No dentist for 10 years - Suprising Results!

[kcin1984]

I just wanted to share a little hope and light on this forum. I had not been near a dentist in 10 years and my wife forced me to go this past week. She made the appointment 2 weeks prior and I was terrified at the prospect of going. Mostly because I was embarrassed but also because I have no dental insurance. She made an appointment with a small town dentist instead of one in the larger town we live in. She assured me that would help with the cost portion. We all had an appointment. My wife, 2 of my children who are old enough to have teeth and me.
I obsessed about the possibilities for two weeks straight. I literally would lay in bed thinking about it and wake up and think about it first thing. It was excruciating.
The day of the appointment I acted normal because I didn't want to pass my fear on to my children. In my mind I had 12 cavities and periodontal disease and bone loss. When the hygienist came in she asked how long it had been since I was at the dentist and I told her that Nsync probably had a #1 hit that year. She laughed and then realized how long ago that was. So she said she was just going to clean my teeth and take xrays and not to worry because she wasn't going to do anything to hurt me.
She started cleaning my teeth and commented that they had tartar but no where near as bad as someone who has issues with tartar. She said there was some staining. I smoked for a few years and chewed for about 7. I expected some staining. I expected a lot of problems.
The dentist came in and looked at my xrays. He looked in my mouth and used the poky thing around my teeth and then said, "ok good to go!".
I was in complete shock. All the time I wasted being worried about the possibilities I will never reclaim. All the time I spent not going to the dentist because I was afraid I would be scolded was totally lost. I know that good dental hygiene and good genetics play a huge part in your oral health but I seriously thought at least something would be wrong.
I know that this isn't the case the majority of the time but I wanted to share this because I am sure there are some out there in my same boat driving themselves crazy for absolutely no reason.

 

[The1701]

Thanks for sharing Kcin1984, it's true that in general things are not as bad as we imagine them to be. I was terrified that I'd need teeth extracted and it kept me away for ages. When I finally got enough courage built up to face a possible extraction it turned out I didn't need one.

Sometimes it's better to know what you're dealing with and take it one step at a time.

Well done you for getting there though, keep it up!

 

[Bassey]

I read in a worthy newspaper (perhaps the guardian) that women lose their teeth sooner than men because they go to the dentist more often and have more unnecessary work done. So I'm not surprised that many people who don't go to the dentist have better teeth than those who do.

My mum had six kids. Five of us went to the local school dentist, one of my sisters didn't because my mum (who had mental health problems) didn't realise that she hadn't registered her. Today, now we are in our thirties and forties, those of us who went to the dentist regularly have heavily restored problem teeth (I've had 27 year of pain from two perforated root fillings I had done as a child). My sister who never went to the dentist until she was in her thirties has much better teeth, although crooked. I'd prefer crooked teeth to heavily restored teeth.

Anyway, back to you! Congratulations for keeping your teeth in good condition for 10 years!