Do you take good care of your mouth/teeth?? Really?

[Madam Bijoux]

I see the dentist twice a year. I brush whenever I''ve eaten anything no matter where I am, and I have no qualms about spitting in a public sink. I make sure I rinse the sink thoroughly when I''m done. It beats having to keep my teeth in a glass at night.

 

[Pandora II]

British dentistry is ''interesting'' although getting better thank goodness - it''s free, but the government will only pay for the cheapest methods so you get metal fillings not white ones etc Private dentistry is much better but very expensive.

I have inherited my father''s and grandmother''s teeth as did my youngest sister - we have no wisdom teeth, no secondary molars in two places on the left hand upper side only milk teeth, extremely thin tooth-enamel and what they call an ''immature'' mouth with a bad over-bite. On the good side, we all have straight teeth!

Add to that a terrible dentist and living through a cholera epidemic where I had to take large quantities of tetracycline as a child (discolours your adult teeth before they come through) and I have hated my teeth for as long as I can remember.

The thin tooth enamel meant I got cavities very easily despite my mother being religious about brushing/flossing etc and the dentist never spotted the over-bite and terrified me so badly that I couldn''t go near dentists for years.

In the end I found a dentist in Italy who trained in Stockholm and NY and who was prepared to deal with someone with a HUGE fear of dentists. I had all my amalgam fillings removed and the teeth rebuilt with resin- it took over a year to do as removing the fillings gives you a good dose of mercury despite using charcoal, dental dams and whisky (helps apparently - not sure with the mercury or my nerves) so he would only do one a month maximum. He did a beautiful job, but I still hate my teeth - I wanted to do veneers but he refused to do them...

DH has beautiful straight white teeth and has never had a cavity or any dental work at all and I really hope that our daugter inherits his mouth and not mine.

 

[vespergirl]

Yes - I brush three times a day and floss every night before bed. I haven''t had a cavity in 20 years, so it must be working ...

 

[isaku5]

Date: 4/21/2009 9:28:42 AM
Author: Madam Bijoux
I see the dentist twice a year. I brush whenever I''ve eaten anything no matter where I am, and I have no qualms about spitting in a public sink. I make sure I rinse the sink thoroughly when I''m done. It beats having to keep my teeth in a glass at night.

Ain''t that the truth? Over 15 years ago we had a couple stay overnight after a particularly great dinner party with plenty of fine wine. Just before we went to bed, the wife asked for two cups to take with her....Yep, one for hers and one for his.

 

[niccia]

I brush 2-3x a day and floss before bed. I don''t go to the dentist as often as I should (once a year). I also carry mouthwash for when I can''t brush, and I am addicted to the Crest Pro White Strips that you can buy at the dentist (stronger than the drug store ones apparently). They are fabulous. I drink a lot of tea, but I always mix it and coffee with lots of milk which really helps reduce staining. I also try to buy mouthwashes without alcohol and aspartame (which is really hard to find) as I won''t let any synthetic sweetners pass my lips except for the odd piece of gum.

 

[musincy]

Date: 4/20/2009 4:53:58 PM
Author: oobiecoo
I brush at least twice a day, usually more. I rarely floss (maybe once every couple of months). My mom used to make sure I went to the dentist every 6 months but lately its been more like every 2 years. I''ve never had a cavity though!

I''m kind of avoiding the dentist at the moment... last time I went they said I needed my wisdom teeth cut out.

Oh that is not something you should wait on!! If your wisdom teeth are impacted, they are pushing into your other teeth and may cause them to become crooked! Plus, I would imagine it''s painful...

I try to take good care of my teeth, and I go to the dentist every 6 months. Unfortunately, I''ve always been cavity-prone. Hasn''t seemed to matter what I do. It is getting better the older I get, but I really hate going to the dentist now

 

[oobiecoo]

Date: 5/19/2009 11:21:28 PM
Author: musincy

Date: 4/20/2009 4:53:58 PM

Author: oobiecoo

I brush at least twice a day, usually more. I rarely floss (maybe once every couple of months). My mom used to make sure I went to the dentist every 6 months but lately its been more like every 2 years. I''ve never had a cavity though!


I''m kind of avoiding the dentist at the moment... last time I went they said I needed my wisdom teeth cut out.

Oh that is not something you should wait on!! If your wisdom teeth are impacted, they are pushing into your other teeth and may cause them to become crooked! Plus, I would imagine it''s painful...


I try to take good care of my teeth, and I go to the dentist every 6 months. Unfortunately, I''ve always been cavity-prone. Hasn''t seemed to matter what I do. It is getting better the older I get, but I really hate going to the dentist now

He claimed they were impacted... but I don''t notice them one bit. No pain or shifting or anything. I have TMJ and I''d rather not aggravate it by having my mouth open wide for a long period of time. I''m hoping I''ll get a different answer when I go next!

 

[Little Monster]

This thread is hilarious... never would have thought it would come up on a diamond board!!

actually both me & my BF are a bit obsessed with dental hygiene:

-brush teeth (electric tooth brush) after every meal, after snacks, before bed, etc.
-flossing every night
-ACT in the morning
-Listerine at night
-dentist appts every 6 months...

I didn''t have a cavity (baby teeth or adult teeth) until I was 24. Granted, it made me act like a baby when I had to finally have a filling done for the 1st time at that age, but that''s another story!!

-Working in nursing, it is AMAZING to me how many people aren''t great with their oral hygiene... and how inter-related it is to EVERYTHING else. One of our doctors says to check the teeth first -- they''ll tell the whole story :p