Considerata Dentata

Things I expect my dentist to tell me this afternoon:

  • You need to floss more. No doubt. Everybody needs to floss more. I guess there are a handful of folks who floss and floss like there is no tomorrow, but I suspect that such people are usually avoided in social settings because of their overall twitchiness.
  • Looks like you’ve got another loose filling. If I was feeling truly vindictive, here is where I would post a link to the first dentist I employed upon moving to Atlanta in 1995. And I would proceed to describe how he came off as a really friendly fellow who was free with the distribution of nitrous for whatever ailed you. Seriously. Need your teeth cleaned? How ’bout a little gas, eh? But the flipside of that generosity was his insistence that tooth sealing was the best damned thing in dentistry today. And also that one was far better off with dental composite (“white”) fillings than the standard issue (“silver”) amalgams. After all, wasn’t insurance paying for it anyway? Well, it turns out that tooth sealing is not as preventative as advertised. And the composite fillings have a tendency to fall down on the job in a way that old school amalgams never do. So my current dentist has had to repeatedly perform do-overs to make up for the efforts of Dr Nice Guy.

The one thing I dread my dentist telling me this afternoon:

  • Those wisdom teeth are going to have to come out. No. Come on. I’ve kept them for this long, so why not let me keep them. It’s a minor mark of pride for me. Besides, weren’t all of the childhood dental extractions — of which there were many — a way to avoid the whole “no room for more teeth” dilemma?
February 28, 2008 – 3:02 pm | By Thomas | Posted in Observations | Comments (12)
  • http://www.iheartdavids.com JeniQ

    Oooh, a number of years ago I had all my fillings replaced with those pretty white fillings. I did it mostly out of vanity, plus my doc convinced me that my fillings were looking pretty rotten. He stuck a camera in my mouth and gave me too much evidence to turn down the option. I added extra money to my flex spending plan the next year to cover the cost that insurance wouldn’t cover (50%). I love my white fillings. I have lots of fillings but you would never know to see me yawn. :)

  • http://www.duanemoody.com duane

    “those wisdom teeth are going to have to come out” is exactly what I heard last time, and every time before. I have the appointment slip for the oral surgeon sitting in front of me as I type this, and I just can’t bring myself to go… I really, really don’t like the idea of having them taken out (the pain, the suffering, the dry sockets, etc.), and I really don’t want to have to pay for the difference (about $1000 I think).

    I am in the same boat with you on those wisdom teeth… they are not actually so wise if you ask me.

  • http://www.radicalgeorgiamoderate.org Rusty

    I heard a month or so ago that mine need to come out. Will probably get it done in May after Amber’s conference is over.

    What is it with bloggers and wisdom teeth? It’s like we’re syncing our periods or something.

  • http://beingamberrhea.com Amber

    I guess there are a handful of folks who floss and floss like there is no tomorrow, but I suspect that such people are usually avoided in social settings because of their overall twitchiness.

    I’m one of those weirdos who flosses all the time. I don’t think I’m twitchy in social situations, although you are free to correct me. The reason I’m so fastidious about dental care is because several years ago, I wasn’t, and I went through several pretty hellish procedures that schooled me real good.

    Also, according to one dentist, I have “soft teeth.” Talk about a mental picture!

  • http://www.mostlymuppet.com/ Seth

    Eerily similar to what I heard last month. Of course I hadn’t been to a dentist in over 3 years.

  • http://www.alendalux.com Nikki

    I hate to floss because I hate sticking my fingers in my mouth. I find it really, really annoying, and I hate the floss itself touching my mouth and face. Weird, I know. So I have a Reach Flosser-Thingy, and I try to remember to use it.

    I have my wisdom teeth, too, but I’m not getting them out unless I have to. They never move. I can see that the ones on the bottom are totally crooked – leaning forward with the crown looking at the roots of my other teeth. They never hurt, though. Both my parents still have theirs, so I am banking on being genetically lucky. I have no desire to have someone stick a scalpel in my mouth unless it’s 100% necessary.

  • Amanda

    So it’s been a few years since I got mine out and I have to say that I really am glad I did it. I had no idea how crowded my mouth was before that or how difficult it was to really get behind them to clean. Without them I have a cleaner mouth feel.
    Really. Try it. You’ll be glad you did.

    Does hurt though.

  • Chris

    I just had a tooth break, and my new Dentist tells me that he sees it all the time as a result of the old-school silverish fillings. He feels it’s because the metal expands and contracts ever so slightly if you , say, eat something really hot or cold. This was a deepish filling, and it split the tooth at around a 45 degree angle, so that seems plausible. He only uses the white ones. I guess there’s pros and cons to anything though.

  • http://www.alendalux.com Nikki

    Our dentist is old school – literally, actually – my dad fixed his car while he was in college, in the last dental class to graduate from Emory. He’s been my dentist since I had teeth at all. I’ve had his fillings in my mouth for a very, very long time, so I’m not worried. And, Thomas’s teeth don’t hurt now, whereas they did before. Frankly, I think it’s up to the skill of the dentist whether a filling does well or not. I’m pretty sure it’s six of one, half-dozen of the other, unless the cosmetic aspect is that important.

  • http://aprovechar.danandsally.com Sally JPA

    Funny how the flossing thing brings us all out.

    Thomas, you and I went to the dentist on the same day! We’re so special like that.

    And actually, yesterday was the one and only time I’ve ever had a hygienist and dentist gush over how clean my teeth are. Dan and I did the Real Age test online about a year ago, and it told us Dan was likely to die two years earlier than he would otherwise because of not flossing and the eventual results of that. (The tooth cavities can be the entrance of bad diseases as you get older–I did know that.) Now, I don’t put an ENORMOUS stock in those kinds of test, but why not do something that’s fairly easy that might save you trouble later on? So I told Dan we were both going to floss daily, and now we do. And now I have a gushing dentist and hygienist, so yay for that. ;)

  • Kathryn

    I had all four wisdom teeth out in September. My Dr. was great, and I was actually able to eat pot roast for dinner THAT night! I hear that I’m a freak about that stuff (incredible pain tolerance). I had been putting the procedure off for about 4 years, but decided that I should go ahead while I have dental insurance. Honestly, it wasn’t bad at all and I had psyched myself up for all kind of horrors (just reading about dry sockets is scary). Make sure to go to an oral surgeon. I was completely knocked out for the procedure, and got good drugs afterward. Some dentists will do it, but don’t let them. There’s a BIG difference. My wisdom teeth never bothered me. It was the whole notion that my mouth wasn’t big enough for them. First time my mouth hasn’t been big enough for anything! I made my dentist put it in writing on his letterhead! lol I agree with Amanda… I didn’t completely buy into it before having them out, but my mouth does feel better… I didn’t even realize I had the problem.

  • http://wenderella.vox.com Wendy

    My mom still has her wisdom teeth, and my dad only had his out about 5 years ago (incidentally the same year I had mine out). The dentist in Perry says it’s actually all the new orthodontic rigamarole that leads to people getting their wisdom teeth out. He said if you have enough room in your jaw, and they don’t have cavities, you can theoretically keep them forever. They only remove them in developed countries anyway. It has something to do with the fact that if you’re missing molars, they move around and can be used. Granted, my Perry dentist, Dr. Graham, is 86 years old.