Cavities - How Many Do YOU Have?

[Princess]

So I hadn't been to the dentist for awhile and found out that I had a number of cavities...

Aside from getting astonishing gasps from friends and family, I thought I would put a poll out there to figure out how unusual my own number is.

How many do you have?

[kael]

0

it turns out im one of the few who is immune to plaque

[Canon]

0

I can haz sweetz?

[Smeg]

One.... and that wasn't until I was 22.

[Axis]

I have one from age six, in my first molar (which came in at age 5); and one from college.

[Dark Knight Zer0]

ive had about 5 or 6 filled

bad teeth run in the family....thank you mom

[blue]

ive had alot filled.

last time i was at the dentist i had 0. 6 months prior, i had 7. it had been 7 years since i had been at the dentist.

the time before that. 6. it had been 7 years as well.

i don't do dentists. only reason i go now is because they schedule me when im there.

i actually have to have them fix a filling now. it chipped on me and i can feel it.

all in all, total since childhood ive had 20+ id guess.

[OreoCookieSP]

Never had a cavity.

[Boaisy]

Ive had 1, and that was about 4-5 years ago.

[Princess]

ive had alot filled.

last time i was at the dentist i had 0. 6 months prior, i had 7. it had been 7 years since i had been at the dentist.

the time before that. 6. it had been 7 years as well.

i don't do dentists. only reason i go now is because they schedule me when im there.

i actually have to have them fix a filling now. it chipped on me and i can feel it.

all in all, total since childhood ive had 20+ id guess.

Thanks. Now I don't feel as bad :).

[Slurpy]

I have acid reflux, and grind my teeth while I sleep. I currently have $6K in work my dentist wants to do to me, and I've spent $4K in the last two years.

And I have no dental insurance.

[smokeh]

i've had some similar experience to the dentist with blue. I had 3 while I was in college, didn't have a dentist up at school, and went a couple years.

Also, they told me I needed my wisdom teeth out, but I put that off...

Cut to about a year ago, went to a new dentist for the first time in about 3 years again... Had to get a root canal on a tooth next to my wisdom teeth because of the wisdom teeth.

Basically, in a 12 month time span I had this fun amalgamation of dental work:

1. Root canal (least painful of all of the activities, surprisingly enough). Temporary cap put on.

2. Left the temporary cap on for about 5 months... waaaaaay too long. :P Was avoiding the wisdom teeth extraction.

3. Got my wisdom teeth taken care of... that sucked for a good 2-3 weeks after, and an annoyance for 2 months after.

4. Got the temporary cap replaced by a permament crown. This was a topical anesthetic, and was a **** ton of grinding etc etc. He did a great job, it feels good as new, but 1.5 hours in the chair with a guy grinding on the far back left corner of your mouth was not a fun experience.

5. About 1 month after that, I got 3 cavities filled.

6. And then 1 month after that 3 more cavities filled.

All in all, about 4K of dental work, I only had to pay for 50% of the root canal, and 80% of the rest of the procedures. Thank you dental insurance!

Regardless, I won't be lazy about dentist appointments ever again.

[Kamie]

if you have fears of the dentist and have all that dental work done, can they put you to sleep?

[smokeh]

me? i don't have a fear of dentists.

honestly, i'm just really really really lazy when it comes to things like that.

i did have a fear of wisdom teeth extaction, as that is akin to a major surgery, hence why my health insurance paid for the whole thing. And it was more avoidance of unpleasantness.

Also, sedation costs like, $400. :(

Cavity filling is really only 'uncomfortable'. The topical and the shot numbs everything up, I would feel an occasional twinge of pain, but mostly just the vibrations and the weird feeling of having your teeth being drilled into.

The worst part is afterwards when you have residual pain from the drilling, and your teeth are super sensitive for a few months.

The root canal was the least painful thing i've ever had done to my teeth, namely because they remove all of the nerves, so there is nothing left to feel pain when they are done. :P

[Princess]

I have acid reflux, and grind my teeth while I sleep. I currently have $6K in work my dentist wants to do to me, and I've spent $4K in the last two years.

And I have no dental insurance.

Eek... Maybe time to get dental insurance? :O

Okay, since everyone has been so open I don't feel so bad sharing my horrendous story...

As it turns out, I have...18 more cavities. I didn't realize that you could actually get cavities in between your teeth. I already had 8-9 cavities. Is that not insane? :(

To top it all off, my bottom wisdom teeth are headbutting my other teeth. Growing straight into them. So it's recommended that I get them ALL out. I have to do this in August and every single person who has mentioned wisdom teeth wants to die.

And I'm only 24 :((((.

[Slurpy]

The root canal was the least painful thing i've ever had done to my teeth, namely because they remove all of the nerves, so there is nothing left to feel pain when they are done. :P

I agree. I had one done at the beginning of the great mass of work, and it was fine (almost kind of fun, actually). I don't understand why my mother was always so scared of them. I never felt a thing beyond the initial anaesthetic injection. Aside from the price, I'd much rather have root canals than fillings.

I suppose they might be worse for the teeth, but. . . eh. . .

Edit: And believe me, Princess, I would get dental insurance if it was worth it. The insurance at my job caps at $800, has a $500 deductible, pays 50%, and costs $60 per month. I would literally be saving like $100 bucks if I maxed it out (spending 1300 of my own money), and I can't afford to do that right now, and I don't like to encourage insurance companies that evil, anyhow.

[smokeh]

most of the time, dental insurance is a pretty big rip off. My current insurance pays 80%, has a $1500 cap (no deductible), but only costs me $10 a month. When i first started getting work done, I had the lower version that paid 50% and had a $1000 cap.

it's really pretty ridiculous, I don't understand what the point of insurance is if they tell you they only will pay for X amount of procedures. Pretty lame. At least it's cheap through my company policy.

And Princess, spoken from experience, if you have the cash (it cost me a total of $1400 - 400 for the anesthesia, and $1000 for the teeth extraction, 2 impacted, which sounds like the same thing you have), just get the wisdom teeth taken out. I'm roughly the same age as you (coupla years older), and they will cause huge problems if you leave them in.

It sucks, especially if you have a couple of impacted ones, but you'll be facing root canals, and more problems on the teeth located next to the wisdom teeth if you don't.

Don't do drugs kids, drinking and driving is bad, and stay in school.

[blue]

i hate?

the ****ing needle...

worst pain ever.

my current dentists puts a topical on first so i am much more relaxed and calm.

[Long Black Veil]

Dentist needles hardly hurt, compared to say an IV line or a regular shot.

I've had multiple cavities throughout my life, 3 wisdom teeth removed, broke my front tooth in half and had to have it capped, and 2 titanium implants put in which support the bridge of my upper 4 front teeth (These in the last 2 1/2 years). I had to wear fake front teeth for almost 2 years with a retainer type thing (so annoying). I've paid over $15,000 out of my own pocket for the dental implants, insurance didn't cover any of it because it was "cosmetic".

When I had the last bone graph put in before the final implant he pulled 3 of my front teeth, took tissue from the roof of my mouth and grafted onto the front upper part of my gums because they'd receded a bit with all the procedures. So I had sutures in 3 spots in my mouth, it didn't stop bleeding for almost 48 hours. The following morning after the procedure i woke up with a mouth FULL of blood/yellow/pasty shit, there was blood all down my face and all over my pillow. It hurt like a mother****er, I was popping a darvocet every 4 hours for the first 3 days.

I should post a picture of what it looks like now, my gums are still a bit receded on top so if I pull my lip up you can see one of the screws but the way I smile covers it so I'm going to try puttting off another tissue graft as long as I can.

All in all I'm pleased with the work my periodontist did, you can't even tell they're fake by looking at them. But for $15 g's it better look good.

[smokeh]

i hate?

the ****ing needle...

worst pain ever.

my current dentists puts a topical on first so i am much more relaxed and calm.

yeah, my dentist rocks a topical before the needle.

the funny thing is that the painkiller shot is usually the part i dread the most, not even the drilling and the grinding. :P

[blue]

exactly.

and LVB

i hate those too

i almost pass out when i give blood at the doctors office.

im better now, specially since my gastric bypass... last time i was at the doctors they took 6 tubes of blood...

oh man i almost passed out.

[Smeg]

exactly.

and LVB

i hate those too

i almost pass out when i give blood at the doctors office.

im better now, specially since my gastric bypass... last time i was at the doctors they took 6 tubes of blood...

oh man i almost passed out.
Never understood taht ...I've donated over 10 gallons of blood.

[smokeh]

i can't donate blood either.

i get dizzy/woozy really quickly, no throwing up, but just can't really deal with it.

[blue]

Never understood taht ...I've donated over 10 gallons of blood.

it is a mental or physical thing

i don't expect you to understand it other than it happens and people have no control over it.

worst one ever she lost my vein and went 'digging'
they had to get me to drink this syrup sugar stuff... i almost passed out in the office.

it was horrible.

my veins are 'rolly polly'
instead of being like this: --------
they do this: \__/\__/

people taking blood always say they go through the vein if they arent carefull.

i've learned not to watch. as watching makes me 10x worse.

[Long Black Veil]

I got a buddy that's the same way around blood, he will pass out or come close to it if he see's his own. If it's somebody elses he's fine but if it's his, LOOK OUT!!!

[stormFury]

I wasn't allowed to donate blood a few years ago because i had lived in the UK for more than 6 months (3 years, actually) and they were scared I had mad cow disease. I'm sure they'd take it now, but **** em.

[Kamie]

epidurals are the worst needles ever. and the thing is that they do not tell you, they fall out half the time.

[Slurpy]

Dentist needles hardly hurt, compared to say an IV line or a regular shot.

I'm the opposite. Even with the topical anaesthetic, I still prefer regular shots and IVs to the DVM's novocaine shots. Maybe it's my dentist's assistants; they always seem to hit my jaw bone with the needle. . .

[Axis]

get your wisdom teeth out as soon as possible.
my dentist ****ed me over by telling me to wait to get them out...though I was already getting headaches.
a year and a half later...i go in for my third appt since then, and the wisdom teeth had shifted all my post-braces alignment, i had migraines, and they had to perform immediate surgery to get them out because the pressure on my jaw was too much for me to eat/concentrate. so they took them all out, two were impacted.
cut to five years later, and here i am...jaw dislocates when i chew steak on the right side. my massatar muscles are too strong and cause tension headaches. and, the alignment of my teeth on the bottom row isn't perfect.
all because my dentist told me repeatedly to wait.

so...get them out. do not wait. horrible things can happen to you if you don't.

[Princess]

Dentist needles hardly hurt, compared to say an IV line or a regular shot.

I've had multiple cavities throughout my life, 3 wisdom teeth removed, broke my front tooth in half and had to have it capped, and 2 titanium implants put in which support the bridge of my upper 4 front teeth (These in the last 2 1/2 years). I had to wear fake front teeth for almost 2 years with a retainer type thing (so annoying). I've paid over $15,000 out of my own pocket for the dental implants, insurance didn't cover any of it because it was "cosmetic".

When I had the last bone graph put in before the final implant he pulled 3 of my front teeth, took tissue from the roof of my mouth and grafted onto the front upper part of my gums because they'd receded a bit with all the procedures. So I had sutures in 3 spots in my mouth, it didn't stop bleeding for almost 48 hours. The following morning after the procedure i woke up with a mouth FULL of blood/yellow/pasty shit, there was blood all down my face and all over my pillow. It hurt like a mother****er, I was popping a darvocet every 4 hours for the first 3 days.

I should post a picture of what it looks like now, my gums are still a bit receded on top so if I pull my lip up you can see one of the screws but the way I smile covers it so I'm going to try puttting off another tissue graft as long as I can.

All in all I'm pleased with the work my periodontist did, you can't even tell they're fake by looking at them. But for $15 g's it better look good.


Oh my GOODNESS that sounds painful!!! You poor thing. Especially that you had to pay out of pocket :(.

And Princess, spoken from experience, if you have the cash (it cost me a total of $1400 - 400 for the anesthesia, and $1000 for the teeth extraction, 2 impacted, which sounds like the same thing you have), just get the wisdom teeth taken out. I'm roughly the same age as you (coupla years older), and they will cause huge problems if you leave them in.

Yes, I am planning to get them out. I'm not 100% sure about what my dental insurance will cover, but as of right now they are covering a lot at the office (80%) w/some free stuff. Maybe I'll look it up to be sure. Regardless, I'll have to do it in August because I have to finish getting my other work done in July. And I can't wait longer because my internship starts in September -- would be crappy to get them done then.

get your wisdom teeth out as soon as possible.
my dentist ****ed me over by telling me to wait to get them out...though I was already getting headaches.
a year and a half later...i go in for my third appt since then, and the wisdom teeth had shifted all my post-braces alignment, i had migraines, and they had to perform immediate surgery to get them out because the pressure on my jaw was too much for me to eat/concentrate. so they took them all out, two were impacted.
cut to five years later, and here i am...jaw dislocates when i chew steak on the right side. my massatar muscles are too strong and cause tension headaches. and, the alignment of my teeth on the bottom row isn't perfect.
all because my dentist told me repeatedly to wait.


Wow, that's awful!! My dentist told me 7 years ago to get my wisdom teeth out -- but I was super scared as a high schooler. It's interesting that you mention headaches. Over the last 4 years I've had regular headaches. Not migraines, just headaches. Maybe they're related? My dentist didn't have a sense of urgency when he saw them last week, but I'm definitely getting them out this August.

That's so horrible that happened to you though! :(

[blue]

i had to pay cash for my wisdom teeth to come out.

:-/

i didnt have alot back then

i couldn't afford anesthesia.

there was plenty of Novocain, but i was well awake for the entire thing, AND the valum they gave me was not powerfull enough.

worst part?

when tey twisted, yanked, pulled, grabed, and cracked the bony impact out.

there is no covering that noise. that grinding cracking snapping... god... ugh

[Axis]

it makes your head rattle.

[Haplo]

Genetic bad teeth on my mom's side of the family. Resulted in me having to have 16(?) extractions (4 of which being my wisdom teeth), 4 rootcanals and 6 permanent crowns. I am now waiting to get my permanent partials to give me a chewing surface on the right side of my mouth, left side and front were almost wholly intact except for 2 teeth that ended up breaking. All of that was almost 12k.

Didn't use any pain killers at all, although I was out cold for both of my extraction sets.

Next on the agenda, implants in a few years...

[saitn]

[insert booby joke]

I think I have 4-5 fillings.. :/

[Long Black Veil]

How old are you Haplo? That sucks bro, I got a buddy that's going to be in the same sitiuation sooner than later because of genetics.

I've never been put out for any kind of oral surgery :(

[smokeh]

princess: my health insurance actually covered the ENTIRE cost of my procedure. I had to pay $400 up front in cash, but my HEALTH insurance (not dental) picked up the tab for the rest because it was considered a surgery.

check with your health insurance too.

[Long Black Veil]

I would think most insurance companies would cover wisdom teeth, it can be detrimental if you don't and it certainly shouldn't be considered "cosmetic".

Most decent insurance plans that is.

[smokeh]

I would think most insurance companies would cover wisdom teeth, it can be detrimental if you don't and it certainly shouldn't be considered "cosmetic".

Most decent insurance plans that is.

yeah, but dental plans have crazy low caps, and you could easily use it all up with just your wisdom teeth.

and because it's considered a major surgery, especially if you have A. 2 compacted teeth, and B. get anesthesia, health insurance will pick it up a lot of the time.

[Long Black Veil]

How can they consider that a major surgery?

[smokeh]

they knock you the **** out maybe?

[Long Black Veil]

I wasn't knocked out, neither was blue!

[smokeh]

you guys probably didn't have any impacted teeth.

[Long Black Veil]

Why would I wait that long?

[blue]

they only cover oral surgury if it required anesthesia.

-- or so i was told by my physician.


also, it needs to be done IN the hospital.

[blue]

you guys probably didn't have any impacted teeth.

1 impact.
1 bony impacts.
1 easy taker-outer

1 ghost tooth (i only had 3)

[Long Black Veil]

I think we can all agree that insurance is just a big ****ing scam and they try to screw you out of everything they can!!!

[Haplo]

I'm 29. I didn't have any dental insurance until I was 24 and then I had to wait until I had enough money in the bank to do most of the work. My dental insurance cap is low but I've spread this over 1 1/2 years for everything so far, so I'm getting my insurance's worth. :)

On a bright point, the loan I ended up taking out to cover the rest is below 8k now, I'll soon be able to pay the remainder off outright.

[Long Black Veil]

That's good. I lucked out with the financing. My periodontist let me do a one year loan twice with 0 interest and my dentist let me do a 6 month loan because she's known my wife's family for over 15 years and myself for 4 or 5 as well. That was no interest too, the worst part was after the last 2 implants and the bridge went on I had to pay both, so it was $1000 a month, which we both paid off both of this week!!!!

For me the periodontist did all the implant work and the dentist did the bridge and retainer part. It sucked having to go to 2 different offices. Did one person do it all for yours?

[Haplo]

I went through UMKC School of Dentistry in Kansas City, Missouri. I was in the advanced practice which means it was dentists who were already graduated but weren't on at either their own practice or a group practice yet. I've had 2 different dentists since starting and my 3rd one starts this month. Both of the other 2 went on to their own practices in different cities.

UMKC is one of the best schools in the midwest for dentistry. They have tenured dental staff on site for all work (the overseers for my dentists have a combined practice tenure of 70ish years) so you're not getting some newb freshman dental school applicant. They also cut off 1/3 - 1/4 of the cost of standard dentist usage due to the fact that it isn't a full practice.

[blue]

i went to UMKC for 2 years before going on to K-State in the reciprocity architecture program. :P

[Princess]

I went through UMKC School of Dentistry in Kansas City, Missouri. I was in the advanced practice which means it was dentists who were already graduated but weren't on at either their own practice or a group practice yet. I've had 2 different dentists since starting and my 3rd one starts this month. Both of the other 2 went on to their own practices in different cities.

UMKC is one of the best schools in the midwest for dentistry. They have tenured dental staff on site for all work (the overseers for my dentists have a combined practice tenure of 70ish years) so you're not getting some newb freshman dental school applicant. They also cut off 1/3 - 1/4 of the cost of standard dentist usage due to the fact that it isn't a full practice.

Sounds like you went to a good dentistry school. My husband went to a dentist school for a ton of dental work (UIC in Chicago here) and suffered a LOT. They even broke his tooth in the process... But it was cheap and that was the time. He'd never had a good dentist before so he's been really amazed that you don't actually have to feel pain when you get dental work. ;p

But wow, Haplo! That's amazing that you've had so much dental work... It sounds so painful and expensive. That must be so hard. I hope everything works out with your teeth implants.

You guys who do this stuff without being knocked out... that's hardcore. I had been thinking about my options with my wisdom teeth and I've heard that the best way is to be knocked out. However, the whole idea of it kind of creeps me out... Is it that you are unconscious or is it that you are conscious and then forget? And if you forget pain, does that make it okay?? Not to mention some scary videos I've seen... I'll definitely have someone with me when I go.

I'll look into the health care, Smokey. That's a good point. Our coverage is pretty good, so I am hoping that damage will be minimal. The loans you guys have taken out are extreme. Thinking about that sound that blue was describing is totally scary though, so it sounds like being knocked out is worth it...

Thanks again everyone for your stories and thoughts. :)

[Long Black Veil]

I've been under 5 times in my life. I don't know if it would be similar with the wisdom teeth or not. When I was out it was for 6 hours minimum each time. Coming out of it really sucks. Mine could have been worse because they were ear surgeries so I was really ****ing dizzy for a while (and I had staples and stiches in my head, hehe)

Being awake for all the dental work isn't that bad. It's hard not to tense up, I constantly have to tell myself to relax when they're working in there. It's like my brain knows it should be hurting but it doesn't. Other than that it's fine.

My wife went to the dentist today and found out she's gotta get at least 2 wisdom teeth out. This will be the first type of any kind of surgery or medical issue that she's had. Should be interesting to see how she handles the pain, they're impacted.

For my ear surgeries I was completely unconscious, of course.

[Talon Karrde]

I've always lucky my parents ahd a good plan, but now I'm old enough that even checkups are like 300$ plus the 5 k of orthodontics and braces put into my face. I've ahd a few cavities but everythign alright when they use the LAGUHING GAS! oih man that stuff is the shit!

[Haplo]

You are semi-conscious. It's basically a haze that you won't remember anything of. They will bring you in and out a couple of times to make sure you are doing ok and they have you hooked up to pulse/blood-pressure monitors typically. At UMKC they also have a doctor on site in case anything goes wrong and you need immediate attention.

I was out a total of 6 hours between the 2 sets of extractions. It was supposed to be all in one sitting, but apparently my blood pressure dropped pretty low a few times and they decided to call it after the top was done. I also apparently started to dry-heave because of the nitrous (it's fairly hard on your body).

On a bright point, apparently I was the light of everyone's day that day. I don't remember much of anything, but they said I was absolutely hysterical. And the anti-anxiety drug they give you, when they up the dosage, you kind of go a bit loopy. I was apparently drunk dialing friends on the way to the dentist and saying some pretty hysterical shit. Too bad I don't remember any of it, I was just told by my friends, wife and dentist. :(

[smokeh]

huh, i had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted and it took less than an hour. 45 minutes tops.

i was so out of it when I came out, when my roommate dropped me off/picked me up we went to a walgreens for my post-ops drugs that when I called for a refill, i completely forgot WHICH walgreens it was at.

long story short, I show up at the wrong walgreens... very very confused.

[Haplo]

I had 8 teeth out each time and they had to make sure that the temporary was going to fit as well. Not to mention that it is still a school with effectively new dentists, so they are pretty cautious with all their work. Still, 3 hours each time, not a big deal.

[Princess]

You are semi-conscious. It's basically a haze that you won't remember anything of. They will bring you in and out a couple of times to make sure you are doing ok and they have you hooked up to pulse/blood-pressure monitors typically. At UMKC they also have a doctor on site in case anything goes wrong and you need immediate attention.

I was out a total of 6 hours between the 2 sets of extractions. It was supposed to be all in one sitting, but apparently my blood pressure dropped pretty low a few times and they decided to call it after the top was done. I also apparently started to dry-heave because of the nitrous (it's fairly hard on your body).

On a bright point, apparently I was the light of everyone's day that day. I don't remember much of anything, but they said I was absolutely hysterical. And the anti-anxiety drug they give you, when they up the dosage, you kind of go a bit loopy. I was apparently drunk dialing friends on the way to the dentist and saying some pretty hysterical shit. Too bad I don't remember any of it, I was just told by my friends, wife and dentist. :(

Thanks for the elaborate description! It definitely freaks me out (the whole in and out of consciousness, then forgetting), but it's not like I have a choice. *Sigh*...

Tomorrow, half my cavities are filled! Yay! Cavities are so easy-peasy.

[saitn]

I abhor dental work, but the alternative is less desireable.

Oh, the high pitched sound of the drill as it enters your strained oriface and begins chewing on the rot. As it slowly bores through the decay the smell of smoldering bone begins to protrude and linger in your nostrils.

*shudders*

Make sure you get Composite fillings. Those are the white ones. The amalgams have mercury and don't seal as well. GL.