i have not been to a dentist in probably 10 years

My sympathy, that sounds like no fun.

So far my 4 back lower teeth are p screwed. TBH I just hope I can keep the chaos at the back where nobody can see it.

I saw the orthodontist and I might get a splint which AFAIK is like a mouthguard which does the double duty of being shaped to make my nasty teeth line up where they're supposed to instead of just at the back. That's phase 1 of a horribly expensive 4-stage, 4-year plan which I'm really not sure about, but I might do the splint anyway and hope it gets me out of bad habits...

read this thread at lunchtime, thought "i should really do something about that." Just shattered a molar on a peppercorn :(

sorry to hear & good luck sktsh!

Just had a tooth drilled out and refilled, but at least it didn't have to come out like the one above it.
Got another being done tomorrow.
Lovely.

i would totally get veneers if i could afford it.

xps thanks!

I'm kinda grateful for the broken tooth now, because it turned out to be pretty surface level stuff that waseasily fixed, but I had a bunch of cavities that needed urgent work. Had my first bit of treatment yesterday and apart from a bit of a sore jaw and huge guilt at having let this happen (my old man was a dentist and must be rolling in his grave) I'm ok.

700 pounds though!! :(

the two most expensive things i own are both dental 8)

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/the-trouble-with-dentistry/586039/

I switched dentists about four years ago and lo and behold I haven't had to have a filling since. Last guy always wanted to drill out something or replace a filling, which sucks because I have the same dentalphobia that everyone else does. My habits haven't really changed much so I'm starting to suspect the other guy was maybe doing unnecessary work on me. Imagine having to get a root canal you don't actually need.

I've never had a cavity, had some orthodontics in '84-'86, wisdom teeth removed + some cosmetic dentistry in '99, and haven't seen a dentist since. I'll continue avoiding all foods with added sugars, brushing w/mouthwash every day I have to leave the house, flossing when I'm really bored, and avoiding the dentist till I actually have an issue.

I would not be surprised if preventative dentistry is much like medicine, where there's no benefit for patients with annual checkups (when assymptomatic), and remarkably little for screening. I certainly have seen no benefit and quite a bit of potential harm for the full set of head x-rays the last one needed annually.

why does this article contain a picture of space ghost

frogbs i'm sorry about you getting an unnecessary root canal, that totally sucks

mostly i just need regular deep cleaning because my gums are shit

i don't think that was a good article, there's some good stuff in there making the argument that dentistry needs to adopt more rigorous self-regulation and adoption of evidence-based standards but then it all gets thrown to shit by talking about one super-egregious fraud and then titling the article "is dentistry a science?"

but i guess the general public doesn't particularly want to read about the need for stronger self-regulation and perpetuation of evidence-based standards in the dental profession, i admit it does come off as a little dry

had a crown (the same one) come loose twice in like a month

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jswebxVzEYA

I was talking to my mum who was giving me an update on my brother who lives in Dubai. She says he has finally found a really good dentist, who has taken every single last tooth out of his head.

"i have found a good veterinarian who has put down all my cats"

my grandma had all her teeth taken out as a 30th birthday present.