posted
I seriously do. I do what I'm supposed to do. Brush, floss, blah blah. Go to the dentist.
But the strangest stuff happens to my teeth. Like, the four back molars, all the way in the back. They're weaker than my other teeth or something. Three of them have had chunks come out (chunks, I'm talking) for no reason. I didn't bite a jawbreaker or anything. They just...fell apart. It doesn't hurt, aside from the jagged thing.
This afternoon, the lone remaining fully intact back tooth came apart. A big bit off the back and side...came off. It doesn't hurt right now, it's just jagged. But this means another trip to the dentist.
I really don't like the dentist. My actual dentist--the PERSON--is a great guy. But novocaine wears off on me very quickly. So, dental work HURTS. Ugh. But I can't not take care of this.
I've had multiple fillings in my back molars. My dentist even remarked that I had very healthy gums obviously took care of my mouth. But I'm constantly fighting cavities.
Coccinelle has had a root canal in almost every tooth. She and her dentist are on a first name basis. They have inside jokes and special Christmas cards. For me, traveling is my hobby that sucks my money. For Coccinelle, dentist-visiting is her hobby and sucks her money. It has nothing to do with hygene and everything to do with genetics.
It's horrid, it's genetic, it's inevitable, and it's almost over because she's running out of teeth to root-canal, if I may use that as a verb. Still, the dentist is worth it. Right, Catherine? Right?
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
My dentist has remarked that I do have some of the strangest cavities he's ever seen. That looking at my teeth and poking at them with that metal thing, he wouldn't think I had cavities. But then he takes the x-rays, and the xrays say I do. So he drills a bit to look, and at first, he thinks the x-ray was wrong. Then BAM! the cavity is right there.
It wouldn't be so bad if the novocaine didn't wear off on me so quickly. One time he told me that I had enough novocaine that I shouldn't feel my face for the rest of the day. Twenty minutes later, I could feel stuff.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
mack, would sedation dentistry be an option for you? It worked wonders for me. The only problem is that you'd need Nathant to drive you home aftewards and keep an eye on you until it wore off.
Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Aw mack! I know exactly how you feel. Kat explained the relationship I have with my dentist perfectly. I've been one to two times a month for the past year and a half. She even gave me a birthday present.
You know, when I first started seeing this dentist, I hated it because the novocaine wore off quickly and I always felt what she was doing. I complained each time I went and after a few visits she started to numb me at the beginning and then again during the procedure if I ever felt anything.
One thing I've learned is that you should not feel pain. You have the right to request more and you can tell them to stop whatever their doing if it is painful. They can't tell, so we have to let them know. Sometimes people confuse pressure with pain, but if it's pain, make him stop!
My dentist also gave me a prescription for codeine which I take before going. If I'm doped up before, it takes the edge off.
Yeah- it's genetic. My dad's teeth are in the same rotten condition as mine are and I really do floss and brush. It's nice to finally have a dentist who believes me when I tell her that I do have good habits. Of course, part of my problem is the fact that I didn't have dental insurance for many years so the little problems became big ones.
Posts: 862 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah, it blows. My dentist is really good about loading me up with novocaine, but it just wears off so fast. Maybe codeine would be a good idea. Hmm.
I also don't have dental insurance at the moment. I have medical insurance, but when it came time to choose my COBRA coverage, I'd already used up my dental insurance quota ($1000 whole dollars )so it didn't make sense to continue that coverage.
If he has to do a filling, it won't be that bad. But it's such an odd break. It doesn't hurt, it isn't sensitive to heat or cold. He's yet to do a root canal with me, though there have been a couple close calls where he was able to put in a medicated filling instead of doing a root canal. It's very disturbing, though, to have your dentist say "DON'T MOVE" as you feel air passing over your exposed tooth. Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I was really stressed about getting a root canal but I found that it really wasn't that big of a deal. I was numbed up, and after the procedure was over I felt practically no pain. It was much better than a front tooth I had capped after an incident with a flag pole--I ate from a straw for three days and it was painfully sore for over a month afterward.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
My dentist tells me my teeth aren't very strong either. About a month ago I was brushing my teeth and a chunk came off one in the back. I went to the dentist to have it filled and asked him about another spot that was bothering me. Turns out it was where some tooth had fallen off. He filled it too. It took about 10 minutes. Costed $204. Posts: 925 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Sympathy and empathy. I currently have a temporary crown, and will be back for the permanent on Monday. In a few weeks, we'll be doing the same thing on the other side.
I use prescription toothpaste, with higher levels of fluoride. That's not working enough, so he wants to have me use trays every night. I'm resisting that, because I strongly suspect that will trigger my gag reflex. *sigh*
Some days I figure it would be simpler and less painful to just yank 'em all out and go with dentures. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Fillings here cost about $25, thank heavens! I managed to find a North American quality dentist here, which has me so very happy, and for the first time in my life, I don't need 3-6 injections per tooth in order to get a filling. This guy is goo-ood!
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have soft teeth so I've had my share of dental work, but brother has terrible teeth. The problems first became evident when he was a child. His teeth degenerated so fast that they could positively link the problems to the medications he had been taking.
Could your problems have a similar link?
Posts: 2425 | Registered: Jan 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Um, Sri Lanka. Oh, and those are the big huge almost no teeth left fillings, composite. Not amalgam, which I hate.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I seriously wonder that. I never had a cavity or any other tooth problems until a year after I had started my first psych medication. Since then, I've had difficulties with my teeth. My last trip to the dentist, I had SEVEN CAVITIES. I was in disbelief. My dentist was in disbelief. And despite my teeth cleaning habits, I had to go through the pain of having all seven cavities filled.
My dentist said dentures were a bad idea.
I'll be calling him tomorrow morning. I do wonder what he'll want to do with this tooth.
I wish there were some way to avoid so many dental problems when taking medications that you HAVE to take.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I hate my teeth as well. They are so overcrowded that my tounge's tip has been permenantly imprinted by them. My mouth's side has marks of the line that devides my top teeth and molars from the bottom.
Posts: 3389 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I love my teeth. My gums, however, aren't the greatest. Years after my gums have rotted away, my diamond-hard, cavity-free, flawless teeth are going to be sitting on a shelf somewhere.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Woooo! When the dentist first looked at my tooth, he said "We're going to have to cap it or pull it."
me=
Then he said, "Let me look at it a bit and see if I can fill it."
He looked. aaaaaand...he was able to do a medicated filling instead of having to pull or cap it. He DID say that if it cracked again or I started having pain, then he'd have to cap it. But he was willing to do a payment plan with me, and even gave me a break on the price of my filling.
We also used a lot of novocaine. He said, "I just put enough novocaine in your gums to paralyze a large monkey."
He had to give me novocaine twice more after that.
I STILL felt it. o_O Augh.
And I have another hour before I can eat. *hungry*
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Wall Bash]](graemlins/wallbash.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
)so it didn't make sense to continue that coverage.![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Grumble]](graemlins/grumble.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Oh, and those are the big huge almost no teeth left fillings, composite. Not amalgam, which I hate.
