Lets talk teeth

My name is Golden and I, like many, am dental phobic, it's more than don't like, it's medicate before you go, cry on the chair, shiver the whole time, dammed embarrassing when you hit the top side of 50 and you still can't do dentists:roll:

Soooo, now I am in quite a bit of pain, I broke a tooth a while back, but yesterday it crumbled some more and now it HURTS, so I'm going to have to go and see the dreaded torturer, and I really think that it may be time to just have some of these beasts yanked out and get a false set, but it makes me feel so damn old just to think of it.


So, has anyone taken the plunge, or are you all blessed with your own teeth still, I can't believe I'm even asking this, I feel both old and sorry for myself at this point

I am fortunate enough to have relatively good teeth, though I do get cavities. Matter of fact, I have 2 right now that have needed filled for years. I suppose I'll wait until they are deep enough that I require a root canal to fix them .

I had a friend that took the plunge (she was in her early 60's) and had all her own pulled and had the implants put in. I don't really know what they are called but they basically screw them into your jaw so they act as real teeth but aren't. It was extremely expensive and there was a fair amount of pain involved, but she said that she would gladly do it again because the new ones are so much better than her real teeth were.

GH, I'm actually younger than you, but I had 3 or 4 of those "wisdom" teeth removed. Not sure how much more dumb I became since they are gone (given the name for those teeth ), but it is what it is. I don't like dentists, but sometime you have no choice. Just ask for 2 shots to numb it (that's what I usually do). My dentist did it great - no pain afterwords!

P.S. Pulling tooth out is much faster and more painless procedure IMHO than those cavities. I seemed to NEVER get enough of numbing for cavity work. :(

I'm not suffering from a dentist phobia but I have other phobias so I know how horrible it can be.

Would it be possible to ask them to knock you out during the treatment?

Ps. DON'T be embarrassed of that! People have different fears and there's noting embarrassing in it.

I have a dental story for y'all.

When I was younger...way younger...as in 17ish I had to have a root canal. Fast forward 20+ years and I started having pain in the same tooth and it formed a bump on the side of my gum below it. (ok everyone all together now: "abcess!").

When I went to my dentist (who I fear, hate and love), he said, no...you cannot possibly have a lump there as we didn't see anything on your xrays previously. But lo and behold when he stuck his rubber clad finger in my mouth (blech!) he felt the bump. So...he loads me up with antibiotics and sends me on my merry (kicking and screaming) way to see an oral surgeon. X-rays and poking and prodding ensue. Come to find out back in the ice ages when I had that root canal, they didn't get all the nerves that branch out at the bottom of the root. So oral surgeon guy (who was hot I may add) says "Off with the bottom of that root!" Some laughing gas, a hole in the side of my gum, major happy drugs and stitches later, I'm home with an ice bag on my face recovering.

Fast forward mere few months later, on a business trip in FL during the big sales meeting dinner with a cast of thousands, I bite down on my banquet style, semi-warm, overcooked entree...I feel 'craaaack!!!'. And out popped half of my tooth. Yikes!

Back to the dentist I go who then decides...Out out damn tooth! And sends me off to hot oral surgeon who promptly puts me to sleep and yanks out the rest of that tooth.

Then back to the dentist for a bridge...which consists of them grinding down the 2 teeth on either side, and fitting a 3 tooth thingy over the 2 teeth and the space.

Yeah...I hate the dentist! (even though mine is gentle soothing and very sweet)