i have not been to a dentist in probably 10 years

I dont understand this deep cleaning, bloody gum pockets (!!), wtf is wrong with you peoples mouths!? :/ I cant help feeling flossing is mostly bad for ones gums - it can cut the gums, and that isnt good. I only ever floss when I have actual food stuck in my teeth.

I am also strongly suspicous that some more shifty dentists will tell people they need cavities for no reason, to make more money. I mean obviously if you have a painful tooth, you know you need one. But what if you go for a checkup and suddenly you need a mouthful? I say - go see another dentist!

I floss every day. Probably 364 out of 365 for the last 10 years.

They were like "oMG you never ever floss we can tell from your gingivitis"

I was like "bitch when i was a kid i had real gingivitis and knoe what it feels like. I floss every night and if you are not listening to me you are a quack."

They told me I needed $1300 in dental work (no insurance) i was like fuck that i'm going elsewhere for a 2nd opinion. That was a fucking scary dentist visit.

Rainbow bum - good luck with a second opinion, sometimes I think they are just trying to pay off their in-chair tv systems and such.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AJ7Cy_19S8

2 extractions & a filling = I look like I've been in a bar brawl but it was painless and I got it on the NHS so it's all good mostly. Would like mouth to thaw so I can have a kebab tho.

i am going to the dentist tomorrow, for the first time in 10+ years

http://scribalterror.blogs.com/scribal_terror/images/2007/05/29/cmi695.jpg

i am afraid to even read this thread because i have not been to dentist in like 3-4 years

well i hadn't been in almost 10 yrs and now i need a bunnnnch of stuff done. but it's the way of the world. it'll get doine. my benefits are oK.

you know, we don't realize that these scary dentist ppl, they see a LOT of really bad teeth

i have a $600 dentist bill -- anyone have any hints for negotiating it down

can anyone recommend a dr in ny in the cigna network? i gotta go through my hmo...

i dunno i'm about to be on Empire in NY... meeting with the Benefits woman today.

Dr. Michael Herman is really great, 128 Central Park South I think. not sure if he's on cigna but maybe worth cheking

whoa Guardian is like really good, my new dental plan

i don't nkow why i said Empire before, what the hell is that

bell labs, ask these people:

http://www.docnet.org/physicians/phys_bios.asp?phys_id=1635

they are pretty pricey as far as dentists go, but they are GREAT. I TRUST them. I broke a tooth after not going to the dentist for 5 years. Went to some mcdentist who said I'd need a root canal when the dr was in next week and untill then there was nothing they could do and that I should just avoid eating with that tooth. BREATHING hurt. I went to the linked dentist the next day, nice little office in brooklyn heights. She said I might not need a root canal, I didn't get one, got a crown instead, and she put some temp ceramics on it to cover up the exposed parts prior to the crown.

And as i've said many many times. The tooth breaking SUCKED. It hurst and cost LOTS of money. Get cleanings and check-ups every 6 months people and don't let that happen.

And that dentists other device was to get a Phillips Sonicaire Toothbrush. I did and it was great. I stopped using it after a while and hadn't been there for 3 years. Went back and recently, had major cleaning and now am using the Philips again. It's expensive, but it's worth it. It's like getting your teeth cleaned every day. It's not one of those 20 buck ones that just spin around.

who's your dentist in brooklyn heights?

see the link.

i'll try them - lauren told me about a dentist who sounds great, but they don't take my insurance, and i'm afraid i will need stuff done.

I can't recommend her enough. You can go cheaper, hell, there's about a dozen dentists in queens right outside of the 7 train that offer real bargains AND free electric toothbrushes, but dental care isn't something I'm looking to get a bargain in. And if you have good coverage...when I had all that work done (the crown, etc) I had Met Life and it covered most of it.

I now have some shitty plan care of Freelancer's Union, and have yet to see how that'll pan out.

and I got it on the NHS

how do you do that? last time i needed any dental work done (all wisdom teeth out, 2000 - eek, 7 years...), i filled in all the forms and sent off all the proof cos i was so sure i would qualify - i was making like £200 a week gross (so, what, £168 net?) and living in london - i remember reading in the metro about average wages and discovering i was below the poverty line - and they told me i did not qualify for any help whatsoever.

We managed to register with an NHS dentist. We still have to pay charges, but my check-up and the subsequent treatment I had today are charged at NHS rate which is less than 50 quid for everything. I think if you have below a certain income you have to pay less, maybe right down to nothing. But the standard NHS charges aren't means tested and they're still a lot lower than private charges.

ok thanks. i am so confused! i didn't go private, i specifically asked about nhs dentists... ohwell. maybe next time.

The charges might've been a lot different in the past tho. The poster on the NHS site here says "since April 2006".

I'm so squeamish about bodies, teeth & especially gums that I didn't go for twelve years, and when I did I had to have nine fillings and three pure-black wisdom teeth chopped out of my gob. It was a good job I was on the dole at the time - it all came free and I got some sedation for the squeams thrown in.

That was three years ago, though, and recently, while eating a fucking ciabatta that I didn't even want, one of those big fillings came out, or a quarter of a tooth did -- I swallowed it and I'm no expert anyway -- and I have to begin again I reckon, this time paying, I suppose.

All four of my wisdom teeth have impacted...it wld cost $1200 to get them removed. I am kind of nervous abt spending this; I can fit it in my budget but it will hurt my 'oh shit my dog ate a tractor' emergency savings. Will my mouth be like 'eh, don't worry bout taking out those 4 weird choppers, we've grpwn used to them," or will it be like, "When will you please fucking mutiny these supposedly wise teeth, we are getting twisted into uselessness." ???

impacted meaning 'grown out,' I am 98% sure I am using it correctly but wanted to clarify in case I hadn't

I've got decent medical insurance, but the dental plan kinda blows. I always feel like I've been gipped every time I get a standard cleaning, so I end up going maybe once every couple of years. I'm a 2/3 times a day brusher and fairly regular floss-a. I'm probably tempting fate, but goddam I really hate going to the dentist.

i haven't been to the dentist since i was 15, and i only have one filling. i'm thinking i should get a check-up before i leave the country but i'm too scared about what might be secretly wrong with my teeth.

Do it before you have to pay for it w/insurance! You will seriously, seriously not regret it and it's probably nowhere near as bad as you think (went to the dentist for the first time in seven years to find "look ma, no cavities!").

Oops, I mean before you move to U.S., the country where you will get no decent insurance, if any at all.

I don't think impacted means anything until they start getting cavities or somehow going wrong on you? I think the reason dentists take out most people's wisdom teeth is that a) sometimes they're pressuring other teeth, b) they're harder to reach behind and tend to get cavities, and c) dentistry is a business. But if you have nice hard resistant enamel to begin with, maybe you'll NEVER get cavities in them! Just brush, mouth wash, whatever, be good to yr teefs.

If, sometime in yr adult life with a job & insurance, they show signs of problems and have to come out while your body still heals pretty well/quickly, then fine. I suppose one wouldn't want to be like sixty-something and then have to have major oral surgery with older-person healing times. But that's a long ways off.

That seems sensible & accurate. It's what I suspected, that it wasn't a danger will robinson thing & could be tended to when I have a Real Job.