My biggest regret in life so far (dental health related):

GSP_37 said:
I once wondered if it would be better to go more frequently than twice a year if it's water jets instead of full blown metal pick etc.
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Apparently twice a year is recommended, for both cleaning and check up.

But again I've attended dentists that say I need X, Y and Z, maybe fillings, deep cleaning, etc etc.

Much of the time it's unnecessary but they advise it cause it's more work for them = more money.

I've been recommended work, fillings etc., got a second opinion from more specialist dentists....... turns out it wasn't necessary at all.
 
Have a similar situation with a back tooth. First had a filling, started hurting after a year, then needed a root canal to fix it, but there's always been a gap in the back behind the tooth where food gets stuck every day, so I have to make sure to use one of those mini toothbrushes to remove residue. Probably what caused the teeth rot in the first place. I think a crown might block the hole, but I am holding out on it for now.
 
Home_Slice said:
That's where I'm at at the moment.

When it rotted and I had it filled, the dentist fucked up the filling a little.

He didn't get the margins correct so it was trapping food and that needed correction, and he left a lesion on the buccal (cheek) surface which caused temperature sensitivity and that needed to be drilled out and filled again after (thankfully the clinic did those follow ups for free, but with their senior dentist, not the dipstick that messed up the initial filling).

So it gradually beginning to feel better, but it's still trapping food, maybe they can shave down a part of it to correct that.

I'll wait as long as I can and hopefully I'll be able to avoid both an extraction or root canal......... cause both would positively suck.
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I would have the thought the second dentist would have fixed the gap trapping food. As long as you pay special attention to keep the area clean it'll be fine for now, but eventually you should definitely see if they can do something about that.
 
Home_Slice said:
In 2019 I went on this "health bender", I got caught up in this BS idea of chemicals infecting my body, and decided to have three old mercury-amalgam fillings drilled out of my back teeth.

I got it done, two were fine, the dentist fucked up one though, but ultimately it recovered fairly okay.

But the one she fucked up, she had to completely reshape the tooth, and as a result food started to get lodged between it and the next tooth.

Now typically I went to the dentist occasionally, every few years, and always got the same feedback: "your teeth are great, keep looking after them, no problems at all".

Then, a few years after getting this tooth reshaped, I drop in like I normally do for a checkup and cleaning.

Holy crap, I have this motherfuckin' golf ball sized cavity in the side of the tooth that got re-shaped, molar tooth right at the back.

"It seems food has been getting trapped here", the dentist gives it.

The way the dentist reshaped it, caused this to happen.

Basically I fucked my own teeth, then allowed one of them to rot inadvertantly.

The last three months I've been in consistent dental pain after getting this golf-ball of a cavity filled, cause it was so close to the nerve, but the dentist said the pain will settle down after a few months.
The alternate being to get the tooth removed and get an implant, or get a root canal and crown, both of which would positively drain the little life savings I have.

..........

Cliff notes:
- I regret replacing my mercury amalgam fillings for white resin. Mercury absorption is total BS, don't believe these hippy fuckheads telling you it's leaking into your body.
- I regret subsequently sticking to my once-every-four-year dental health screening
- I have a choice to either live in pain for months and hope the tooth recovers, or go poor and hope a root canal treatment works and doesn't become infected.
- FML.

I'm kind of a perfectionist, and a little OCD, so this fuckery has positively made me lose it.
The above is by FAR the biggest regret (or series of regrets) I have.
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If you're such a perfectionist then why don't you have enough savings to make this a breeze?
 
Renard said:
I would have the thought the second dentist would have fixed the gap trapping food. As long as you pay special attention to keep the area clean it'll be fine for now, but eventually you should definitely see if they can do something about that.
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Just waiting for the nerve/sensitivity to settle down and then I'll ask them to fix the trapping-food issue.

Apprehensive to get it drilled on again whilst the nerve is sensitive.

But yes that's the plan, meticulously keep it clean until it can be fixed.

PS: are you a dentist?
 
Last edited:
This is life. You're going to make mistakes. It's all about how you deal with the adversity.

Regarding dental care, for some stupid reason I didn't wake up to how to properly care for my teeth until way later than I should have. NOW my mouth is fine; good check-up after good check-up. But I went through so much pain and expense over the years.

Sucks what you've been through, but you're not alone.
 
Home_Slice said:
Apparently twice a year is recommended, for both cleaning and check up.

But again I've attended dentists that say I need X, Y and Z, maybe fillings, deep cleaning, etc etc.

Much of the time it's unnecessary but they advise it cause it's more work for them = more money.

I've been recommended work, fillings etc., got a second opinion from more specialist dentists....... turns out it wasn't necessary at all.
Click to expand...
I'm starting to wonder about the same thing with eye exam. Curious if shining the super bright light super close to eyes does any damage like cataracts. Eyes seem less sharp each time I get eye exam. Was told to come back in six months, but asked for 1 yr instead. I thought some go every other year.
 
Home_Slice said:
Just waiting for the nerve/sensitivity to settle down and then I'll ask them to fix the trapping-food issue.

Apprehensive to get it drilled on again whilst the nerve is sensitive.

But yes that's the plan, meticulously keep it clean until it can be fixed.

PS: are you a dentist?
Click to expand...

Nope, just someone that's interested in the subject. If anyone's curious my conclusion is this. Amalgam corrodes, porcelain eventually grinds itself down and damages the opposing teeth in the process because it's higher on the Moh's hardness scale than enamel, and composites gradually erode away. The only lifetime restoration material is gold. It doesn't corrode, it doesn't crack teeth, it doesn't change shape, it doesn't abrade the opposing teeth like porcelain, it has the best margins between teeth and filling (no micro fissures through which bacteria can get in) and it has similar physical properties to natural teeth. Interestingly it's also often the only restoration material not covered by insurance. Maybe they figure that it's not in their best interest to cover something that makes their "services" superfluous. There's way more money in needing you to redo everything every 10-20 years.
 
Leonard Haid said:
This is life. You're going to make mistakes. It's all about how you deal with the adversity.

Regarding dental care, for some stupid reason I didn't wake up to how to properly care for my teeth until way later than I should have. NOW my mouth is fine; good check-up after good check-up. But I went through so much pain and expense over the years.

Sucks what you've been through, but you're not alone.
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Good perspective.

It can be a tough pill to swallow, making these mistakes and looking back, thinking how easy they could have been avoided with just a little more attention and less oversight.

And there's definitely something to be said for how we deal with it, no doubt.
My initial reaction here was to be overwhelmed, gradually I've come to terms with it a little better though.

I knew in the back of my mind it was do-able, to deal with the regret etc., and I'd manage that in time.
But my initial reaction was to go totally sideways, lol.
 
When i was 20 years old i had a molar removed, that had cracked. I had no issues in the procedure or for the 20+ years that followed.

I then allowed a new dentist to convince me i should put a implant in that spot, as it would help prevent any drift of the other teeth into the gap and as i had extensive insurance we did it. That dentist was also always trying to get me to get a nightguard for sleeping, saying it would cut down on teeth grinding and snoring, which are two things i have not had a problem with. For 6 years i had nothing but ongoing problems with that implant until i finally had it removed when i moved and got a new dentist who told me that i had no need for it, if i was ok with the gap.

I then got a new dentist, on another move and they are also always trying to get me to get a nightguard.

I also cracked a second molar and had to have it removed just over a month ago. Before removal the dentist had to clear up some infection that formed, and as such i was prescribed antibiotics and prescription pain killers. I was told to take the pain killers proactively, before the pain started. I never got the painkillers and never had any issues with pain as the infection clearer. After the molar was removed, again i was prescribed pain killers, with the same guidance. Take them proactively before the freezing wore off. Again i never filled the prescription but i did take two XS Advil, just before i went to bed, in case the freezing wearing off would disrupt my sleep. I awoke with no pain and did not take another painkiller since.

So long story short, is do not just blindly follow advice. A lot of it is based on a newish upsell philosophy which is to increase the billings across the entire sector.
 
Dental issues are the worst and they stress me out. I spent a long time ignoring my teeth health and I'm paying for it now.
 
ChosenOne said:
When i was 20 years old i had a molar removed, that had cracked. I had no issues in the procedure or for the 20+ years that followed.

I then allowed a new dentist to convince me i should put a implant in that spot, as it would help prevent any drift of the other teeth into the gap and as i had extensive insurance we did it. That dentist was also always trying to get me to get a nightguard for sleeping, saying it would cut down on teeth grinding and snoring, which are two things i have not had a problem with. For 6 years i had nothing but ongoing problems with that implant until i finally had it removed when i moved and got a new dentist who told me that i had no need for it, if i was ok with the gap.

I then got a new dentist, on another move and they are also always trying to get me to get a nightguard.

I also cracked a second molar and had to have it removed just over a month ago. Before removal the dentist had to clear up some infection that formed, and as such i was prescribed antibiotics and prescription pain killers. I was told to take the pain killers proactively, before the pain started. I never got the painkillers and never had any issues with pain as the infection clearer. After the molar was removed, again i was prescribed pain killers, with the same guidance. Take them proactively before the freezing wore off. Again i never filled the prescription but i did take two XS Advil, just before i went to bed, in case the freezing wearing off would disrupt my sleep. I awoke with no pain and did not take another painkiller since.

So long story short, is do not just blindly follow advice. A lot of it is based on a newish upsell philosophy which is to increase the billings across the entire sector.
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Cracked molar?

How did you find the change eating without it, after it was extracted?

Was a root canal not a possibility?

I really don't like the idea of being without one of my teeth, especially a molar (what's affected in my case). I enjoy a good chew.
 
Renard said:
Nope, just someone that's interested in the subject. If anyone's curious my conclusion is this. Amalgam corrodes, porcelain eventually grinds itself down and damages the opposing teeth in the process because it's higher on the Moh's hardness scale than enamel, and composites gradually erode away. The only lifetime restoration material is gold. It doesn't corrode, it doesn't crack teeth, it doesn't change shape, it doesn't abrade the opposing teeth like porcelain, it has the best margins between teeth and filling (no micro fissures through which bacteria can get in) and it has similar physical properties to natural teeth. Interestingly it's also often the only restoration material not covered by insurance. Maybe they figure that it's not in their best interest to cover something that makes their "services" superfluous. There's way more money in needing you to redo everything every 10-20 years.
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Just curiosity, but do you have any dental work done yourself as well?

I'd love gold fillings but, they're hyper expensive compared to mercury-amalgam, or composite resin is the go-to now.

If I'd got gold fillings originally, of course I would never have needed to get them drilled out (or thought that was the right thing to do).

But I was 11 years old, didn't have the presence of mind to stipulate gold and implore my mother to pay for it.
 
Home_Slice said:
What work are you getting done?
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I'm pretty much done with all the work I needed. Now it's just constant maintenance. I'm at the dentist every 3 months getting a cleaning. I basically had the holes between my gums. They had to numb my mouth, cut my gums open and clean out my teeth. Then sew it back up and fill it with some cement sort of stuff so that the hole isn't so deep and I can properly clean it.

Now I brush/floss every single day and I never skip a day I don't care how fucked up I am. Dentist says I'm doing a good job but a new hole did form on my molar all the way in the back of my mouth. Getting that fixes next week. I hate the dentist but shit gets expensive fast if you don't maintain it.

My dentist did tell me a lot of this stuff can be genetic so that's probably part of the issue to my family doesn't have good gums. Our teeth are great but are gums are not good.
 
There are stories on reddit of people losing all teeth in early 20s

Yoi gonna be fine TS
 
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