After my bragging about not having one until the age of 21 and none since 22... went to the dentist on Friday and (new, just out of school dentist who I didn't know I was getting!) she said I have SIX!!!!! I heard her talking to the hygienist though "I'm not sure if that's a shadow on the x-ray or a cavity but we might as well just fill it to be safe". I do NOT agree with that philosophy! I'm going to make sure my regular guy is the one I go back to for these fillings because I'm not convinced I really have developed SIX cavities in the last 6 months after going so long without any.

The hygienist suggested I might be starting to go through "the change" because your teeth change then too.. does that sound crazy to anybody else?

Dee

I have sealent on my back teeth to prevent cavaties and what's it called...flouride toothpaste. STupid braces.

I think I jinxed myself earlier in this thread. :( Last week, my dentist informed me that I have a very small cavity. Even though it's tiny, she wants to fill it so that it doesn't create any more of a problem.

The only dental procedures I've had were wisdom teeth extraction and gum grafting (that was fun :rolleyes: ). I've never had a cavity before this! WAHH! Does it hurt to get fillings done? I have an appointment tomorrow at 3pm. :eek:

I figured that while I'm there I'll get the stupid night guard to keep me from grinding my teeth. Also, I'll get my teeth whitened.

Luckily, my dentist won't do the silver fillings...only the white fillings. Nobody will be able to see my filling which is good.

nah, fillings don't hurt. I had one done years ago. It's just what it sounds like- a filling.

"while you're there" you're going to get your teeth whitened? The laser procedure takes at least 90 mins-- otherwise I'd have gotten this done last week along with my cleaning. Instead, I had to make another appointment and going in today for it. grr! I got hooked up with a discount too. $450 instead of $500. woot.

Actually, my dentist is doing that take home whitening special for $100. She makes the molding of your teeth and then gives you some bleach stuff that you wear for like an hour everyday for about a week. I think I can suffer for a week for whiter teeth. :D

The only downside to those bleaching trays is the possible teeth sensitivity that occurs with alot of people after the procedure. (But I think it goes away)

I have been very luck with my teeth - 21 years old with no cavities, no brace or anything. Quick question though, how do you know if your wisdom teeth have come in? I haven't been to the dentist for a while so i don't know how to tell.

If your wisdom teeth do break the gum surface, you'll actually be able to see them. You might have some soreness in the areas that they're growing (kinda like when you were little and your molars began growing in).

Your wisdom teeth could be impacted. In that case, they might not break the gum surface or, if they do, they can cause a lot of damage to nearby teeth. The best thing to do is go to the dentist and get an x-ray. They'll be able to see if your wisdom are formed and if they're impacted. Your dentist can then refer you to a oral surgeon if your wisdom teeth need to be removed.

I could feel my wisdom teeth coming in - it hurt like a mofo. I had already had braces so my teeth were perfectly aligned, but my wisdom teeth grew in at the old angle and started pushing on my molars - it was terrible!

I honestly can't think of a worse experience than a trip to the dentist. A bunch of jerks who couldn't get into med school and then sit there and terrify the hell out of you to get their kicks.

-Rudey
--Is there like a fluoride treatment you can give yourself other than toothpaste?

Bump...

I went to see my new dentist today, and I'm sad to say that my no-dental-problems streak has come to an end. :(

He was just complimenting me on the fact that my teeth were in good shape when the x-rays came back and showed a small cavity in one of my molars. And, I have enough tartar buildup that I will have to have several happy fun trips to the dentist's chair, under novocaine, to clean it all up.

I'm scared. :(

It will be okay. I was so nervous the last time that I went to the dentist because he thought that I might need root canal. Luckily, I didn't. Tartar removal and a filling aren't too bad especially if you are numb. Good luck!

I don't even want to go into what a clusterf&*k my teeth are. I didn't get my first one till I was 15 months old, and kept my baby teeth so long that some of them had to be pulled (to keep them from just disintegrating, as baby teeth aren't supposed to hang around that long). I still have 2 permanent teeth in my gum that have never come through. When I have a couple thousand dollars I don't need (har) maybe I'll have the oral surgery to get them out and the braces afterwards. oh, and I have fillings in pretty much every molar. My consolation is that hopefully since they took so long to show up, I'll keep them. My dad has had false teeth ever since he was around my age.

The younger you are the more likely you are to not have cavities, simply because pretty much all toothpastes are fluoridated now and so is the water. We had to take fluoride tablets in elementary school - obviously they didn't do jack for me.

Fillings aren't that bad. I got my first cavity about a year ago (haven't had one since) and I was so nervous the day that I had to go to the dentist to get it filled. I think the worst part of the whole thing is getting the novacaine. Other than that, you feel absolutely nothing. The area of the filling is slightly sensitive for a few days but you shouldn't need pain killers or anything.

Just make sure you really are numb before they start drilling. As long as you do that, you shouldn't feel anything but pressure. The first time I had a cavity, the dentist injected me 4 times and I still wasn't numb... but I was getting sick of getting injected, so I lied and told him I was. It was such a huge mistake. Now I know not to let them start until I know I can't feel a thing!

I've never had a filling or a cavity. Yay for me! :)

Mr. AKA_Monet is 33 yrs old and does not have any cavities or fillings!!!

But, my father is a dentist and has filled 3 cavities that I have over the course of 10 years. So yes, it is due to poor genetics and poor dental hygiene to mop up from the poor genetics...

What happens is that we tolerate the microorganisms in our mouths for years. However due to stress we cause in our lives, drinking too much--either alcohol, soda or hot drinks, we wear away our teeth, that added with the sugar is a powerful combination for the natural flora and fauna in our mouth to become opportunistic and digest our enamel... And if you have a genetic predisposition of weak enamel already or ability to have high sugar content in your mouth, then--there you go with your answer...

Diabetes runs in my family. So I am addicted to sugar due to poor energy usage in my body. This worsens my teeth. Then I cause structural damage because I am a chronic bruxist (I grind my teeth--it pisses my dad off to no end). So that exacerbates the dental problems I have...

And there are no meds for this...

I'll just have to try meditation--new age stuff...

Rudey- there is a floride treatment that goes beyond floride toothpaste. Due to enamel damage when I was younger, I use Oral B Gel Kam, which is a floride gel treatment that you leave on your teeth for about a minute. I get mine at the drug store, no prescription required.

Sealants, eh?

Hmmm, have to look into that.

I have 2 cavities.
But I think it is a trade off in my case: I didn't get teeth until I was a year and a half (my parents got xrays to make sure i had teeth). once those came in, they didn't want to leave and ended up having 7 baby teeth pulled in 8th grade.
my jaw is too small that i had a retainer and/or braces from 2nd grade to sophmore year of high school, my 12 year old molars never came in all the way, all 4 wisdom teeth were growing the wrong way, impacted, AND cystic.

did i mention the orthodontist gave me lock jaw? yeah. i think my mouth couldn't handle any cavities.



eta: of you people that don't have cavities (or that many) is your water treated with flouride/was it while growing up? most city water is treated, so i'm wondering if that is why so many of us have fewer cavities. its not all to do with it...but right now i'm studying trace mineral effects for my finals, and there is flouride, staring my back in the face.

No, the water isn't treated with fluoride where I grew up. I had to take supplements.

Anyway, I'm really scared because of something that happened to my husband about a year ago. I mentioned earlier in this thread that he'd had a root canal. Why? He went for a routine checkup and cleaning, and the dentist discovered a cavity forming under one of his fillings. So he redid the filling, only he f*cked it up and hit the nerve. Root canal time. I'm scared that when I go in to have my cavity filled or the tartar removed, my dentist is going to hit a nerve and then I will need a root canal. (Obviously I am seeing a different dentist!)

I HATE HATE HATE HATE the dentist. Any and all dentists, get away from me. This probably stems from the sadistic bitch I had as a child dentist because [/whisper] all dentists I have had since then have been nice [/end whisper].
But I still can't get over my utter fear and hatred of the dental community. I went for a cleaning monday, Two cavities later I have another appt for January to fill them. This is some BS i tell you, I brush, floss, rinse and do whatever. I am so over this. Its so bad, they gave me a small prescription for addivan (sp?) because I am so upset to go in there. The last time I was there, the dentist told me to stop looking at him like that because he wasn't hurting me. Suuuurrrrreeeee, thats what he thinks. I have to take a whole day off because I work myself up so much, that I crash and sleep all afternoon because of the adrenaline rush.

Sometimes the filling is extremely deep that it cannot be avoided. Dentists that have many years of experience can readily tell from looking at the x-ray and in the mouth if maybe the cavity formed will be too deep... Inexperienced dentists just go right in all the way without thinking...

USFSDTAlum--

If your insurance pays, then you need to see an "oral surgeon" for your routine procedures. Or, try to see a dentist that can put you on Nitrous. Because, you'd be labeled a big fat "8" on my dad's charts--crazy 8--for crazy patients... (the main reason why I chose NOT to become a dentist)...

My mother is the worst patient on the planet. She curses my dad out for hurting her. Scrunches her face when he works on her and he hasn't even touched her... The moans in pain when he hasn't even started the work!!!

I'm my dad's best patient, he worries if I am still awake when he works because I am so calm and quiet...

Go figure...

LOL.....
In a perfect world, any and all dental work would be done while I was asleep. It really is my only weird thing. I don't get anxiety at any other doctor, any other thing in my life. But I swear, the dentist gets me worked up and SCARED.
Honestly, the women dentist I had while a child was a monster. She would tell me that I was exagerating and that it didn't hurt as I was CRYING and trying not to be upset. Let me tell you, I have a seriously high pain threshold in general, and I'm not really a person who just cries to get attention. This isht HURT. And I'm dead serious, all my anxiety from the dentist stems from her. Its almost a learned behavior, you talk about dentists and my heart starts racing. I'm a normal, sane, calm, RATIONAL individual, until it comes to the dentist.

I can only guess that my husband's original dentist didn't know what he was doing. Either the cavity was deep enough that a root canal was necessary from the start, or the cavity wasn't that bad but the dentist just drilled too deep and hit the nerve. I strongly believe the latter.

Tell me about these sealants. I don't want any more cavities. One is one too many. :(

Sleep Dentistry
 

is the big thing here in Oklahoma. They put you out even for cleanings.

They give you nitrous, and then locals, they put head phones on you on whatever station you want, and cover you with a blanket. I seriously sleep through my procedures. I love it.

My big thing I had with dentists was when I was little I didn't like them putting tools on me or wiping things off on the bib you wear. My new dentist doesn't do that, though, I wouldn't know if he did, since I'm asleep. The one bad thing about it is that I have to have someone pick me up and drop me off at the dentist because I'm too out of it to drive usually.

I just went to the dentist yesterday. No cavities. I'm a lifetime member of the Golden Toothbrush Club.

I did have braces for three years-- sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Before the braces I had nine baby and two permanent teeth extracted. I also had my wisdom teeth extracted when I was seventeen to prevent their messing up my orthodontia.

I took chewable flouride vitamins as a kid, so my teeth are really strong. I also had sealants.

Oh, and I use a Sonicare. They really are the best.

I don't know myself about sealants. I would think they are a special "polymer" that "seals" the microscopic holes in your teeth due to the porosity of the the dentin... That's why bacteria get into the teeth, make acid that digest the enamel away, along with the general bit and grind of a person's mouth... So I would have to ask my dad why I don't have them...

Another thing about sleep dentists: they do cost $$$$$$. That million dollar smile is for a reason why it costs that much. So, if you want that extreme makeover, well it will cost you...

A dentist would have to be truly stoopid to drill too deep. Unless this person was not a dentist, not board certified or whatever... It sounds like there was cavity formation under the filling. That happens with alloy fillings, alot and they are only spose to last ~30 years... If he had composites, they last a little longer. If he had gold inlays, he'd be paying out the butt--but put in correctly, he'd have those for life...

My dad got pissed off with me because of that... When he filled my last two teeth, molars, I had grinded them down so much that even though he chose to fill them, I would probably wind up having to get a crown on them with a root canal because I ground them so much that I could break them... So, I havta wear my "nightguard" in the day, which I don't do...

Oh well...