As a dentist, I vow:
to always keep my patient’s comfort a priority. I will do this by slowly laying out each tool in their peripheral vision and in total silence.
to always use those old-timey, huge steel syringes with the finger holes instead of modern plastic ones.
to give my patients instructions while their mouths are completely numb and then get mad at them when they do it wrong because they can’t actually feel what they’re doing.
to deter my patients from eating popcorn without providing a reasonable alternative.
to only tell them after I’ve numbed their mouth that they can’t eat until it’s not numb anymore, but not specify how long that takes.
to be all like “oh let me know if you have any pain” but not really say if there’s a normal level of pain, because if you’re getting your tooth drilled into it maybe makes sense that you should feel something, even after novocaine, but how much pain is actually worthy of raising your hand for??
to make my patients feel weird for not being able to keep their mouths open as long as I need them to.
to always ask my patients about dental procedures they had as a kid, as if they have any memory of that other than playing Pac-Man in the waiting room.
to actually be a really nice dude despite all these other weird things I vowed to do.
to give my patients toothpaste and floss but in little goody bags so they seem exciting.
To ask patients if they floss and if they say no, respond with total disapproving silence and treat them like sick deviants for the rest of the appointment.
I actually do floss every day, and my dentist is always stunned and amazed by that and congratulates me profusely, so I’d say you’re definitely in the norm if you don’t.
To be fair, lack of proper flossing can lead to a buildup of bacteria “waste product” in your mouth, and I can see how, to a dentist, that would make you a sick deviant.
My most recent hygenist compared bushing but not flossing to “going to the bathroom and not wiping the crack”.
I have decided that she has a vague-at-best understanding of the human body.
Hahaha oh my god. I just got up to floss on account of this. Still laughing in out-loud disgust (while flossing).
ohmy god I”m leaving to floss right now. That is an effective strategy, even if not the greatest analogy.
One of the good parts of living alone is being able to floss while you watch tv, because the dog does not get grossed out. I still don’t do it every day. I should.
My cat sits at my feet while I floss and eyes the ends of the string. Sometimes if it gets stuck between my teeth I lean over and dangle it in front of her just to watch her try to bat at it. (That…may make me Kind of A Gross.)
My cat has dragged used floss out of the trash can to play with it before.
Mine has tried, but I always manage to thwart her. This is lucky, because I think she will not so much play with it as eat it.
#wellactually flossing is important, as noted. I didn’t floss for years — most of my life, even while wearing braces for two years. Then I got early gum disease. That got me flossing, and now they’re fine.
Also: flossers are the best dental invention ever.
As a person who can’t floss using standard methods, thank you for introducing me to the world of flossers!
You need to go to my dentist. After 5 years of listening to me answer “no” every time she asked me if I was flossing and explaining the benefits to me, she finally said, “Look, I shouldn’t tell you this, but it probably doesn’t matter too much for you because your teeth are pretty close together. Why don’t you just get one of the cheaper Sonicare toothbrushes, which is somewhat better than manual brushing for plaque buildup, and we’ll call it even.” I spent $39.99, and we’ve never looked back.
I do floss every day but I have terrible teeth so my hygienist still treats me like I’m lying to her, and I am tempted to just pretend like I don’t floss.
I used to be honest and admit my flossing was sporadic. The dental hygienist would poke viciously at my gums, and I’d have a throbbing mouth for the rest of the day. Once one hygienist did some test which was basically taking the sharp tool and pokingpokingpoking at the gums and assigning a number. This, apparently: http://www.southeastfamilydental.com/blog/dentist…
After that I started lying and saying I flossed every day. They’re much more gentle now and one hygienist remarked that she could tell I flossed regularly.
I adore my current dentist because when I am honest about how often I floss, he just says that my teeth and gums look great and sends me on my way.
To never tell patients how long anything will take, so if they can tolerate their current level of pain for another 15 seconds but not another two minutes they don’t know if they should raise their hands.
Yes this +100000000000000
I once had a cavity drilled without anesthetic for precisely this reason. I white-knuckled it for like a minute before saying anything, at which point it was too late because it was almost over.
how much pain is actually worthy of raising your hand for??
For me, only if it’s actually completely unbearable is it worth raising my hand for. I once endured the last twenty minutes of a thoroughly invasive dental procedure with the numbness worn off, because I didn’t want another stab with the giant haunted house syringe.
I’m pretty sure dentists also vow to ask patients questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no when they’ve got their mouths numb and full of fingers and instruments.
I’m pretty sure dentists also vow to ask patients questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no when they’ve got their mouths numb and full of fingers and instruments.
SO MUCH THIS. And then if they do ask you a question that could be answered by nodding or shaking your head, it’s only after telling you not to move.
my dentist doesn’t really talk while she’s working, so i don’t have to make weird noises/faces while she’s got her hands in my mouth, but i do love when dentists are like:
“try not to move!” [loud buzzing from drill you cannot see]
This is THE WORST. I have a nasty twitch reflex that the polisher-toothbrush-thingy triggers every time she gets it near my right ear. I spend half the time in the chair in tiny spasms as my body tries to get away from the weird buzzing thing and my brain tries to tell me to sit still.
I started weeping during a wisdom tooth extraction for which my sadist dentist did not put me under. This was noticed by the assistant, who was like “why didn’t you SAY you could feel this”. To which a) MOUTH FULL OF POINTY INSTRUMENTS and b) it just felt like… a lot of pressure? I did not know that pressure was the feeling we were looking to avoid, here. I thought i was feeling for pain, sharp and pointy, like your sadist instruments.
I had all 4 wisdom teeth out at once and elected to get laughing gas rather than go under anesthesia, however the laughing gas really didn’t have an effect (they increased it several times before I stopped asking) and I basically felt the whole thing.
The pressure itself was tolerable, but the overall process feels like someone is doing construction on your jaw and that your entire mandible is going to be split open. I was really afraid my whole jaw was going to break apart, even though I knew, logically, they wouldn’t do something that could cause such an effect.
I’m so glad I let them put me under.
(All four, all were impacted, two were under the gum, and one was completely sideways.)
Same. My only memories from getting my wisdom teeth out are talking to the dentist about canoeing in the Boundary Waters, and then waking up in a dark room with my mother reading a book next to me.
I remember when they put the IV in and when they put drugs in the IV (the ceiling lights did a wavy dance) and then I remember them trying to make me sit up and me laughing and laughing because that seemed like a ridiculous idea.
OH THE WAVY LIGHTS!
My arm felt cold and then the wavy lights happened and i 100% said “Oh, man, I wish I had a lava lamp,” and then the next thing I knew I was waking up on a padded bench with gauze in my mouth.
I woke up from the anesthesia and immediately tweeted “Just got my wisdom teeth out but I feel fine.” Several hours later, discovered that I’d spelled almost every word wrong.
I didn’t realize NOT being unconscious was an option for wisdom teeth extraction? All 4 of mine were impacted and I was like “knock me tf out I will let these kill me rather than be awake for this.”
Oh man, I adored the laughing gas + novocaine combo. The pressure was kind of pleasant, and I was SO chuffed when they were stitching me up. Kept thinking about being a quilt.
(I had perhaps gotten a little too high. Which overall was great, except for the moment when my creepy old man dentist made a clearrrrly sexual joke about being my first, as I’d never had novocaine before. Ugh.)
I used to have pretty high pain tolerance and when my dentist offered, had cavities filled with no anaesthetic. Then I had babies and could no longer do it.
When I had a root canal done on a hot tooth, the dentist told me to let him know when I felt him drilling, and he would flush the area with more anaesthetic. As soon as I felt it (before it actually hurt), I would flinch. He had to do this 3 or 4 times, but the root canal was pretty painless.
I went in for my bi-annual cleaning yesterday and the dentist was actually very nice and gentle and I didn’t have any hurty bits at all?? And I was out of there in fifteen minutes. Still not sure how the hell that happened.
Same! Though mine was last year and I chalked it up to a Christmas miracle
Same here! My dentist was eerily complimentary this past visit, both of my current hygiene and of the results of past orthodontia/oral surgeries. They didn’t even ask about flossing (which I don’t do)! I suspect it is all part of an EVIL PLOT to get me to STAY WITH THEIR OFFICE FOREVER because of HOW NICE THEY ARE. Well, I’m onto them. *books next appointment*
Mine didn’t ask about flossing either! (I try to floss once in a while.) He did give me some tips for proper toothbrushing to make sure my gums don’t recede – I have been a bit over-enthusiastic in my brushing in the past.
Basically all of my dental experiences have been “get mouth looked at and gently poked with various implements for 5-10 minutes; get told you have good teeth; go home”. Consequently, I am both slightly confused about the overwhelming cultural narrative of dental procedures being horrible and terrified that one day it’ll all come crashing down and I will pay for my hubris with pain.
To ask questions of patients that really necessitate more than a yes or no answer when my fingers are in their mouths.
Dentist who has sharp tools in my mouth and is resting his forearm on my nose and eye: ‘so what’s your thesis about?’
Oh god too close to home, I am ridiculously self-conscious and nervous about my teeth (which I am pretty sure are made out of Styrofoam and not hydroxyapatite) but I am going to a new dentist in two days. She is rumored to be kind. Anyone who wants to pray about teeth, pray about mine please.
I will. When you find a good dentist your teeth and gums can do a happy dance.
Tossing a Hail Mary for your pearly whites. My own are made of papier-mache, and finding the right dentist after a decade of no care at all was a game-changer. You can do it!
To give my patients a mirror to look into their gaping dental dammed maws so they can pretend to see what work was just completed.
(My now-retired dentist used to do this, but I didn’t want to look.)
Also I use those old-timey syringe set-ups with the finger holes when I inject anesthesia into people’s cervices (each person usually has no more than the one cervix) and I can tell you they (the syringes) are really essential if you need to be poking around in a tight space.
I imagine those finger loops and solid construction give you much more dexterity and control than a little plastic thing would.
you got it. I wouldn’t let a dentist in my mouth WITHOUT the finger-loop old-timey ones.
each person usually has no more than the one cervix
oh really?
“usually”!
I knew you had a secret, Jeremy! I knew it!
They are also EXTRA horrifying if no one tells you they’re anesthetizing your cervix and just grabs that thing off the table.
Totally uncalled-for!
It looks to me like you can bend the needle tip around a little bit on those old-timey syringes, too? Which is probably also good when you’re trying to find just the right spot.
Yes. I have to admit I really love wielding these guys.
Jaya, hope you got a badge that said “THE BRAVEST LADY” and had a gold star on it.
My dentist is a really nice dude, especially about how expensive everything is, to the point where I’m not sure if I should keep agreeing to just let him do these things to me instead of the specialists because it will save me so much money (and, I’m aware, give him more money).
…It’s totally legit for a normal dentist to do a tooth extraction that may by slight chance require a bone graft, right?
Speaking of which, I’m finally getting the dental surgery that I got married for! Dental spousal insurance is great! (So is procrastinating on dental surgery until a year and half after you’re married because dental surgery is scary…)
Well, I had a tooth extraction plus bone graft last year and everything turned out ok, so?
Thanks! It actually does make me feel a lot better that other people do this and I’m not falling prey to his easy old-Italian-guy-who-remembers-my-life-story-between-appointments charm
I had an extraction in preparation for an implant, and I needed a bone graft. The bone had deteriorated so much that I didn’t have enough depth to hold the titanium screw (sorry…) So sometimes the dentist needs to build up the jawbone. Anyway, it sounds way more scary than it is, and they don’t take the bone from YOU, they use powdered cow bone (“bone in a bottle”) which us like very fine sand. Sorry, TMI. Bottom line, totally legit.
Powdered cow bone! Science is so gruesomely awesome.
To play the worst, worst, WORST possible synthetic no-beat no-melody Muzak at a level just barely loud for the brain to recognize that there’s bad music happening. And to play it office-wide: reception area, treatment rooms, hallways, everywhere.
I hear rumors of dentists having PANDORA and PLAYLISTS and MENUS OF WHITE NOISE SOUNDS if that’s your jam and I’m all, WHERE are these dentists, where??? I love mine, he does great work, but I need the equivalent of ear Novocaine to make it through my twice-yearly appointments. Yesh.
My old dentist (in New Haven, CT) had pandora playing on the computer in the treatment room (I didn’t even know those computers had web browsers! much less pandora!!) and actually asked me if the music was ok – implication being he would change it to something else according to my preferences – before putting any instruments in my mouth.
I unfortunately had to change dentists because of insurance, but those were the days.
My dentist is my dad. He likes the Postal Service and always plays them for me when I get a cleaning! Otherwise my mom is in charge of the radio and it’s tuned to the lite-fm radio station.
My last dentist always kept a radio on some lame station, but then HE WOULD HUM ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TUNES WHILE DOING PROCEDURES and it was the worst. Lucky thing he retired.
Also one of my interim dentists (of whom there were two) (my teeth are terrible) would give me too much nitrous, and then the music would switch over (in my head only I presume) to a constant drone with beeping and I couldn’t understand it and that was really very creepy.
I just tell them to turn it off. And they are like “news?” and I am like “I prefer silence”.
You are a client, after all.
My dentist asks me to pick a musical genre! I pick ’90s hip-hop, and then the hygienist and I chat about Salt n’ Pepa.
BRUSH IT! BRUSH IT REAL GOOD!
I wish I could like this more than once!
At my last filling, my dentist’s office (which always just plays some garbage top-100 radio station throughout the entire place) had like, Blue Album-era Weezer and then some old Foo Fighters on right next to each other while I was getting numbed up, so I was happily lulled into a sense of security. Then, as soon as she had my mouth cranked open and was about to start working, fucking Sublime’s “Santeria” came on. It was my personal hell.
I am a FAN of Sublime (I know, I know, but I had a boyfriend who was INTO THEM, which probably makes it even worse) and even I hate that stupid song.
I had to get a cavity filled last year and my dentist gave me headphones, positioned a screen over my head, and asked what I wanted to watch on Netflix. It was magical. Completely magical.
My dentist also puts on Netflix for you! Although then she still asks you questions while your mouth is full of tools and you have headphones on, so. Some things never change.
My dentist plays Coldplay exclusively. I’m not sure whether it’s all the same album or a greatest hits thing or even, maybe, one longish song on repeat.
That’s how Coldplay works.
And why you never hear a Coldplay medley. Coldplay IS a medley.
Headphones! Bring your own headphones with your own music and crank it unless their own mouths are moving at you. And sunglasses. Ask them for sunglasses, and if they can’t/won’t provide them, bring your own or switch dentists.
To look at patients with disapproval if their tongue accidentally gets in the way of the spit vacuum thingy
I CAN’T CONTROL MY TONGUE WHEN YOU HAVE STUFF IN MY MOUTH IT’S NOT ON PURPOSE
MOST PEOPLE APPROVE OF THIS, I’VE NEVER HAD ANY COMPLAINTS IN THE PAST
Normally I don’t have a huge problem with my dental hygienist, except sometimes she forgets she’s pulling one corner of my mouth to the side and starts to also do it to the other. Lady, I’m not The Joker, my lips can only be stretched so far (dirty!) before they split and start to bleed.
My actual dentist, on the other hand, breezes in after all the work is done, does a cursory once-over, and exclaims over how strong my teeth are, which is nice. He was my parents’ dentist as well, so his astonishment that two people who constantly needed root canals and fillings produced someone with such sturdy (if not aesthetically perfect) teeth is not out of line.
I like my dental hygienist a lot, but sometimes she presses down on my jaw, which, thanks to my joint hypermobility, is super uncomfortable. Of course I’ve never said anything about it, I just sit there in silence like a stupid dental martyr lest I make her uncomfortable by speaking up.
This is the same hygienist, who, when I came in once with a Newsweek magazine with an article about Sarah Palin, said “That looks interesting,” and I said “It does!” and she said “I love her,” and I thought “Ohno,” but I just said, “Should I put my bag on this chair?”
My hygienist has a crush on my husband (who is also her patient). We spend the entire appointment talking about him. It is hilarious.
To prominently display posters depicting the worst possible states of teeth, in order to frighten the sin out of them.
To own and cherish anatomical models of the mouth which cause my patients to instinctively wince in sympathy.
To tell patients, “Everything looks good, that’s good, you really keep your teeth clean, looks good in here,” for the entire appointment, then announce at the very end that they need 8 fillings.
This happens to me every time.
“oh, your mouth is so clean! Brenda, come see how clean her mouth is! It’s such a treat to get to work on someone with such a nice clean mouth!”
… then, during x-rays…
“Ooooh! I’m sorry, I’m not supposed to react like that. It’s just… ”
It’s just time for an entirely new tooth is what it’s just.
Anyone feel up to whittling me a new molar? My insurance will cover up to $1000, so I’ll pay you that for a nice fine new tooth.
I finally found the perfect dentist. He is a handsome black man who plays reggae in the office and sings along in his comforting Jamaican accent, and also he is liberal with the nitrous.
Where is this, how far is reasonable to travel for a twice yearly appointment?
If you are anywhere in the Greater Toronto Area, it is worth your time.
(one of my catch-phrases used to be “I’ll take a pap with a rusty speculum over a basic dental cleaning any day.”)
Good grief. This is close enough to be actually plausible. And really, I need to go to Toronto more anyway…
hi! I am in Toronto and would love to know who he is?
Dr Lancelot Brown. Even his name is handsome. And he’s a sweetie pie with 3 year olds at their first ever dentist appointment.
HIS NAME IS LANCELOT
It’s like his parents knew that he was destined for dreaminess…
DR. LANCELOT
I’m not even Canadian, can I go see him too?
UGH THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS STRANGER THAN FICTION AND THAT’S AMAZING
*crosses legs* Oh god no. Clean my teeth all you like in the comfy chair, but I am TERRIFIED of “Well Women” exams, although I understand their importance.
To glare at and reprimand my pediatric patients when they vocalize their disomfort about having their teeth scraped at by a metal pick.
(This may or may not be the reason I stopped seeing the dentist after college. I know, I know.)
This speaks to my heart, Jaya.
I have often said I’d take an hour of early-stage labor over an hour of dental work. I HATE IT SO MUCH. I am a huge baby about it, it takes like four shots to get me numb (sometimes even then it does not work), and my dentist — who is really very good, and also the sweetest person ever, with blessedly tiny fingers — likes to ask me if I think she and her husband should have kids, because apparently I look like the sort of person who could give that sort of advice using only her eyebrows.
And I feel bad complaining about the dentist so much when we did not even HAVE dental insurance for YEARS and I know it is a big important deal, but this is my truth: I hate going to the dentist.
I feel this. I have the world’s nicest dentist and hygenist – my dentist was a pioneer in mercury free dentistry and she’s this like awesome earth mother type. And my hygenist is into historical re-enactments and regales me with stories of her pre-revolutionary war outfits while she cleans my teeth and doesn’t ask me questions when my mouth is full of instruments and fingers.
And I STILL hate going to the dentist. Some of it relates to early childhood trauma and I think some of it is just that going to the dentist is just unpleasant.
It also takes me forever to get numb! (This was really freaky when I was being prepped for my first C-section . . . )
I just had a temporary crown put in this morning and my gum over there is pretty sore and I didn’t realize it was a two-part process. Oh well, the reason I need a crown is I had a root canal which was like nothing, so I can’t really complain.
(Weirdly our pediatric dentist and my jaw doctor are the only medical professionals we regularly see who are always, always on time.)
I’ll take any stage labor over dental work. Not because dental work is painful, but because I hate dealing with dentists.
Literally my mantra in the dentist’s chair is “you had a fucking BABY with no drugs, you can live with this humiliation for twenty minutes twice a year.” Then I just repeat “A fucking BABY” to myself a hundred times and throw in a couple rosaries-on-my-fingers for good measure.
I got a new dentist who was super nice and really friendly even though I didn’t floss and gave me a break in the middle of my awful cleaning (I moved across the country and it took me almost two years to go in for a cleaning because of internalized dental shame and anxiety) and I got a filling the next week and everything was nice and I DIDN’T HAVE TO FEEL LIKE A BAD PERSON.
baffling and wonderful
Anyway, if your dentist shames you and treats you poorly and makes you feel bad, I give you permission to seek out a new dentist for your next cleaning!
Yay Jaya. You are the bravest and the best! (and getting a filling is the worst).
Hooray for Jaya, the bestest little girl in the world!
I haven’t gone to a dentist in 3 years which I know is Very Bad, especially since I have insurance but I get all tight-feeling in my chest when I think about taking time out of my life to have someone inflict pain on me for an hour. I’ve never had a dentist I’d describe as anything other than “unpleasant.”
My dentist told me not to eat baguettes because I have weak teeth. My response to this is threefold:
a. The opportunity to eat baguettes does NOT present itself often enough for this to be a concern.
b. I’m not just going to turn down a baguette if someone hands me one.
c. Weak teeth? Really? Rude! Not my fault!
One of the good parts of living alone is being able to floss while you watch tv, because the dog does not get grossed out. I still don’t do it every day.
Is this where I whisper that I haven’t gone to a dentist in ten years? There were two years where I had coverage and really should have gone but I didn’t and that ended in 2009 anyway. I floss intermittently and brush with a sonic care but I know I have cavities, plus I have fillings that are from when I was eight years old. But it’s just too much money when I don’t have insurance.
I haven’t eeeeeeither! For the same reasons.
Someone recently tried to scare me into going (little did she know the depth of my aversion to dentists/spending money) by saying that after going for the first time in 10 years her appointment took nearly 2 hours. I was like, but if you went every year and it took half an hour that’s still a massive net gain!
Ugh, I hate to be that person, but… I didn’t go for 10 years for the same reasons and it took TWO 2 hour appointments and i had to be frozen so that they could complete the cleaning (for both 2 hour appointments) and also they had to basically reconstruct one of my teeth and they still peer at that tooth everytime to make sure that i don’t have to have a root canal.
So like, you’re an adult and can make your own decisions, and that decade WAS a really great decade (i still wish i could go back!), but the tooth reconstruction is high on my list of regrets. Which… prolly means i have a pretty great life, all told? Nevermind, continue on as you were.
I didn’t go for five years and then when I finally went, my teeth were in great shape, so I confidently signed up for another appointment in six months, at which I found out I had two cavities. The only possible conclusion is that going to the dentist regularly causes cavities.
that must be my problem.
I am right with you – I didn’t go to a dentist for FIFTEEN YEARS!
I felt bad about it every damned day.
I’m the kid who got lots of cavities and 3 root canals at 22 (OTOH I brush 2x/day and floss…occasionally).
Two months ago I bravely went to the dentist. They have ultrasonic cleaning now, where there are no metal implements scrape scrape scraping, and even with over a decade’s worth of built up crud, it took less than an hour. My dentist knew ahead of time about my situation, and was very kind and reassuring and didn’t shame me at all.
You can do it.
DO IT!
I BELIEVE IN YOU
I want to go! I can’t afford it!
One option for free/cheap dental care is dental schools around you that need patients. I got dental care this way for a few years when I had a friend I trusted not to screw up my teeth who was in school and then he passed me on to the best student in the year below him. It usually is free or really really reduced. The downside is that the appointments can go longer because they have to have their professor sign off on their work at key stages but at least you know that it is thorough. Also I found the student dentists much more concerned about my comfort/pain levels than any previous dentist I had.
The dental school here charges. >:(
What I’m considering, is just paying the ridiculous fee for the student health care when I go back to school this fall, because one of the benefits is a huge mark-down on dental procedures through their clinic.
My mom stayed away from the dentist for something like 15 years, simply out of fear. When she finally worked herself up to go, she did need a few visits to take care of the major work. BUT. She had been brushing and flossing religiously the whole time, and the hygienist actually told her she was surprised it had been that long. Genetics I think can help or hurt you. I think the impetus for her going was a broken tooth, which of course required some big treatment, otherwise who knows how long it would have been?
To strongly suggest that, in addition to my substantial investment in unfucking my mouth (one implant down- two implants and braces to go! Damn baby teeth.) I should also pay $750 for a nightguard, which is not even a little covered by my insurance. Because I /might/ be grinding my teeth at night. I am a reasonable woman, but I am going to need more than a “might” if I’m laying out that much cash.
whispers I think you can make one yourself with a mouth guard kit?
i am not a dentist and this is not dental advice
Ok, finally unlurking because I am here for saving money in regards to grinding. Yes, that $750 nightguard will be molded for your specific mouth, you know what else can also be molded to your specific mouth? A $5 sports guard from your local anywhere that has basic sports stuff store. I think I usually get them from Target.
I have had issues with grinding for years. These suckers are great and cheap. And guess what? If you’re grinding, you will eventually grind through them. So that $750 nightguard is eventually going to snap into pieces at some point. Start with the sports guard. If you end up needing something more hardcore for your nightly gnawing, then shell out the money.
I remember my dentist sternly telling me that the $5 ones will NOT help and I needed to get a custom one, but this could be because he wanted my (parents’) money.
I lost my custom night guard, oh, say, 5 years ago? And I’ve been too embarrassed to say anything to my dentist since then.
My mom is a pro at being a dental patient (and the source of my weird teeth, we suffer together) and this was exactly her recommendation. If I get flagged for grinding again I might try the $5 mouthguard. Like you say, I don’t think I’ll need the hardcore stuff just yet.
I am so very pro-nightguard. In grad school I had gum grafts because I was grinding my teeth so bad, it led to crazy, crazy gum recession. I used to literally grind through the stupid drug store ones in like a month. I now have one of the stupid expensive nightguards. It’s magically molded to my bottom teeth and has lasted 5 years so far. However, I got it when I was living, working, and insured in Germany and spent about €50 for it, and I hope it never breaks and my teeth never change shape. But truthfully, if it does break, I might actually be willing to spend upwards of $500 on a new one because it really changed my life.
guys these are all the reasons why I haven’t gone to the dentist in – gulp – years…and now I’m afraid of what I’ll find out if I do. So I’ll just continue sticking my um teeth in the sand. Nothing can go wrong with my plan.
If you’re not ready to go, brush and floss faithfully and rinse periodically with salt water and you’ll be in good shape when you decide to bite the bullet. Which, don’t actually bite a bullet, that’s TOTALLY bad for your teeth. But it’s so, so, so worth it to push past the fear and go. And don’t be afraid to demand a toy after.
I have a very small mouth and I had to have a lot of my permanent teeth removed as a kid pretty well right after they came in. The dentist my parents took me to was so horrible. Just, horrible. Mean. Fake nice when my parents were in the room, but mean in general. And I was the people-pleasingest little kid! Anyhow, I was supposed to raise my hand if it hurt. And I did. And then he told me that it was just pressure and I was being a baby and it didn’t really hurt, and I was such a shy little girl that I wasn’t going to argue, so I just laid there for the rest of it with tears streaming down my face, but trying not to really cry because that would mean I’d move my mouth and be in trouble. He finally said okay, he’d give me more drugs but basically called me a liar and made it seem like a huge big deal and pain that he had to do it.
Fast forward many, many years. I needed a tooth removed or a root canal, I’m not certain which one. Because, GUESS WHAT, I developed a habit of letting my teeth go into total disrepair before I’d even consider visiting a dentist. I wonder why. Anyhow, I went to my parents’ new dentist (who was also the mayor of the little town they lived in). They numbed me up and he said, “You let me know if you feel anything. ANYTHING at all.” and I think my expression just looked skeptical and he said, “You shouldn’t feel a thing. I hated the dentist when i was a kid, he’d tell me it was just pressure. It’s not just pressure, it’s pain, and if you feel anything, we’ll give you more drugs.”
I believe this is what they call a “corrective emotional experience.” I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite so validated in my entire life.
(Of course, that dentist wasn’t perfect, he liked to tell stories while working on your mouth. Most memorably, another time, as I was getting a Novocaine shot, he told me about a woman he went to dental school with who was so nervous about giving a shot in front of someone that she pushed the needle through the patient’s skin and shot the Novocaine onto the instructor’s shoes. So, you know, not perfect. But I will still always love him.)
I had permanent teeth removed too, and plenty of baby teeth pulled because those sumbitches would not fall out. You’re the first person I’ve known to also have that! (I mean, I’m sure we’re out there, it’s just not a topic that comes up for me that much.)
I had one baby tooth pulled because it wouldn’t fall out! But it was mainly because I was having a checkup anyway, and the tooth happened to be being stubborn, so it made sense for them to do it while I was there. It would probably have fallen out at some point.
Small-mouth high-five! I only had one baby tooth, pulled, though. That’s because I had suddenly decided I was TERRIFIED of my baby teeth falling out and so I didn’t tell anyone it was loose and studiously avoided chewing anything on it and just basically decided “screw it, it’s staying, there’s no law that says you actually have to lose your baby teeth.” The dentist was pulling another tooth and went ahead and took that one out for free since it was practically out anyway.
I had ELEVEN baby teeth pulled due tiny mouth syndrome/teeth that ever fell out. Then I grew up and didn’t go to the de rust for ten years because every time I thought about it, I cried. (I’ve been doing better of late, though.)
I had baby teeth pulled because they wouldn’t fall out too! And I’m STILL getting dental work done due to my tiny mouth. I had like 3 years of braces and 2 expanders as a kid. Plus I had all my wisdom teeth removed solely for space reasons. And I just got back from a cleaning where my dentist was like, your mouth is still too small and you’re going to need at least a year of adult braces (which is fair bc my teeth are actually really crooked due to the tininess).
The only plus: my teeth are so close together that they can’t tell when I don’t floss (I basically only do it when I eat popcorn and right before cleanings) and they’re always complimenting me on how clean my teeth are.
I went to an emergency dental appointment this summer because of this terrible pain that my dentist decided probably came from a popcorn fragment, and I felt SO JUDGED. Seriously, what other snacks are you supposed to eat??
In my life so far I’ve broke my same 2 teeth like adult ones a total of 19 times ( wish I was joking). I’ve had the works, root canals ,braces, retainer, a contraption to cure my underbite, teeth removed. I still cannot stand needles or dentists. I’m very glad England has the NHS !
ARE THEY YOUR TOP FRONT TEETH??? Because me too, smashed them coming off a bike when I was 10 and then repeatedly broke them in increasingly stupid ways (swimming into side of pool, bottom of pool, biting friends finger, biting a soft pear, looking sideways at a cracker) until I got a root canal and a post and proper crowns.
My dentist was the best though.
My dental hygienist puts Vaseline on my lips before my cleaning! It is one of those little, thoughtful things that keeps me going there, even though they always try to sell me veneers. (In fairness, I’d try to sell me veneers, too– my teeth are pretty weird-looking. But I’m used to them!)
My last dentist used teeny lip balms, like 1/4 the size of a Chap-Stik, that you got to take with you after. I don’t know why that made me feel better about spending thousands of dollars on work that still has not solved my pain issues, but it did.
A friend of mine who has something pretty bad going on with his hip joint right now, went to the dentist this week and was told he has to have his first filling. Dentist started to give him a hard time about not looking after his teeth, and he asked dentist how many patients can say their teeth outlasted their hips. Dentist laughed and gave him a pass.
We didn’t have dental insurance/the money to go to the dentist until I was 16, and when I finally did I had to have so many fillings that the next year of my life I feel like I spent constantly at the dentist, and then with a higher frequency than average for several years after. At a certain point getting jabbed at with needles and all the drilling stopped phasing me. I’m pretty sure you could do whatever the fuck you wanted in my mouth and I would neither notice nor care.
BUT, now I have dental coverage again after a couple years without and I have a dead tooth (it’s a baby tooth that never fell out because I don’t have an adult one and its little baby root is getting reabsorbed into my jaw, it’s literally a blue tooth, showing it is a fun party trick) that will have to get taken out and replaced, which I am really not looking forward to. Hence why I have not made an appointment to do so.
ughhh, fellow baby tooth haver here. I’ve had one baby tooth replaced with a dental implant so far and have two more coming up sometime in the near future. I recommend an implant, for what it’s worth- it’s more expensive than a bridge, but it’s much more comfortable and better for your teeth long-term. My implant is like a normal tooth, but better. Implants are pretty expensive though, and sometime people need bone grafts to hold the post. Whatever you decide, you can do it!!!
(Also, as an addendum: flex spending accounts are a great way to sock away cash if you know you’re going to have major dental expenses. Another great option: if it’s a multipart procedure, spread it over two coverage years for your dental insurance. For my implant, I had my baby tooth removed and the post placed in October and had the crown fitted and placed next March.)
That is an excellent tip, thanks! At this point, I’m just waiting for it to fall out on its own, because it is very very close, and also, there’s only about a third of it left anyways, so maybe that’ll save me a bit of money. Since I’d have to wait to closer to the end of the year to try and spread it over two coverage years anyways.
When I was a kid I had to get several cavities filled, and they offered me a choice between silver fillings and white fillings that would look more natural. I was 8 and had zero concept of the future and my only thought was “obviously I want shiny silver teeth.”
Why would you give an 8 year old that choice? I’m 25 and I regret my decision every time I see a picture of myself laughing with my mouth open.
Eventually those silver fillings will need to be replaced, and your adult mouth will look like you got all new teeth. I’m going through this now, as one by one my childhood fillings crumble into dust.
Yeah, my silver fillings dated from before the Johnson administration. Had all 4 of them replaced. No longer feel silly about laughing with my mouth open. My dentist let me watch West Side Story during this procedure. I kept trying to sing along with all that apparatus in my mouth.
I had silver fillings as a kid. I still have them, including one in a baby tooth that never fell out. That’s nearly fifty years’ worth. I’m not complaining. 🙂
As I British person, reading the comments, can I just say: God Bless the NHS and all who sail in her.
Seriously.
Relatedly, I used to have a landlord who was also a dentist, and I ended up making an appointment with him because I happened to speak to him shortly after chipping a tooth. I still can’t believe I got my deposit back on that place, considering how critical he was regarding my flossing habits.
My dad is a dentist. He doesn’t do general practice anymore, and I’m trying to find a new person to go to for cleanings and checkups. I sent him a list of the dentists covered by my insurance, and he recommended one person who turned out not to be on that plan after all. I told him this when I was at dinner with my parents and he said “There was one other person on that list who’s pretty good.” Then he turned to my mom and said “He’s ____’s old associate, the one who tried to run him off the road.”
Mom: “I don’t want her going to him! He tried to kill somebody!”
Dad: “No, he just made him jump into the ditch.”
I have not called that guy for an appointment. I’m not actually sure what to do next, if he was the best one on the list.
The last time I saw a dentist was four years ago when my wisdom teeth started acting up and my jaws were swollen and I could barely speak. After a phone call to my dad to ask if i could use the health insurance to make a dental appointment (he refused to have conversation via text) and a very nice receptionist who spoke fluent swollen face I got an appointment.
I got in the chair and the dentist started putting in the weird jaw things (I don’t know what they’re called) none too gently. He was perplexed as to why I was making strangled pain noises and shooting a withering glare at his perplexment (which was unfair, he was doing his job but come on dude, that shouldn’t have been surprising when you shove something into my swollen gums)
Huh. I’ve actually been really lucky with dentists – well, one of the partners at the office I go to now got arrested for being involved in a prostitution ring, but I was never one of his patients and the other dentists were just as shocked as everyone else – to the point that when I had braces, my dentist was actually willing to write me a signed letter to give to my orthodontist telling him that no, I wasn’t lying, my gums were swollen because of a metal allergy and my teeth were perfectly healthy. The orthondist still tried to shame me into ‘brushing better’ every appointment. For five extremely long years. And then didn’t tell me that it was possible to get a plastic retainer instead of a metal wire one.
That same orthodontist left chips of ortho cement on three of my molars up under the natural edges of my gums, too. Took the dental hygenist an hour and a half to chip it all off at my next dentist’s appointment because she was a wonderful human being who actually listened to me and would pause when I said the buzzing was making my head hurt.
“to always ask my patients about dental procedures they had as a kid, as if they have any memory of that other than playing Pac-Man in the waiting room.”
Funnily enough, I went back to my childhood dentist as college grad. They said since they still had my old file they’d just update it. The dentist asked if I had managed to stop sucking my thumb since my last visit.
i’ve been fairly lucky – i apparently have very good teeth (even though i forget to brush them a lot) and the dentists i’ve been to have been Decent People. my sister, on the other hand, has fillings in about half of her teeth and had to get several pulled when she was a child.
the worst that’s ever happened was when i had to have two teeth pulled (my incisors) because, uh, my adult teeth were growing down over my baby teeth. that was… not fun….. i nearly broke my hygienist’s hand when the needle went into the roof of my mouth.
I have no dental insurance and I live in a different state than this dentist, but the last dentist I saw was a delightful New Yorker whose daughters went to high school with me. When I saw her last, I was still in school, and she asked me what classes I was taking. “Aaaahme ah physaaahle, ah-cheh, pre-caaah, staaaah.” She understood this. “Oh, you’re taking organic chemistry? Man, I loved organic chemistry.” She paused, serenely examining my moiars. “I loved it so much I took it with every professor in the department before I was done.”
It STILL makes me laugh to this day.
If I had to have a root canal, that's how I'd like to have it! For someone who's not in the medical field, I have a weirdly high level of interest in medical procedures.
To reassure my patients by displaying guns on the wall.
(True story. My childhood dentist. In Australia. In the 60s.)
To reassure my patients by displaying guns on the wall.
(True story. My childhood dentist. In Australia. In the 60s.)
I had silver fillings as a kid. I still have them, including one in a baby tooth that never fell out. That's nearly fifty years' worth. I'm not complaining. 🙂
I work at a dental office and my doc is the nicest and most gentle dentist I’ve ever known. She’s simply amazing. So are the hygienists 🙂 Good dentistry is transparent; honesty, patient comfort, and relationships are very important!
Such a great post Jaya ! I’m also A dentist, So this article is so helpful and useful for mine. Normally dental care hurts most of patients. So this post is helpful for both (patients and dentists) .