Going to the dentist

sorry man, i’ve been there too. had a lot of grief from wisdom teeth, two root canals, lost count of fillings, got a broken tooth now which needs a crown i can’t afford.

:hugs:

Last experience at the dentist has put me off. The dentist was absolutely manic and botched a filling causing quite bad toothache. Had a clean as well and they were really rough. A tool broke so they asked me to come back the next day and then they billed me for two surgeries and absolutely won’t back down. Twats.

It’s ok, I guess you just hit a nerve

7 Likes

Haven’t been to the dentist for years and last time I went was probably the first time in 10 years. The guy was a knob and gave me a big lecture about smoking even though I’d already quit. Should probably go again at some point.

smh

2 Likes

:heart:

1 Like

Fine. My experience has always been pretty much painless. Tooth extractions were a bit alarming but well, as I said, pain-free!

The stories from when my parents were young :grimacing: The dentist van turning up at school, the screams, the buckets of blood… the horror.

1 Like

NHS Stuff is quite remarkably cheap though. It is all included when you get a treatment plan, so you don’t appear to pay more than “once” for the treatment, even if it takes a bunch of time. That’s where my hunners of hours of work (cap, fillings (loads), a later a root canal) all seem to actually work out cheaper than it would in gasp Scotland.

Really don’t mind the dentist, just haven’t been in over 8yrs. Sort’ve dreading going back now, but my teeth seem ok atm, but idk

2 Likes

had three different NHS dentists who’ve told me they can’t do root canals and i have to go private and end up with a quote for about £1000

-sucks air in through teeth- Sorry pal, I’m just a mechanic at a leading car garage, but I can’t change your oil, no way. You’re going to have to buy an all new engine, sorry.

2 Likes

You have brilliant teeth, appearance wise anyway. I’m sure they’re fine. My bf didn’t go for like… 7 years? no fillings, nothing. The bastard :smiley:

Love this. I went to a dentist once where they basically said, “we could do the root canal but tbh we’re not very good at it. You’re probably better off letting us take the tooth out.”

1 Like

That’ll smart

2 Likes

yeah this is always the case isn’t it. it’s either ‘our instruments aren’t advanced enough?!’ or ‘only specialists can do root canals’ or yeah just straight up ‘we wont do it very well’

really plainly obvious that they just don’t think it’s worth their while based on what they get paid from the NHS

1 Like

Had an absolutely awful experience getting wisdom teeth removed in my 20s which nearly paralysed one side of my face (albeit this was in the outpatients dept at hospital rather than the dentists itself). It left me a bit wary of the dentist for a bit, but that soon passed and I actually quite enjoy going to the dentist now. I love interdental brushes, they are SO cool. I must have spent about 50 hours in the chair in 2015 getting cosmetic stuff done. :laughing:

I’ve recently moved to a really nice brand new local one (NHS) and having paid thousands previously at a private one in Glasgow, I was most delighted last week to have some x-rays done which cost me the grand total of £4.70.

1 Like

having just seen the hygienist twice in 2 weeks to make up for 4 years of not going to the dentist at all, I can say that the pushiness is worth it. I’ve been using floss AND interdental brushes every day for the last month and I can already see/feel the plaque coming back. I’m going to start going to the hygienist every 3 months - that immediate post-appointment feeling of cleanliness is so DELIGHTFUL

I just wish I could get away with it tbh. “Sorry boss I would do my job today but frankly I’m a bit shit. I’m gonna stay in bed for both our sakes.”

1 Like

mine is a nice guy but I hate going, I can tell he kinda wants to try and upsell me on whitening stuff and whatnot but cos I’m broke I just kinda ignore it and smile politely. Spend weeks before an appointment worrying about it.

My bottom two also get stained. Used to be worse when I smoked but still happens now that I’ve stopped. Combination of tea, coffee and red wine I reckon but I’m not giving any of those up soon.

My dentist gave be a (free!) polybag of pumice stone powder to brush with. It’s what they use when they do a polish. Just mix a bit with water, stick it on the end of your (preferably electric) toothbrush and do a brush as normal. He said not to use it more than once a week or you can damage the enamel. I only use it every two or three and it’s not got the most pleasant aftertaste but it really helps keep the stains at bay.

1 Like