Angeldove
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2015
- Messages
- 393
- Location
- NJ
Hello members at DFC!
My name is Tati and I'm almost 30 years old (less than a month to go)! I'm so happy to have found a site to discuss dental concerns and how to deal with them. I'm also hoping to get some guidance on how members care for their mouth's health- although I have received good information from my dentist (I'm really proud to say that I do have a dentist).
My past...
As a child, my parents didn't keep on top of me when it came to brushing my teeth. When they did make me or when I did do it on my own, I noticed a lot of pain after brushing. I know that I brush too hard (trying to work on that ), but I also have always had painful, itchy gums and teeth after brushing. Parents never taught me to floss either, so I kind of never picked up on doing that. My Dad hasn't seen a dentist in decades and my Mom comes and goes to the dentist when needed. I would only go to the dentist when I brought up a concern to my Mom and I remember the very first time going (I was in second grade) I cried the whole time, for no reason- the dentist was really nice and knew my parents and he was just going to look at my teeth. Nope nope nope Since caring for my teeth hurt me, I just never picked up good habits.
I moved out of my parents house once I graduated college, but just before then I went to the dentist a few times to get a ton of fillings (I think I have more fillings than teeth when it comes to my molars) and 2 root canals/crowns (this is before I was 22-years-old). So I'm not a newbie to dental procedures.
Eventually I figured out that the pain I was having from brushing was caused to an allergy to sodium laureth ingredients in MOST tooth pastes. I'm not sure if there's a test they can do to confirm it, but all I know is when I don't use a tooth paste with that ingredient I'm great - no pain in my teeth or gums. There are just a few types of tooth paste I can buy in the store without this ingredient, but I'm happy to have that problem solved. But not having good habits in place, I just didn't worry about my teeth.
My Current Situation...
Last Friday, my back lower left molar broke and I had to deal with the filling scrapping my tongue for a few days. Once I had realized it had broken - and I knew I couldn't get out of going to the dentist- I went to my husband (we've been married for three and half years - been together for 9 years) and broke down crying. He had no clue how much I hated going to the dentist (nothing against nice dentists though).
I spent most of Friday night into Saturday morning researching my dental insurance (barely anything - just $1000 a year), finding a dentist (I found one in my network literally down the street- I can walk there in 10 minutes), and contacting them about getting an appointment. The place allows you to email them if they are closed, so I did that Saturday morning (if I put something off I'm never going to do it), thinking they would not get back to me. They called me a few hours later and I had an appointment set up for Monday! (Gotta make the appointment ASAP or I'll never do it ) But I spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday being stressed out and upset - and in pain since my tooth was cutting into my tongue (I bought some ortho wax to place over it which helped as long as I wasn't talking or eating).
My First Time back in 8+ Years...
I prayed, I sent out a prayer request to my family and friends, I constantly talked to hubby about my fears- that's how I spent my time preparing for my first appointment back to the dentist. I couldn't be treated that first time: they use that time to take x-rays, fill out paper-work, come up with a care plan, and get information on my insurance set-up. Everybody was so sweet and nice, ZERO lectures (thank God), and they had no issues with my husband being with me the whole time (thankfully he was able to leave work early to be with me - I just really wanted him there for the care plan and how much $$$ we are going to be dropping). Dentist was talking to me about the care plan and my eyes fell on the total amount: $11,455. That's about 20% of my annual salary.
I started to freak out a bit after that (the dentist left the room for a few minutes to check my insurance out) and thankfully my husband just grabbed my hand and told me we'll do what we can when we can. Dentist came in to check on me and asked if I was okay- he was totally supportive of me doing a little bit at a time and understood how I couldn't afford to do all of this at once. We went through what I had to get done this year to help save my teeth/mouth and the rest he said we'll tackle over the next 2 years or so. After setting up some appointments, he shook my hand and told me "You know we only want to help you" in this sweet voice and I told him I appreciated it (I have nothing against good dentists who are understanding- it's just not a place I like to go).
I'm going to post this now and I will pick up with my adventures since then...
My name is Tati and I'm almost 30 years old (less than a month to go)! I'm so happy to have found a site to discuss dental concerns and how to deal with them. I'm also hoping to get some guidance on how members care for their mouth's health- although I have received good information from my dentist (I'm really proud to say that I do have a dentist).
My past...
As a child, my parents didn't keep on top of me when it came to brushing my teeth. When they did make me or when I did do it on my own, I noticed a lot of pain after brushing. I know that I brush too hard (trying to work on that ), but I also have always had painful, itchy gums and teeth after brushing. Parents never taught me to floss either, so I kind of never picked up on doing that. My Dad hasn't seen a dentist in decades and my Mom comes and goes to the dentist when needed. I would only go to the dentist when I brought up a concern to my Mom and I remember the very first time going (I was in second grade) I cried the whole time, for no reason- the dentist was really nice and knew my parents and he was just going to look at my teeth. Nope nope nope Since caring for my teeth hurt me, I just never picked up good habits.
I moved out of my parents house once I graduated college, but just before then I went to the dentist a few times to get a ton of fillings (I think I have more fillings than teeth when it comes to my molars) and 2 root canals/crowns (this is before I was 22-years-old). So I'm not a newbie to dental procedures.
Eventually I figured out that the pain I was having from brushing was caused to an allergy to sodium laureth ingredients in MOST tooth pastes. I'm not sure if there's a test they can do to confirm it, but all I know is when I don't use a tooth paste with that ingredient I'm great - no pain in my teeth or gums. There are just a few types of tooth paste I can buy in the store without this ingredient, but I'm happy to have that problem solved. But not having good habits in place, I just didn't worry about my teeth.
My Current Situation...
Last Friday, my back lower left molar broke and I had to deal with the filling scrapping my tongue for a few days. Once I had realized it had broken - and I knew I couldn't get out of going to the dentist- I went to my husband (we've been married for three and half years - been together for 9 years) and broke down crying. He had no clue how much I hated going to the dentist (nothing against nice dentists though).
I spent most of Friday night into Saturday morning researching my dental insurance (barely anything - just $1000 a year), finding a dentist (I found one in my network literally down the street- I can walk there in 10 minutes), and contacting them about getting an appointment. The place allows you to email them if they are closed, so I did that Saturday morning (if I put something off I'm never going to do it), thinking they would not get back to me. They called me a few hours later and I had an appointment set up for Monday! (Gotta make the appointment ASAP or I'll never do it ) But I spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday being stressed out and upset - and in pain since my tooth was cutting into my tongue (I bought some ortho wax to place over it which helped as long as I wasn't talking or eating).
My First Time back in 8+ Years...
I prayed, I sent out a prayer request to my family and friends, I constantly talked to hubby about my fears- that's how I spent my time preparing for my first appointment back to the dentist. I couldn't be treated that first time: they use that time to take x-rays, fill out paper-work, come up with a care plan, and get information on my insurance set-up. Everybody was so sweet and nice, ZERO lectures (thank God), and they had no issues with my husband being with me the whole time (thankfully he was able to leave work early to be with me - I just really wanted him there for the care plan and how much $$$ we are going to be dropping). Dentist was talking to me about the care plan and my eyes fell on the total amount: $11,455. That's about 20% of my annual salary.
I started to freak out a bit after that (the dentist left the room for a few minutes to check my insurance out) and thankfully my husband just grabbed my hand and told me we'll do what we can when we can. Dentist came in to check on me and asked if I was okay- he was totally supportive of me doing a little bit at a time and understood how I couldn't afford to do all of this at once. We went through what I had to get done this year to help save my teeth/mouth and the rest he said we'll tackle over the next 2 years or so. After setting up some appointments, he shook my hand and told me "You know we only want to help you" in this sweet voice and I told him I appreciated it (I have nothing against good dentists who are understanding- it's just not a place I like to go).
I'm going to post this now and I will pick up with my adventures since then...