Don't Put Off Going To Your Dentist.

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NecrosaroIII said:
I had my first root canal a few months ago. It wasn't too bad. The dude was pretty skilled and ample anesthesia was used.

Had a deep cleaning last week. They barely used any anesthesia at all. Was terrible. I have PTSD over it now
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Nope nope nope...I'll just be pulling that bad teeth, no way I'm going back to deep clean without being numbed!
 
sorry to hear about your problems OP. at least the tooth is out now! the worst part is over.

i have some impacted teeth on the left side that start to hurt now and again. was going to get them pulled last year but didn't have the money. probably have that done in a month or so...
 
Infected and impacted teeth shouldn't be fucked around with. Supposedly they can jack you up and even cause heart attacks due to infections and all kinds of nasty shit.

NecrosaroIII said:
I had my first root canal a few months ago. It wasn't too bad. The dude was pretty skilled and ample anesthesia was used.

Had a deep cleaning last week. They barely used any anesthesia at all. Was terrible. I have PTSD over it now
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Yeah I don't think I ever had one of those in my entire life until recently. Apparently I just had "regular" cleanings before that because they never had me white knuckling the arm rests like the deep cleaning did.

It felt like the dental hygienist kicked my ass and my gums throbbed for like two days afterward. The worst part was all the scraping behind the bottom front where everyone has tartar build up. Pain.

I'll go back because I'm not a pussy though.
 
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notseqi said:
Just the right amount of neglect.

#GLM
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I don't really see it as neglect, my gums and teeth are in great condition. The dentist was surprised as it had been so long since I had a cleaning, it's not like I don't brush or floss. I do the regular maintenance to keep my teeth and gums in good shape, I just don't go get a cleaning at a dentist as often as they recommend. I do sometimes wonder if those that go more often have more issues like my wife.
 
Dural said:
I don't really see it as neglect, my gums and teeth are in great condition. The dentist was surprised as it had been so long since I had a cleaning, it's not like I don't brush or floss. I do the regular maintenance to keep my teeth and gums in good shape, I just don't go get a cleaning at a dentist as often as they recommend. I do sometimes wonder if those that go more often have more issues like my wife.
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Some people have a favourable mouth conditions, good saliva, the right teeth, whatever. I walked the earth mostly unblemished teeth-wise until the deep fissures came into play.
Enjoy them while you got 'em.
Not actually calling you on neglecting your teeth, some people can get away with more than others.
 
I really feel for some of you others who have posted basically, outright horror stories about some of your experiences. Having to wait months to get emergency treatment, essentially? Get the gun and a bullet ready then. (Not really, but Christ, the pain can make you want pretty much that just so it ends.)

I'm recovering from my surgery yesterday well enough. Have enough gauze and have been rinsing with salt water to help keep the socket clean and free of any further infection. Antibiotics have started to kick in and half my face doesn't look an inflated balloon. Very cautious on what I eat, so I bought a bunch of soup and other "Soft" foods to ease the transition. (Noodles, other pasta, lots of soup, protein shakes.)

I've the utmost respect for dentists and doctors in general (Basically all medical staff during this time, really) for being able to literally make my daily life better in a short time. I know a lot here have mentioned they have had awful experiences with dentists, and trust me, I get the anxiety over it. I nearly ripped off the armrests after some sessions. But I've had multiple root canals and... They weren't that bad? Perhaps 40 years ago or something, but what I experienced, the worst pain was having to hold my jaw open for extended periods of time. Otherwise, plenty of anesthesia to go around. I wouldn't recommend getting one, but hell, if you must... modern dentistry is pretty good these days. I watched their 3D printer make a new tooth for me years ago and it looked and essentially felt like a normal one, minus the nerve or anything.

As said above though, I let my one tooth go too long and was lucky still that it did not infect any worse as it can lead to very serious issues. My brother has a friend who was in a similar situation and he ended up in the hospital for 3 days via the emergency ward. They don't give a flying fish about how you really feel in comparison to the dentist apparently, so much less importance on freezing the affected area. THAT terrifies me.

Hell, even yesterday, as frozen as my mouth was... I could still feel the pressure of my tooth being cracked and pulled out. Again, no pain, but an extremely offsetting sensation.

It was either that or risk serious health complications, so it was the right choice.

I know it's not easy for everyone because we all have different situations. Just try and care for your teeth as much as you can. Once we're adults, we only get one set of teeth, after all.

The best part now though? I *actually* slept last night for a full night of sleep. First time in a month that I haven't woken up with shockwaves of pain from either sensitivity or sleeping on the side of my face that was all swelling up. It really puts things into perspective for me now that I can function without migraines or the like constantly assailing me. The world just feels like a better place and that I'm capable of anything again.

I hope those of you in need are able to get your issues looked after as well. It's absolute hell suffering tooth issues. Better to fight your fear and go forward, no matter how bad it may seem.

P.S. I also left a glowing review for my dentist online because, well, see above. On such short notice they helped me tremendously.
 
Erdrick said:
I could still feel the pressure of my tooth being cracked and pulled out. Again, no pain, but an extremely offsetting sensation.
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I had heard about some military using helmets with integrated 'bone speakers', sound is transmitted through vibrations applied to the top of your head. I could never imagine how the well the sound would travel until the dentist went to work on cracking some shit off a wisdom tooth to clean a broken off part. Makes you feel like a tuning fork.
 
i got pretty lucky with my teeth, think i was the only kid in my class who didn't need braces

35 years old, some smaller cavities filled w / composite material, one root canal that i'm not so sure i needed

get yourself a sonicare and floss every day, limit your sugars and drink water
 
I missed my last cleaning in the midst of the virus shutdown. I really do need to reschedule but ugh I hate the fuckin dentist
 
I think I had like a 10 year window of not going to the dentist. I know it is awful. I went while I was in another country cause my buddy was super paranoid and suggested some dental places. I went or a cleaning and found out I had 2 profound cavities. They strangely didn't want to resolve them in the next same visit so they scheduled 2 more visits. I got one fixed. The next one was like the following week for whatever reason. Turned out to be a bit too late as I developed severe pain. It was during holiday so I had to wait like 3 days to get it resolved. Which sucked... Turns out they were not sure they could save my tooth. They treated the tooth but were unsure if it could be saved. Second visit a few days later they told me my tooth could be saved and that the treatment worked but I would need one more visit to finish the process. I went back and they saved it. The whole process cost only $35 for saving my tooth.
 
A little follow up from my dental adventures:

I was experiencing various pains on both sides of my mouth due to tooth damage or decay over the years. As I did not want a repeat of my OP, I went right to my dentist for the 3rd time in 2 weeks and heard the grim (But not as horrific as it could have been) news.

5 cavities.

One of them being a literal hole in my rear molar at the back and a filling that had long since broken and thus needed redoing to cover my broken tooth. I feared that I would need root canals for all 5 but luckily for me, the cavities are mostly small and easily filled.

I got the most serious one filled yesterday and had a deep clean of all my teeth as well (Just over $500... I really miss my medical insurance...) I appreciate that they waived the dental exam and my X-Ray fees. It saved me about $100.

I'm going again on Tuesday and then for the next few weeks in 2 week intervals so it wont ruin me financially, doing one job at a time in terms of most severe.

I also am going to buy an electric toothbrush and hopefully it will help in maintaining my teeth, as poor as they are at this point.

It's going to run about $1050 for the whole thing but honestly, to have peace of mind and no longer fear the act of eating as I have for the past half year... I'll gladly accept that.
 
I go to the dentist once a year, I played hockey when I was a teen and my top 6 front teeth and 3 bottom are implants as they were all lost in fights or accidental strikes.

Back teeth are more or less ok except I grind them
 
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The trick to root canals is have them done early. If your dentist tells you that you need one then don't wait until your tooth is killing you before going for it. I've had 2 root canals done early and they were nothing. (The first one was broken up into 4 sessions of 1 hour each. I needed a little ice afterwards.) Oh and for those that don't realize it those infected teeth can absolutely literally kill you if it goes septic. (Which it sometimes does. If that stuff gets into your blood you're in trouble.)

Oh one last thing. The nice thing about electric toothbrushes is that they tell you how long to brush. For example the way mine works is you brush one quadrant of your mouth and when it pulses you move to the next quadrant of your mouth. When it pulses a bunch of times that means you're done because you've done all 4 quadrants.
 
Oh and I've had 3 implants as well. Since I'm nervous I got IV demerol/valium cocktail. You could have run me over with a truck and I wouldn't have cared.
 
I had no idea electric toothbrushes were so advanced. Bought one that isn't crazy expensive but not super cheap either. We'll see how it goes. It has a sensor to determine if I'm brushing too hard, for example. Some of the other ones... You can connect it to your phone? Hah. Neat.
 
After not going to the dentist for 10 years I broke a bit of a tooth off, and decided to get it over with. $1000 worth of unfucking my mouth later I have to get twice the normal amount of cleanings for the rest of my life to stave off a degenerative bone disease in my gums.

If it's been a few years go to your fucking dentist folks.
 
To follow up from the original post... I did my last few fillings out of the whole mess of work that I needed done since January on Tuesday this week. My dentist was kind enough to do the last 2 in one session and only charge for one, the cheaper one, no less. Much appreciated. Saved me $244 and some change. I went basically every 2 weeks from January till this past Tuesday and spent around $2100 total. I sure as hell have been making a better effort to keep my teeth in better shape since. Much more brushing and flossing with an electric brush instead of a manual one. Don't ever want to endure that hell I did on Xmas morning ever again. Yeah, I'm missing a tooth now, but no more pain and I can eat without fear again. I've also cut back on sugary/junk food in general to lessen the damage done.

Much thanks to my dentist and her assistant who genuinely improved my life considerably over this year so far. I go back again at the end of July for another cleaning and checkup but insurance or not, I'm never going to neglect going to the dentist again. Absolutely not worth it. I'm also eternally grateful for the grace of not needing any root canals with no insurance. I've had them before so whatever but my wallet wouldn't be doing great if I needed these instead of the amount of fillings that I got.

Tldr: Brush and floss.
 
I love going to the dentist, considering how much bad teeth can fuck up the rest of your body it is a no-brainer for me. Actually went for cleaning two days ago, had to do the Covid test in order to do that.

A few years ago got all my 4 wisdom teeth pulled in order to straighten the teeth. 2 went in 10 minutes, two others was an hour struggle each. Didn't feel much but it was still uncomfortable.
 
I used to have huge anxiety to go to the dentist and generally not so good tooth hygene I guess. Wisdom tooth literally SAVED all my teeth because a couple years back it grew out and started bleeding so I went to the dentist that was on emergancy and he pulled it. Along the way he had me make an appointment to do a generel cleaning and checkup. I was spitting pure blood after my first cleaning, I shit you not. My tooth flesh was that swollen... Had 2 or 3 more appointments after that to fix a hole here and there and have been going to him every 6 months for a general cleaing and checkup ever since. I also started flossing and being more through with my cleaining along the way.

Never had any problems since. Like I said, that bloody wisdom tooth literally saved me. My teeth would have probably be beyond repair by now if it wasn't for it.

TLDR

OP is right, go to the dentist
 
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With so many responsibilities and not enough hours in the day, it doesn't surprise me to hear about people bypassing brushing their teeth and heading straight to work. As morbid as it may sound I believe it's good to have a cavity at least once in your life to make you appreciate how valuable your teeth are.

The same situation happened to me in 2019 where the cap of one my pre-molars snapped off entirely leaving exposed decayed pulp on display. Annoying the molar next to it had suffered the same fate.

Before then I had little experience with the dentist and was average with my dental care, but I tell you this, I never brushed more violently and vigorously when I was faced with losing a tooth, to the point my gums were scarred and ripped. The dentist mentioned them and said it was too late for those teeth, but the to appreciate the others.
 
I went to the dentist several years ago because of tooth pain. I will never forget hearing the dentist say "it's a gusher". I go to the Dentist regularly so I was surprised my tooth was so bad.
 
i have been to the dentist twice in the last 7 years.

one time, about 7 years ago, was just a regular check up and everything was fine. the other time, about 2 years ago, i was getting bother with my wisdom tooth because there was an infection. they actually refered me to get them all removed but never did hear anything back and never bothered chasing it up. only just a few weeks ago i had the same pain again and bought some antiseptic mouthwash (which is what my dentist gave me first time) and that cleared it up. if i've got this far with my wisdom teeth then i'm sure i'll be fine.

other than a bit of sensitivity at my front bottom tooth my teeth are fine. i brush twice a day, floss, mouthwash, and if there is any placque build up i'll remove that. i actually get complimented on how straight + white my teeth are.
 
I had a molar that broke about 8 years ago and never did anything about it as it didn't bother me. My wife convinced me to get it removed, so 4 weeks ago I went to the dentist to get the tooth removed. The extraction went fine, but now 4 weeks on half my tongue and my gums are still numb from the Novocain. Really annoying, I now have a slight lisp because of it and drinking and eating anything feels weird. Seriously can't stand going to the dentist!
 
Lucky enough to live in the the UK where I have an NHS dentist, so never have any issues with going in for a check up. It's super cheap and not a stress. Can't imagine what it's like to have to worry about the money. Feel bad for anyone who does.
 
TeezzyD said:
My dentist retired during Covid and I need my wisdom teeth pulled, and also two of my fillings fell out last week.

I''m a mess rn tbh
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Thats a completely different type of dentist. The wisdom tooth ones are almost like surgeon types because sometimes your wisdom tooth will grow completely sideways. A regular dentist won't do that type of incision. Plus you need a very heavy hand to pull out a wisdom tooth and not break it in half.
 
I've had a bunch of work done over the past year. Had a root canal and crown put in right as the pandemic hit last year, then i had another root canal just last month. Both times I paid several thousand dollars. Teeth are expensive as fuck in the US. But it is an important investment.

I have a lot of cosmetic work that is needed on my front teeth, and have for a long time, but it will cost a lot of money. They are telling me to get veneers but I am not sure. They are very expensive. Currently looking at other options...
 
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Funny that this thread popped back up again because I've finally been able to get appointments since COVID last year! Now I'm scheduled for a lower back teeth removal (the tooth destroyed by cavity) next week and I'm sweating. Wife said they will numb (with injection!!!!!) and then pull the teeth right in front of you while you're awake 😱! Then I have 2 deep cleanings after (what exactly does this mean exactly and should I be worried more?). Not looking forward to anything!
 
e&e said:
Funny that this thread popped back up again because I've finally been able to get appointments since COVID last year! Now I'm scheduled for a lower back teeth removal (the tooth destroyed by cavity) next week and I'm sweating. Wife said they will numb (with injection!!!!!) and then pull the teeth right in front of you while you're awake 😱! Then I have 2 deep cleanings after (what exactly does this mean exactly and should I be worried more?). Not looking forward to anything!
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1. Teeth extraction - you will not feel anything. I had 4 wisdom teeth pulled out, the side of your face will feel numb for 2-3 days but that's it.
2. Deep cleaning mostly means they will remove the residue from your teeth, mostly as a result of drinking coffee, wine or just having highly mineralised saliva. They can either do it using a drill, or high pressure sodium solution (think of it like using Karcher car cleaner on your teeth).
 
Got like 2 holes and 1 broken tooth, fuck going to the dentist. Will wait first for a vaccination.

But yea if your shit gets infected u are sol.
 
Cyberpunkd said:
1. Teeth extraction - you will not feel anything. I had 4 wisdom teeth pulled out, the side of your face will feel numb for 2-3 days but that's it.
2. Deep cleaning mostly means they will remove the residue from your teeth, mostly as a result of drinking coffee, wine or just having highly mineralised saliva. They can either do it using a drill, or high pressure sodium solution (think of it like using Karcher car cleaner on your teeth).
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But the needle! 😱
 
e&e said:
But the needle! 😱
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In my experience, my gums and surrounding area that was to be worked on was numbed with anaesthetic via swab first, then once it was sufficiently numb, I had 1 (sometimes 2 doses) of further anaesthesia applied via needle directly before any fillings or extraction occurred. There is absolutely tons of nerve and sensitive area there, however with sufficient freezing, you don't feel an iota of pain at the time. I stayed awake through it all, and it's not as horrific as it sounds. Trust your dentist and know that the main priority for them is to make sure you aren't in abject pain or discomfort. After a few hours, feeling will return, and you might have sore gums around the area but you'll be better off than not having a professional look into any issue you may have and letting it further decay, swell, be infected, etc. Yes, you will feel some movement and the like if you're having an extraction but the pain should be null to minimal. I know some people who either refuse anaesthetics or do the opposite and want to be sedated and knocked out for the process. I just closed my eyes and let my dentist do her thing. 100% better off than a year ago in regards to teeth, albeit missing one that was infected and needed to be extracted in January this year. (See my original post in regards to that.)

The payoff is that I don't have abject fear when needing to eat or drink due to pain. My mouth is not in the best of shape, and it wasn't fun spending that much money over the past 4 months but the peace of mind and being able to actually enjoy food and drink again is absolutely worth it.

Brushing, flossing and regular checkups are a much better route to follow. But don't lose hope if you have issues similar to mine. Dental care and work is quite advanced these days and can often surprise one in what can be fixed, repaired or salvaged.
 
I just went to the dentist for the first time in 9 years. I was having sensitivity with one tooth as I think I chipped it biting into an apple. And behold, it's a small partial chip but nothing severe enough for the dentist to work on. Suggested to use Sensodyne and they'll keep monitoring.
No cavities and gums are fine. Definitely will go back for my 6 month checkup as well.

Why 9 years between visits? Mainly because I got damn lazy and a fear of my teeth being worked on.

Very fortunate to not have any cavities after all this time and no other issue outside of that partial chipped tooth. Not everyone is lucky though. Bad gums run in my family and it skipped me.
 
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Erdrick said:
In my experience, my gums and surrounding area that was to be worked on was numbed with anaesthetic via swab first, then once it was sufficiently numb, I had 1 (sometimes 2 doses) of further anaesthesia applied via needle directly before any fillings or extraction occurred. There is absolutely tons of nerve and sensitive area there, however with sufficient freezing, you don't feel an iota of pain at the time. I stayed awake through it all, and it's not as horrific as it sounds. Trust your dentist and know that the main priority for them is to make sure you aren't in abject pain or discomfort. After a few hours, feeling will return, and you might have sore gums around the area but you'll be better off than not having a professional look into any issue you may have and letting it further decay, swell, be infected, etc. Yes, you will feel some movement and the like if you're having an extraction but the pain should be null to minimal. I know some people who either refuse anaesthetics or do the opposite and want to be sedated and knocked out for the process. I just closed my eyes and let my dentist do her thing. 100% better off than a year ago in regards to teeth, albeit missing one that was infected and needed to be extracted in January this year. (See my original post in regards to that.)

The payoff is that I don't have abject fear when needing to eat or drink due to pain. My mouth is not in the best of shape, and it wasn't fun spending that much money over the past 4 months but the peace of mind and being able to actually enjoy food and drink again is absolutely worth it.

Brushing, flossing and regular checkups are a much better route to follow. But don't lose hope if you have issues similar to mine. Dental care and work is quite advanced these days and can often surprise one in what can be fixed, repaired or salvaged.
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Forgot to update and say I got my teeth pulled. Went in, got the 2 numbing needles (the goddam second needle gave a nasty pinch), then half my face was numbed. Then the dr got the pliers and my eyes popped open so he had to calm me. Jammed the pliers in my mouth and started yanking. Luckily he was talking me through what he was doing which made me surprisingly calmer. He then pulled out what I thought was a mini electric cutter and started cutting. Then got the pliers again and this is where the horror story begins: MY TEETH BROKE AND I ALMOST SWALLOWED THE DAMN THING! Absolutely mortifying when the Dr had to tell the assistant to make sure I don't swallow my tooth! He obviously had to calm me down to not worry. Minutes later I was done. I was quite surprised how quick it was. I didn't feel any pain at least...until 2 hours later goddam!

The worst thing I realized after the extraction was that foods can and will get into the hole that was left back and it's painful! Absolutely annoying too! Was in pain for a week after surgery. Was freaking out that the pain was supposed to go away after like 3 days and here I am 1 week later. I woke up the 8th morning and the pain was gone! Now I just have a hole in gum (which is supposed to grow and fill (?)). No pain though and I can eat without food getting stuck in teeth hole and causing pain.

Today I went for cleaning and later I will go for fillings. My god what a ride! Time to straighten my teeth now and floss floss floss so this doesn't happen again!
 
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I have a dentist appt tomorrow at 7am. Some fillings and a crown, I believe.

My treatment has recommended veneers for the front 4 teeth. Think I might be fine w giving up eating apples and stuff to finally have a nice smile.
 
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It went really well this morning. Got a filling and an impression taken for my bridge, for which I'm coming back in a few weeks. The radio station was set to 80s so i was in heaven listening to Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks (multiple songs), Bon Jovi, The Cars, Toto, all that boomer shit. Was in there about an hour and a half and I heard 867-5309 played twice LOL.
 
Just go every 6 months. Then it can just be a light cleaning and shooting the shit with the hygienist. I got a mouthguard last visit since i was grinding my teeth a little and its been a lifechanger.
 
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