Going to the Dentist

[garnettrules21]

Well when I was a kid my dentist sucked, bad, he was arrested a few years later for apparently being high on several procedures. Thus I haven't been to the dentist in about 15 years. Sickening I know.

I brush my teeth regularly but about 6-8 months ago I broke one of my molars and you could see dark decay/cavity where it broke, down fairly deep at least to the gum line. I just toughed it out as it really didn't hurt that much.

Flash forward to now......NOW its hurting, I think more broke off and I can't bite down on the left side of my mouth at all.

I finally decided to give a dentist a call and I have an appointment at 3:00.

I'm scared sh!tless. And this is only for a basic cleaning and checkup for him to see my crappy tooth/teeth. I know I'm gonna have probably several more cavities to deal with.

And I'm almost certain I'll need a root canal.

Who here has had a root canal/broken tooth problem?

ALSO: WTF do they have to use that damn metal pick. Him touching the nerve with that thing scares me the most. I swear if he goes in and pushes that damn metal hook on my clearly exposed cavity in my broken tooth I'm gonna pull the hook out of his hand and hold it to his throat. OBVIOUSLY there is a bad cavity in there, I don't need him to touch my nerve in it and put me in pain to prove it.

Yea, I'm scared. People told me its not nearly as bad as I'm making it out to be. I hope not.

[snepp]

Re: Going to the Dentist

There's a really good chance that a root canal isn't necessary, filling and capping can be done on teeth that are in pretty bad shape (and it's largely painless).

[garnettrules21]

Re: Going to the Dentist

There's a really good chance that a root canal isn't necessary, filling and capping can be done on teeth that are in pretty bad shape (and it's largely painless).

Thats what I'm hoping for. But I can see cavity/decay all the way to the bottom where my tooth broke, right to the gum line which makes me think its even deeper and affecting the nerves. But I sure hope not, I'm just bracing for the worst.

[HealyMonster]

Re: Going to the Dentist

Well when I was a kid my dentist sucked, bad, he was arrested a few years later for apparently being high on several procedures. Thus I haven't been to the dentist in about 15 years. Sickening I know.

I brush my teeth regularly but about 6-8 months ago I broke one of my molars and you could see dark decay/cavity where it broke, down fairly deep at least to the gum line. I just toughed it out as it really didn't hurt that much.

Flash forward to now......NOW its hurting, I think more broke off and I can't bite down on the left side of my mouth at all.

I finally decided to give a dentist a call and I have an appointment at 3:00.

I'm scared sh!tless. And this is only for a basic cleaning and checkup for him to see my crappy tooth/teeth. I know I'm gonna have probably several more cavities to deal with.

And I'm almost certain I'll need a root canal.

Who here has had a root canal/broken tooth problem?

ALSO: WTF do they have to use that damn metal pick. Him touching the nerve with that thing scares me the most. I swear if he goes in and pushes that damn metal hook on my clearly exposed cavity in my broken tooth I'm gonna pull the hook out of his hand and hold it to his throat. OBVIOUSLY there is a bad cavity in there, I don't need him to touch my nerve in it and put me in pain to prove it.

Yea, I'm scared. People told me its not nearly as bad as I'm making it out to be. I hope not.

well, Im not the biggest fan of the dentist either, I mean nobody really is a "fan" of the dentist but its bearable for some. I had a few bad experiences with Novocain not working,etc when I was a kid so getting me to the dentist was literally like pulling teeth for my mom. I had braces so I didnt have much of a choice until I was like 15 when I got them off, after that I didnt go back to the dentist until i was in the army and I had a bad abscessed cavity. Dude was like you have a lot of cavities, we need to get you in here. I never went. After a while I wanted to get my teeth in order so I started going, I like connected with my dentist and I didnt mind going. I had to get a few root canals and fillings, and after a while I was pretty much cavity free. The dentist left and A new one came and i generally wanted nothing to do with the dentist again so I stopped going again until i found a good dentist.

I think its underestimated the relationship people have with dentists and I suggest you find one that you really feel comfortable with. If you do, going to the dentist wont be so bad. Just keep in mind that your never going to be " Yessssssssss, today is a dentist appointment, its a great day", but at the very least you can not wake up searching for excuses to get out of it lol.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Going to the Dentist

I've had two or three root canals and honestly they weren't bad at all. If you get a guy who knows what he's doing, it can go pretty smooth. My first was the worst, but only cause the dentist messed up and made the thing drag on for an hour longer than it needed to. It was more of an annoyance than a pain issue. And it was really do to them being understaffed and the dentist making me wait while he worked on other patients.

As long as they numb you up properly, your pain will be minimal.

The worst part for me was the actual fitting of the crown. It was a tight space and they have to air dry that tooth with no novacaine and when the cool air hits your nerve, you feel it through out your whole body. It took them several tries and several air blasts.

BTW, I'm sure you know...brushing is not enough...floss every day at least once. Spend a solid 4-5 minutes in the morning and at night, brushing, flossing and rinsing.

I had a bad three year stint with my adult teeth (12-15 years old) before I realized how important maintenance was, which I paid for as an adult with all of these root canals and several thousand dollars in dental bills. I haven't had any new issues in the last 10 years...all of my problems now days are because of old cavities/fillings that had to be repaired or weren't done properly 12+ years ago.

Expect to pay some decent money though, most dentists don't even offer silver or gold crowns these days, so you'll likely get stuck paying several hundred for a porcelin one (more if you want the veneer, which sits much more flush with the gum).

[AlexBrady]

Re: Going to the Dentist

Garnett, relax. It most definitely will not be as bad as you think. Get your mouth fixed.

[KG]

Re: Going to the Dentist

I've had two or three root canals and honestly they weren't bad at all. If you get a guy who knows what he's doing, it can go pretty smooth. My first was the worst, but only cause the dentist messed up and made the thing drag on for an hour longer than it needed to. It was more of an annoyance than a pain issue. And it was really do to them being understaffed and the dentist making me wait while he worked on other patients.

As long as they numb you up properly, your pain will be minimal.

The worst part for me was the actual fitting of the crown. It was a tight space and they have to air dry that tooth with no novacaine and when the cool air hits your nerve, you feel it through out your whole body. It took them several tries and several air blasts.

BTW, I'm sure you know...brushing is not enough...floss every day at least once. Spend a solid 4-5 minutes in the morning and at night, brushing, flossing and rinsing.

I had a bad three year stint with my adult teeth (12-15 years old) before I realized how important maintenance was, which I paid for as an adult with all of these root canals and several thousand dollars in dental bills. I haven't had any new issues in the last 10 years...all of my problems now days were becaus of old cavities/feelings that had to be repaired or weren't done properly 12+ years ago.

Expect to pay some decent money though, most dentists don't even offer silver or gold crowns these days, so you'll likely get stuck paying several hundred for a porcelin one (more if you want the veneer, which sits much more flush with the gum).

yeah man that part is not fun at all. Also, I'd highly suggest that you take your Ipod in there with you. The worst part of going to the dentist is the drilling noises. I take my Ipod in there and just tell her to tap me on the shoulder if she needs to ask me something. I too have learned the hard way about how important it is to keep up with your regularly scheduled trips.

I've broken/torn a lot of things in my life and the pain I had before I had to get a root canal might have been the worst.

[garnettrules21]

Re: Going to the Dentist

I should clarify myself as I was sitting here, I can actually bite down fine without much pain(this is with nothing my mouth of course) and put pressure on the tooth, its just when say I'm biting into a piece of steak and the meat goes down into the broken part/gap of my tooth, THEN it really hurts. The broken part of my tooth is basically the side of it and inward a bit towards the middle of the tooth. I wonder if that is a good sign that its just a normal deep cavity. Wouldn't a root canal be for when a tooth hurts to bad you cant put any pressure etc? Lol, I'm obviously trying to look on the brighter sides of things.

[The Chef]

Re: Going to the Dentist

yeah man that part is not fun at all. Also, I'd highly suggest that you take your Ipod in there with you. The worst part of going to the dentist is the drilling noises. I take my Ipod in there and just tell her to tap me on the shoulder if she needs to ask me something. I too have learned the hard way about how important it is to keep up with your regularly scheduled trips.

I've broken/torn a lot of things in my life and the pain I had before I had to get a root canal might have been the worst.

You speak the truth. I broke my tooth a few years ago leaving a hole in it and since there was no pain I just kept putting it off and putting it off. Unfortunately over a weekend it became infected and that was by far the worst pain Ive ever felt in my life, it was unbelievable, I think I went through nearly 2 bottles of anbesol trying to keep the pain at bay until I could get in on Monday morning. The process of getting the root canal wasnt bad, but the pain leading to it was incredible.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Going to the Dentist

I should clarify myself as I was sitting here, I can actually bite down fine without much pain(this is with nothing my mouth of course) and put pressure on the tooth, its just when say I'm biting into a piece of steak and the meat goes down into the broken part/gap of my tooth, THEN it really hurts. The broken part of my tooth is basically the side of it and inward a bit towards the middle of the tooth. I wonder if that is a good sign that its just a normal deep cavity. Wouldn't a root canal be for when a tooth hurts to bad you cant put any pressure etc? Lol, I'm obviously trying to look on the brighter sides of things.

Pain, in general is not a good sign, it typically means your nerves are exposed and inflamed. Once that happens, I'm pretty sure a root canal is in order...at least that has been my experience. Once the nerves are involved, it seems all they can do is kill the tooth and clean it out (root canal).

From my experience, cavities aren't a problem until they become so big and deep they hit the nerves. A shallow cavity, that can be filled, will likely never be felt and cause pain.

If a tooth is cracked, I'm not sure, but typically, I think the structure of the tooth will be so weak and unsturdy that they won't be able to repair it without putting a crown on it.

But even the more reason to nip it in the bud sooner than later. I've had a tooth ache that started off like yours and ended with me waking up in the middle of the night in pain with half of my face just throbbing...not fun.

Any pain with very hot or cold foods? Ice cream? Soup?

[garnettrules21]

Re: Going to the Dentist

Any pain with very hot or cold foods? Ice cream? Soup?

Just probably cold, but that is the way with all my teeth, soup is not a problem, i can suck in air on my tooth and that really doesnt hurt much.

[BurghFan]

Re: Going to the Dentist

I'm 28 1/2 and have never had a cavity. I'm long overdue for a denstist appointment though. My mom and sister have weak enamel, my mom has broken several teeth and my sister has had a good many cavities. I apparently inherited strong enamel from my dad as he had very few if any cavities when he passed away at 37.

[stewaat]

Re: Going to the Dentist

You speak the truth. I broke my tooth a few years ago leaving a hole in it and since there was no pain I just kept putting it off and putting it off. Unfortunately over a weekend it became infected and that was by far the worst pain Ive ever felt in my life, it was unbelievable, I think I went through nearly 2 bottles of anbesol trying to keep the pain at bay until I could get in on Monday morning. The process of getting the root canal wasnt bad, but the pain leading to it was incredible.

I had a wisdom tooth do that. They yanked it out and I was good to go. The ride there was the worst pain ever. The nerve was sensitive to anything.

[The Chef]

Re: Going to the Dentist

I had a wisdom tooth do that. They yanked it out and I was good to go. The ride there was the worst pain ever. The nerve was sensitive to anything.

Yeah, I eventually ended up chewing a piece of gum on one side just enough to break it down and then used it to cover the hole in my tooth to keep air from hitting it, once I found that remedy out I was much better but until then it was brutal pain. Never again, first sign of anything major and Im going to the dentist, no questions asked.

[ODogg]

Re: Going to the Dentist

garnettrules21 - i had a similar situation as yours, a bad dentist when i was young and i didn't go for about 10 years. the visit is never as bad as you think it will be. one thing i'd recommend is you ask for the laughing gas. you will not regret it. it makes your nerves so much more relaxed and before you know it the whole thing will be over.

once you get this taken care of keep going regularly to the dentist and you will not have this huge specter of fear of dentists looming over you all the time. take it from me, keep up on things and it's so much easier and so much less painful. good luck!