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

[Home_Slice]

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.

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.

 

[MidgardSerpent]

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.

 

[Renard]

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.

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.

 

[kimocomplex]

Just pull it imo

 

[Fedorgasm]

How is cavity golf ball sized when tooth isn't anywhere near golf ball sized?

Photo of the TS

 

[facePuncher7]

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.

If you're such a perfectionist then why don't you have enough savings to make this a breeze?

 

[Home_Slice]

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.

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?

 

[Leonard Haid]

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.

 

[GSP_37]

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.

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.