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!)