I just wanted to remind everyone the consequences of not visiting your dentist regularly. I am going to lose 4 teeth (luckily they are all 8th on both sides up and down, the ones that produce bacteria and don't take part in eating or anything else).

But there are loads of cavities, caries and other bad news in my mouth. The 6th teeth on bottom side left and right are going to be rebuilt costing 1500$ each. So if you value your teeth and want to save a buck, dial your dentist today.

If you think your teeth are ok, then you are most likely mistaken.

I had some pretty bad dental experiences when I was in the army. It was free, but it's like every budding wanna-be dentist in the world joins the Army so they can practice.

So, after I got out I didn't go to the dentist for like 6 years. Bad freakin' move. I paid for it. My teeth aren't TOTALLY jacked up, but yea, don't do it. I'm with Peltz.

Now I just need to go see an eye doctor. It's been 10 years now.

Yea yea - I know I should go to the dentist - I even have dental insurance - I just haven't gone in a while. But last time I went before that it had been 4 years and my teeth were fine. I would bet I have a problem or two now, but not horriable I would bet. /sigh guess I should find a dentist. I must say I am pretty fortunate to have pretty solid teeth - other than the fact that I had a ton of teeth pulled when I was a child so I could get braces and the like. I think I am missing 8-9 of my adult teeth - there was just not enough room in my mouth

I'm insured and the dentist plans my visits twice a year. I simply get a notice, and when it doesn't suit me, I call them to make another appointment. Pretty simple, and the only problem I ever have is some calculus removal being done.

I think you mean tartar. Though I was looking it up and Calculus is technically correct, as well. However, to me Calculus is a math.

Man...if I could go to the dentist to get help with my Calculus (math) that'd be freakin awesome.

Lol yeah I had to look that up myself, clicked the link to the English version of the Dutch Wikipedia page. I'm glad I'll never have to use a lot of calculus again.

I hate the dentist. No real reason why, just hate it. Not scared, as such, but I do like to have moral support. Still go every 6 months for my check up though.

Thankfully I haven't inherited my Mums teeth. She has caps, crowns and bridges all over the place (ok so she's 63 now but still, she's had 'em as long as I can remember) and always needs something new doing. She constantly breaks them too.

Me on the other hand have only ever needed in 24 years:
1 removal of a baby tooth because it had an abcess under it
4 removals of adult teeth, one from each corner because I didn't have enough room in my mouth so my front teeth were being forced behind each other
1 filling, to do with the abcess, so not even a permanent one

My dentist hates me, whenever I go he moans coz there's nothing to do (he did that even as an NHS dentist, now he really hates me for it coz they've gone private ) and last time was outraged to find my teeth had actually improved! Mwahahaha. But heck, even with my good teeth and cleaning them twice a day every (well most) days, he always has to clean my front teeth a little, so it's easy to see just how people can end up with problems, particularly those cursed with 'bad' teeth to start with.

Heh, funny, I've got an appointment this Friday. Nothing serious, just getting some minor cavities looked at and stuff.

Like Peltz, I had a period in my life when I didn't take enough care of my teeth. A while ago, during my college years, when my lifestyle was mostly based on fat and alcohol. I'm still paying for that really. Before it I never much suffered from my teeth (ok I did have all 4 wisdom teeth pulled seperately but that's not directly related to dental care), but afterwards...gah.

A while ago, I had a BIG cavity in my left upper teeth which started hurting like hell when I put pressure on it (by eating typically). I just went 'myeah...I'll just chew right and go to the dentist's, someday'. Then a piece if my right upper teeth broke off and made it hard to put pressure on that side too. I effectively lost most of my capacity to chew efficiently on either side.

After 3 appointments or so costing me a grand total of 300 € (well I did get about 240 back from health insurance but still) I'm now, for the first time in a while, entirely painfree. And I intend to keep it that way. I feel like a retard for not taking care of the problem earlier, the more because it's just pure laziness to pick up the phone and make an appointment. Oh well.

What struck me the most in all this, however, was the long-term tooth health thing. I've been pretty anal about dental hygiene for years now, brusing 2 tot 3 times a day, using dental floss, mouthwater...you name it. I don't even drink/eat that much sugary stuff anymore . Yet I kept running into issues, all of them -still- consequences of that period in my life where I didn't care. So, I feel you Peltz.

Serbia is on the fourth place by corruption in health care (thanks to the government). If you do something serious and you don't bribe, the doc will likely fuck you up. Even kill you? News about deaths during trivial operations are often in newspapers. If you come for control, and you are insured (i.e. not giving the cache right away in the hospital) the doc likely won't care to check you properly. No wonder why I visit the doc rarely.

I had a friend who didn't care about his teeth either and he started getting a tootache. Like Ox, he ignored it and it just kept getting worse. Finally he was basically in excruciating pain and finally went to the dentist, though he still put it off awhile. Lazy bastard.

In the he'd gotten a cavity, it'd gotten infected, and the infection started to move into his jaw. If he'd waited much longer he might have lost his jaw bone. There was also the possibility that it would have moved into his brain and killed him.

Tooth infection, the silent assassin

Lol, I never got THAT far, tho I have walked around with some serious pain on a more or less voluntary basis. I do know that the infections have drained me physically, tho. I notice(d) a serious improvement in my overall health and stamina when i got my teeth fixed. Not having to be careful when eating icecream or cold beverages was nice too. For some reason beer never was a problem, but soda was. Weird.

teeth ftl. it's about time we got a bionic set that could be switched at will.

As in chainsaw mode? chewing a tree has never been more simpler

Chainsaw mode would be cool too. I was thinking more of teeth that could easily be replaced when they go bad, tho. Like a sort of permanent set of false teeth you don't have to take out and can change one tooth at a time with.

Regrowing Teeth

Researchers are finding ways to use stem cells to regrow teeth--a potentially easier and healthier alternative to dentures and dental implants.
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedi ... 216/page1/

Who knows when it'll happen, of course. Sure would be nice.