i have not been to a dentist in probably 10 years

I've never ever had a cavity (save some little thing my dentist was able to cap off with plastic ONCE!) and I went to a shady chain dentist and they told me I have 3 cavities and 4th on the way.

Is this plausible? Also my dentist reminded me of Dr. Nick and had huge snot stalagmites in both nostrils. :((((

i bet one of those snot stalagmites fell into your mouth and you didn't even notice.

maybe that was what my "cavity" was.

How does one go about finding an NHS dentist? I haven't got a clue and I think I may have gum disease. Maybe.

the great god alba referred me to the best NHS dentist

I've had root canal work, 6 fillings, hygienist cleaning, the works - all with NO pain

I'm seriously thinking about a brace!

Cozen, you live in Glasgow. That is not much help to me.

I didn't go to the dentist for 2 or 3 years

no trouble but I will try to not not go for that long, again

my teeth are fine now - I got the all clear!

Alba/Cozen, email me with the name of this fabled dentist because I need a new one, please, thanks.

imagine if you hadn't been to the dentist for x years AND you didn't watch TV. the bitches would be all over you, yo.

I haven't been for about 9 years :(

Anna, you could try this http://www.nhs.uk/England/Dentists/Default.aspx but I reckon word of mouth (mouth! ha!) is usually best. But what do I know, I've not had a dentist for 9 years.

I may have a dentist now. I find out in January. Thanks Archel.

finding nhs dentist:
i had a tooth fall in half which prompted me to find a new dentist pretty sharpish. one £40 private appointment (temporary filling) later the dentist himself suggested that i book the followups with the nhs dentist that uses his surgery the 2 days a week he doesn't. so i did. 5 minutes from my flat too. i think i lucked out there.

the previous dentist always x-rayed and always found something to do on every visit. the current one doesn't and hasn't. i'm not sure which i prefer.

i may get dental insurance soon, yay!

i just went for the first time in, like, 11 years. i've had dental insurance for 3 years now, but i just got around to it.

unfortunately, i have 5 cavities and have to get a deep-gum cleaning :-( this is the 1st time in my life that i've had cavities, or have had to get fillings so i am NOT thrilled.

I think it must be at least 15 for me by now.

Jeez, people. (I just saw mine on Tuesday.)

Fillings aren't as bad as I thought they'd be, although make sure you get enough novocaine!

Of course, I didn't think the surgery for getting my wisdom teeth out was so horrible either.

but i am gonna be much better about it from now on! i think that (finally) getting cavities and this gum-cleaning thing are spurs to action. i probably got lazy about it b/c i've had such good teeth all of my life.

and now i gotsta floss, so no more cavities, no more drill-and-fill, etc. i'm gonna be one of those nasty mofos @ work who brushes and flosses after every meal (and junks up the sink b/c of that).

this thread still turns my stomach

I didn't go for 9 years, then when a new dentist opened down the road advertising for NHS patients (which if you're unfamiliar with UK dentists is like stumbling on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow) I figured I had to take the opportunity. Luckily I only need 1 filling! That would probably sort me out for the next 9 years but I have to go every 12 months now or I'll lose my place on the NHS.

I had a "deep cleaning" two weeks ago and I will floss come hell or high water to avoid ever EVER having that done again. Nothing makes me queasier than seeing the dentist's be-gloved hands emerge from my mouth covered in my own blood.

Except for writing that.

Gross.

you're not making me feel good about this, safety first!

Eisbär - go for the gas, if it's offered.

Invest in a Sonicare or similar, check out the Showerfloss, use xylitol with abandon. Mr. Jaq and I have gone from having those scary bloody gum pockets to none whatsoever due to diligent application of same. Xylitol's the newest thing I've been researching - pretty amazing, can actually reverse mild instances of caries, disrupt bacterial plaque and remineralize your teeth.

i've never really understood the fear of the dentist...i've always treated it as a pretty zen experience, like getting your hair cut. go in, tune out for a while, curl your toes when they floss, leave.

then again, i went to the dentist 'round Easter, for the first time in 3 years: STILL NO CAVITIES, BITCHES.

Oh, sorry, Eisbär! It didn't hurt at all - the procedure I had involved a large dose of novacaine. I went and gave a speach on labor organizing the night I got my top teeth deep cleaned, so even the aftermath was too bad. It was just a little stressful.

Went and gave a speech, really. And the aftermath wasn't TOO bad.

I'm going to go have some coffee now.

WASN'T too bad.

Dear lord.

People with no cavities: just keep drinking that fluoride! You have no idea how lucky you are -- and depending on yr individual enamel, sometimes there's nothing you can do to keep them away. Brushing + flossing + mouthwash = STILL MORE ROTTEN TEETH FOR LAUREL.

thank the lord for those flouride treatments when we were kids, I always knew the John Birch Society was full of shit (billboard in Cinicinnati: Flouride In The Water = Communist Plot)

but my cavity-free mouth required oral surgery a decade back for some weird gum thing and it was nofun in the extreme. I've been a stickler for regular cleanings and dental exams ever since.

This thread is giving me psychosomatic toothache :-(

m coleman, no kidding! I think the fluoride and the extra calcium from the hard water in central IN is mostly responsible for my relative cavity-freeness. My mom has (or had) seriously bad teeth (full dentures now) and my dad had horrible dentist experiences as a child, so a mouthful of rot later.

The dentist is talking about sealing my molars, because the valleys are deep on them. Insurance won't cover it for an adult - has anyone else had this done? I wonder if the cost is really worth it.

I recently went to the dentist for the first time this century, I think. I just had my first two fillings ever. It wasn't so bad. Although the sensation of someone drilling away a part of your body is not that pleasant. Also, it is going to cost me a lot of money. Oh well.

Oh yes, I met you on the way there. Perhaps I caught toothache off you...erm, it doesn't work like that. Damn, I have to go to the dentist. My jaw is clicking a wee bit, I think I have the beginnings of an abscess.

I had so many cavities as a kid. I blame my parents and their lack of teaching me about hygiene in general. Now I have fillings in so many of my teeth there is considerably less space in my mouth to get cavities. It can happen, but my sonicare treats me right. I haven't had one in at least 5 years.

Still my parents suck. I've had to put so much money into my mouth it's stupid (well above 10 grand). Damn their genes and lack of hygiene.

Also, my current dentist's name is Dr. Pod. She's romanian.

I hope her first name is Okra.

or that her first initial is I.

tell me more about this xylitol - is it gum? i think i have seen it on a gum package. i don't know.

oh, it's fake-sugar made by science!

out of birch trees!

Not fake like aspartame or sucralose though - your body makes it too. And, you can cook with it apparently. Supposedly in Finland, most candies are made with it? Tuomas?

It never occured to me that flouridated water might be why my teef are fine with very little effort. Also, I had to endure foul tasting weekly flouride mouth soakings when I had braces - you'd dissolve a "bubblegum" flavour tablet in water, then sit with the chemically fizz in your mouth for 10 minutes or more. No swallowing! It tasted so gross, I cannot stand the smell or taste of bubblegum anymore.

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!

if your dentist is telling you that you need cavities I suggest etc

Went last week- firt time in 2 years.

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.

Trayce, when you get old as me (which is close to 50, although it can happen younger esp. in smokers), it's rare to get cavities but common to have mild to moderate gum disease. Flossing isn't just about getting out stuck food, but scraping off the sticky bacterial plaque that forms on teeth. If you don't get rid of it, the plaque starts to form below the gumline and breaks the seal (in a way) between healthy gum and tooth. You might not have any pain or anything, but your gums will be inflamed, and will bleed and get tender with normal brushing. The gums pull away from the teeth, letting more bacteria in, eventually it attacks the bone and your teeth loosen and fall out. This is what happened to my mom, and I don't want it to happen to me. Once the bacterial crap has started in below the gumline, the hygienistas go in with lasers and knives and heavy artillery and blast it out w/ the deep cleaning. Then, if yr diligent, the gums can heal up and reattach to the tooth. For me, diligent means blasting away with water every day instead of that horrid string floss (which not only cuts but can loosen fillings), peroxide rinsing (extra O2 nails the anaerobic bacteria), going for regular cleanings every 4 months (down from every 3) and now trying this new stuff. Which, thank the tooth fairy, seems to be working.

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.

Jaq: hrm, I see. That makes sense, but it still confuses me, cos flossing is just about getting out stuff in the tight spaces between teeth, innit? Scraping the plaque off with floss makes me wonder what I'm not doing, heh :/

I think toothbrushing does the job on most tooth surfaces, but the floss is supposed to get to where the brush can't reach.