need to be worked on, all on different sides of my mouth, and ranging from very back, to front and center. They wouldn’t do them all at once, because I needed everything from a root canal to fillings, and thought it would take too long, and I wouldn’t be able to eat afterwards. They charge $300+ for the sedation part alone, and that is not covered by my insurance. After thinking on it, I decided to go with nitrous, which still costs me some out of pocket, but not nearly as much. I have been in twice (Root canal, 2 indirect and one direct pulp cap and lots of fillings) and haven’t felt a thing. I really don’t have much fear of the dentist anymore. If you really feel you need the sedation, go for it, but if not, try the nitrous, you might be pretty surprised at how well it works.
I was worried they’d lecture about my teeth, but I haven’t heard a thing, other than the reason I have so many cavities might be because we had well water when I was young, with no fluoride.

53

So, anyone want to hear how it went?

No?

Too bad…I’m going to tell you anyway.

Today was the big hurdle for me to get over, since my anxiety was really more about shame and embarrassment than fear of physical pain. So I was extremely nervous going in. Of course the assistant I was assigned to was a perfect, skinny blonde girl with the most perfect smile I’ve ever seen, but since she was super-nice and didn’t lecture me, I’ll forgive her. Actually, she was almost too nice. I guess she could tell I was nervous 'cause I got a lot of “what a trooper!” and "you’re doing great!"s. This was just during the x-rays, which didn’t seem like a big deal to me at all so I felt like I was being condescended to a little. But that’s okay. I’ll take over-nice to snarky any day of the week and twice on Sunday. The dentist was very nice, too, and very professional. They’re a really high-tech office, with everything computerized & digital. Some of their toys were pretty neat.

Turns out I was right about needing a quite a bit of work done. The tooth that’s been giving me all this trouble is going to need a root canal. Two of my wisdom teeth have cavities, so we’re just going to have them all taken out rather than spend money trying to keep them healthy over the years. (Both the assistant and the dentist seemed to think it was remarkable that I still had my wisdom teeth. Is it that unusual? I’m only 27. Maybe it’s just because they all four came in normally, and I don’t have crowding issues,etc.?) And I have a few other small cavities. I also need some “deep cleaning” since it’s been so long, which they said is probably all I need to get my gums back to good health.

Good news…the sedation dentistry is going to be very doable. Just $100 plus a $10 co-payment for the pills. That’s worth it to me. It means I can get most of this work done in one go.

I have a sort of giddy feeling of relief right now. As far as I’m concerned, the worst is over. I’ve taken the first step on the road to healthy teeth. Yay me!