Pulling teeth

[Snaggletooth]

This sounds like a really bad time

 

For who, Moi? Not at all, I just thought it might be ripe to pick by my own hand but it isn't. Bad time starts when I sit in that chair for any major work. Like I said, each time it gets harder to face. Each time leaves another bad memory to deal with the next time. In the past I could kid myself that new dentist or doctor could numb or sedate me, nowadays I know it just isn't going to happen. One of the reasons I've taken to treating myself whenever I can is that it's less like torture, I'm in control. It also helps with the build up of bad memories. When I manage to treat myself I'm chuffed, it's an achievement, something overcome, a positive. When I leave the quack shop after another session of pain I'm stressed to hell, mentally exhausted, with my nerves literally shredded to pieces and saying to myself "I can't go through that again". So you resort to other measures.

[amaysngrace]

It's no wonder why you hate going to the dentist if the only time you ever go is when you're in dire need of one.

 

Most people go there twice a year and about all they ever need done is a minor surface filling or two, if that.

[Snaggletooth]

It's no wonder why you hate going to the dentist if the only time you ever go is when you're in dire need of one.

 

Most people go there twice a year and about all thever need done is a minor surface filling or two, if that.

 

 

I used to go regularly, all the work was done without anaesthsia, from surface filling to impacted wisdom tooth extraction. Most of the time, just like most other people, all that was needed was minor surface fillings, if that. The problems I've had are wisdom teeth and one molar that developed an abscess. I no longer have a dentist. Any private dentist willing to touch me charges a fortune. If I could be numbed there would be no problem. If I could be numbed implants could be an option, The reason I don't like going is because the occasional major work is an agony that is obviously beyond most people's imagination. After over 40 years of it I have decided I will pull the one dodgy tooth in my head when it is ready. Same as I have learnt to stitch myself up when needed, or fix bust bones and dislocations. Most people can be numbed or sedated, I cannot.

Edited December 17, 2014 by Snaggletooth

[FitChick]

Seeing as further clarification on UK dentistry is needed....

 

.. we just don't feel the need (or have the money) to spend a fortune on extras such as veneers as it all has to come out of our pockets as opposed to some insurance scheme.

Seeing as further clarification on US dentistry is needed...

 

Insurance doesn't pay for cosmetic procedures and seldom pays full price for any medically necessary dental procedure. The patient pays the difference and it's never cheap.

 

In spite of what some Brits seem to think, most Americans do not want nor have very white teeth. If you see a good dentist he will recommend a shade closest to your natural teeth when they are cleaned and polished. Of course, if that is what a patient wanted then a dentist would oblige, just as your hairdresser would if you wanted the wrong hair color.

 

You don't need veneers for better looking teeth if you rinse your mouth with a peroxide and water solution after drinking tea, coffee and wine to prevent and remove stains. Peroxide will also get in between your teeth and a bit under your gums so is a good way to prevent and sometimes reverse gum disease.Gum disease is the main cause of tooth loss as we age.

 

I would never go to a dentist for a root canal. I go to an endodontist who is a specialist and then back to my dentist for the crown. Both my dentist and my endodontist teach at a dental school as well as abroad. In fact, my endodontist had one of the Rolling Stones as a patient!

 

Snaggletooth, I still recommend that you get a nightguard to prevent further damage to the rest of your teeth.

Edited December 17, 2014 by FitChick

[amaysngrace]

I paid money for my daughter's braces, I forget how much exactly, but it was roughly $3000 out of pocket.

 

And I have two dental insurances.

 

I didn't do it so that she'd have perfectly straight teeth...I did it because our dentist said that she should see an orthodontist because he knows what good oral health is.

 

He never said that either of my boys needed them though so it's not some racket. In fact, when insurance does pay for something they need to know that what they're paying for is deemed medically necessary.

 

They draw that conclusion by looking at the images.

 

That's how it works in America.

[Snaggletooth]

US dentistry has been ahead of the UK for a long time. Even though we now have lots of highly skilled dentists with state of the art equipment they are out of reach for most people. Since the economy went sour many now can no longer afford NHS dentistry, let alone private. I was reading a while back that only 56% have seen a dentist in the last year and 17% are resorting to DIY measures.

 

I was looking round at a bunch of mates the other day, working class, all over 45 and half have visibly missing teeth. Simple truth is that the work required to fix or replace them can't be afforded. Or if it can, most of these fellas would rather save it for, or spend it on their families. The attitude is much more "F*ck it, rip it out, who gives a cr*p". You're more likely to be ribbed for being vain enough to replace a tooth than having a missing one. One fella, Derm (or Bunny as he is affectionately known) an Irish boy in his fifties, only has his two upper fronts left. Big Pete is entirely toothless. He got fed up with the hassle and expense so had them all pulled, which wasn't that rare a thing to do.

 

Them over a certain age grew up at a time where dentistry for the working class was not exactly painless. A lot of dentists were pretty brutal and with the bed side manner of a drill sergeant. When I was early teens I was face stamped during an away game of rugby, split me me open clean through the face into the mouth and took the top off a lower canine. Sideline stitched, sent back into the fray, then driven to the hospital after the game. Stitched up properly by a very kind and gentle nurse then sent to dentist. This b*stard pulled open my mouth in manner that tore the stitches apart and without a word picked up the drill and went straight in, full force and rough as houses, to form the post hole for a cap. You, as the patient were expected to take it, try to struggle away and you were held down. "Sit still boy, man up or you'll get a belt". This was a time where you were dealing with the last of the Victorians and much of the war generation. Much of the first did not look upon the working class as equals and the second were a very hard breed. It's not until them born after the war came through the ranks that things became a little kinder, especially if you were a lad, as rough treatment was often considered character building.

 

That kind of treatment in their youth put a lot of people off dentistry later in life. Younger generations have been lucky enough to know much improved, near painless dentistry and with a kinder approach. Most still cannot afford anything other than basic treatment, though.

Edited December 18, 2014 by Snaggletooth

[anne1707]

Seeing as further clarification on US dentistry is needed...

 

Insurance doesn't pay for cosmetic procedures and seldom pays full price for any medically necessary dental procedure. The patient pays the difference and it's never cheap.

 

In spite of what some Brits seem to think, most Americans do not want nor have very white teeth. If you see a good dentist he will recommend a shade closest to your natural teeth when they are cleaned and polished. Of course, if that is what a patient wanted then a dentist would oblige, just as your hairdresser would if you wanted the wrong hair color.

 

You don't need veneers for better looking teeth if you rinse your mouth with a peroxide and water solution after drinking tea, coffee and wine to prevent and remove stains. Peroxide will also get in between your teeth and a bit under your gums so is a good way to prevent and sometimes reverse gum disease.Gum disease is the main cause of tooth loss as we age.

 

I would never go to a dentist for a root canal. I go to an endodontist who is a specialist and then back to my dentist for the crown. Both my dentist and my endodontist teach at a dental school as well as abroad. In fact, my endodontist had one of the Rolling Stones as a patient!

 

Snaggletooth, I still recommend that you get a nightguard to prevent further damage to the rest of your teeth.

 

Seeing as I did not say what was or was not covered by insurance in the US....

 

But I do realise that not everybody in the US has brilliant white teeth. The all white US teeth is as much as an incorrect stereotype as the suggestion that green teeth are common in the UK. After all, what kind of fool would believe that.

 

However my point stands in general. There does seem to be a far greater likelihood of cosmetic dentistry being done in the US than the UK. However I have to say that in my opinion it is not as bleak as Snaggletooth's post above suggests in my experience (and I think he and I are roughly similar ages).