In theory I am all for not going unless something hurts. The problem is that I had a tooth that was just crumbling, and it didn’t hurt, so I ignored it. Now I have a nice new crown, and a rather large running dental bill. If I’d waited until it hurt, I don’t think I’d have a tooth there anymore, which would suck even more than the crown and the bill in the long run.
I’m going to try to get in at least yearly, just to catch anything. I have a dentist that I like, he’s excellent at handling my rather considerable anxiety. I actually walk out of the office in a good mood.
“I’m afraid you’ve got calculus on your teeth. See that there? That’s a second-order partial differential equation on your right back molar. And that little spot on your gums there? Fourier series…though it might be a Taylor expansion, I’ll need to do some tests first.”
If you’re having a lot of pain, your gums are inflamed from all the bacteria and other crap that’s been festering up in there. Scraping around healthy gums shouldn’t be particularly painful. Just yesterday I had my follow-up visit after having periodontal scaling, and there’s a huge difference between how painful the cleaning was this time versus 8 months ago, when I had my first cleaning in…well, long enough that I’m not exactly sure how long it had been. I’ve still got a few tender pockets that aren’t healing as well as the rest of my mouth, but other than those spots, it wasn’t painful. A little uncomfortable, yes, but not painful.
Are you sure about that last bit? All my life, I’ve heard six months as the standard interval for prophylactic cleaning. I mean, my cheap-ass, won’t-pay-for-any-periodontal-work dental insurance pays for two cleanings a year. I just can’t see them paying for that if it weren’t standard preventive care, you know?
My dentist has suggested that I get my teeth cleaned every four months, actually, to stay on top of my periodontal disease. And since this is a man who goes to great pains to point out the drawbacks of the more expensive option and the advantages of the cheaper option, I don’t think for a second he’s trying to rip me off. If he makes a recommendation, I have complete confidence that he’s got sound medical reasons for doing so.
But, to me it’s like your tailor telling you you need a new pair of pants every six months.
Or your bartender telling you you need a drink every day.
Let Ralph Nader tell me I need to go every 6 months, or an independent health watchdog organization, not the dentist, or the ADA.
I mean, I didn’t go for 5 years. My gums were sore, but she didn’t think they were unhealthy. They weren’t pulling away. They weren’t really inflamed. The cleaning was a little more aggressive but that’s it.
I’m not even sure that brushing twice a day is the best option. My BIL, who is French, brushes only once per day and he thinks twice a day brushing damages the gums and enamel. And if we can’t look to the French for good hygeine, where can we look?
I kid, but I think he’s onto something too. (he also wonders why we call it a “toothbrush” when you use it for all your “teeth”)
There’s just no one looking out for you in Dental World.
Who’s putting that “stripe” on your toothbrush? The toothbrush company! Yeah, it’s in their best interest to give you the most cost-effective recommendations.
“Jim, we need to see 5% growth again this year, but everyone already has a toothbrush.”
“Well, we could lower the time it takes for that little strip to disappear.”
“But, we’re already down to 2 months. We can’t go any lower Jim.”
Anyone have, or have any opinion on, gum graft surgery? My dentist is pushing hard for me to have it in one area where the gums have receded. Insurance will pay for most of it (leaving a $300 or so deductible), but I’ve been stalling because I’m not really anxious to get it done. Don’t want to deal with the pain, recovery time, and inability to eat solid foods for a while unless it’s really necessary, and I’m not completely convinced it is.
I’m pretty resistant to their upselling, though… I did eventually get (and continue to use) a night guard, but it took about three years to talk me into it.
Two problems there : the first and least important is that by the time it starts hurting for real, it’s probably already too late and you’re in for a root canal or worse, a pull.
The second is that it’ll start hurting on a Saturday evening around 10 PM :).
I had it way back in junior high school. The gum line on my lower front teeth was receding, and in one place it was torn or something. The surgery worked; the gum line in that area looks completely normal. I still have a sizable scar on the roof of my mouth, but it doesn’t really bother me. By the way, I highly recommend being knocked out for this procedure.
I go every six months because if I don’t my gums start to bleed. However, I am entirely comfortable with the notion than many other people can go longer. It would be strange if there wasn’t variation between people.
I try for three times a day because, based on empirical experience, that’s what works best for me. Again, I am totally comfortable with the notion that individual needs for tooth brushing vary considerably due not only to diet but tooth and saliva composition.
Same here. Didn’t realize how lucky I was to have a competent dentist, who actually listens, too (lets me skip the Novacaine, because I’d rather have five minutes of pain than five hours of numbness).
As someone who hates Novocaine numbness more than almost anything, allow me to share a recent discovery: OraVerse, a shot that is like a Novocaine antidote. And they give it to you while you’re still numb, so you don’t feel a thing. It’s the best thing ever. No more chewing your tongue off trying to eat lunch with a numb mouth.
Oh boy, me too. I’m sure I’ll want anesthetic if I need a root canal someday or something grisly like that, but for the occasional ordinary cavity filling I’d rather skip the prick and just get drilled. Um, well, you know what I mean.
Forgoing anesthetic injections is also my personal yardstick for dentistical competence. Over the years, the dentists I’ve had who were willing not to use Novocaine on request have always been very good and reliable, while the one or two who insisted on giving the injection left me very unhappy with their work.
I’m with you…I hadn’t been to the dentist in close to ten years because I really disliked going. But the pain from my impacted wisdom teeth and my numerous cavities finally became too much for me to put up with.
So I submitted myself to the tender mercies of a new dentist, who, on the first visit, promptly stuck a sharp pointy thing into one of the cavities and was surprised when I whimpered. “Oh, does that hurt? I’m SO sorry.” Riiiight.
Somehow he convinced me that I’d have an easier time of it if I let them put me totally under (sleep dentistry, he called it) when I came to get my cavities filled. And because I really really hate going to the dentist, I let him put me under because I thought it would be easier for me and I wouldn’t be as stressed out.
I swear, if I hadn’t been so goofed on nitrous, I would’ve been crying. They needed to insert an IV for the sleep dentistry and the guy putting it in didn’t seem to know what the hell he was doing…he had to stick me like 4 times in order to get it ‘in a good spot’.
A few months later, I had to have my wisdom teeth out and they needed to knock me out again. The nurse (or whoever she was) didn’t turn the nitrous up enough and this time, the guy had to stick me NINE different times before they found a good vein. I know I’m not the easiest stick in the world but DAMN. After the third or fourth time, I was really tensed up beacuse I knew they were going to keep sticking me till they found a good one and I was trying not to cry. Knowing there might be kids in one of the other patient bays, I was also trying my best not to cuss at the poor dude. I kept saying things like “Son of a truck driving platypus!” and cussing in Klingon.
Finally, surgery’s over, seems to have gone well except for the fact that there is a rock-hard swelling along my jaw. I freak out and call the dental office, only to be told that’s normal and to just take my pain pills and use the stupid nasty prescription mouthwash which causes me to have the WORST heartburn ever.
Bleh.
I need more work done, but I’m so tempted not to go back after those experiences.
