Another dentist one... Why should we go?

[picklemepopcorn]

So, I routinely go to the dentist, get complimented on the cleanliness of my teeth, but still seem to need work, especially every time I get a new dentist. I'm booked in for a replacement filling and a crown on a root canal.

DH thinks we shouldn't go at all, unless we have pain. He reckons they 'find stuff to do'. He doesn't think the treatments and interventions are helpful preventatively speaking.

A friend and her husband don't go at all.

Are they all BU?

For me it's on par with going to have your eyes tested every year even though you have no issues with your ur glasses/prescription. My eye sight hasn't changed in the last 10 years. It very much feels like the opticians are pushing the 'better to get checked' agenda for their own interest.

But there can be problems with your eyes that haven't caused a noticeable change in vision, but need treating/investigating/monitoring. The optician will spot such conditions.

Re toothpaste, any is fine as long as it contains the adult amount of fluoride. You can get a flavour free one if necessary.

I'm supposed to have regular eye exams, annual retinopathy screens etc as I'm diabetic - I tend to only go if there is an issue though, I know I need new glasses but I can't really afford them

My dentist wants to see me every 9 months, usually have a scale n polish too, every few years he takes X-rays
I last had an old filling replaced about 12 years ago no other work
I prefer to go regularly and have peace of mind

It's irritating that I never need a scale and polish! Just fillings, extractions and root canals! I'm exaggerating, one extraction- despite never missing a check up. One root canal. Four or five fillings. Didn't have my first till I was 25, then two after my first pregnancy. I'm 47 now. I think the constant vomiting throughout two pregnancies weakened my teeth along with my pelvic floor. And ten pound five ounces of baby had to be made out of something, right?

I have been twice in all my adult life first time about 5 years ago.

Scale and polish was all that needed doing. Spent the next week in agony as the hygenist had scraped at my gums.
Went last year and no scale and polish needed. I don't have a filling.

I have annual eye tests as DM is nearly blind through glaucoma and I make sure I go for that. When I turned 40 I had an text from the doctor inviting me for full health check but I deleted it and never mentioned it. My blood pressure is always sky high in the surgery and they aren't sticking needles in me for no reason so there's no point in me going!

Mine also has a high turn over of dentists.
I've lost track how many i've had in just 3 years
Mine doesn't get rid of plague or clean either! Just refers me to the hygenist!
At the time i wasn't working so couldn't really afford it, and it was one of the worst experiences i've ever had at the dentist, Nearly put me off going back! My poor mouth

www.nhs.uk/Livewell/dentalhealth/Pages/gum-disease-and-overall-health.aspx
And this From DentalHealth.org
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How can mouth cancer be detected early?

Mouth cancer can often be spotted in its early stages by your dental team during a thorough mouth examination. If mouth cancer is diagnosed early, then the chances of a cure are good. Many people with mouth cancer go to their dentist or doctor too late.

MorrisZap try Oranurse toothpaste for your son. It's flavourless, but still has protection.

I should add, make sure you get the age appropriate oranurse toothpaste.

I've had some truly horrendous experiences at the dentist, I now completely avoid them

Or gradually mix a bit of yours with a bit of his MorrisZap, until it's 100% yours and he doesn't notice. Toothpaste I'm talking of just in case that sounds like nonsense.

But yes I go every 6 months. My mum has had mouth cancer and I tell you it is brutal. A 12 hour op, cut from ear to ear to remove lymphnodes, re formed her lower pallet using a graft from her arm, lost half her tongue. This was caught quickly too.
She will never eat or drink again. It's been two years since her op. Radiotherapy left her with so much inner scar tissue that she can't swallow and her tongue is too small to allow her to form certain words.
She's never recovered and now has severe memory loss and ptsd.

Now will you go to the dentist?
Please.

The US recommends general medical checks every 12 months. There is little or no evidence it helps people. it is a money making exercise. Same with dentists and opticians.

Compulsive dentist attended here. However I did public health at the wolfston and its proven that people who attend the dentist more have more fillings. Once you have a filling done it needs replacing with a bigger one, etc. Women attend more and have more fillings. I'm going to start going only when I have a problem
Oh had gone Once in 10 years, drinks tea with sugar all day and had one filling and no obvious cavities.

I have never had a filling but changed dentist about ten years ago and was told I needed six (weird as former dentist had never found problem). Sought a second opinion and no fillings needed - needless to say i didn't go back to first dentist. I've no idea if it was for money making or if she genuinely thought i needed the work done. Our current dentist only wants a check up annually - says no need for more frequent if no issues.

And sorry to hear about your mum wicksend. That sounds horrific.

Sorry wicksend.

We do all go, just wondering ...

I go six monthly. I've had quite major orthodontic work done for congenital issues and don't fancy having any more unnecessary intrusive work. Plus I like having nice straight white teeth, and I love the feel of clean teeth after the hygienist.

I also get an annual mole check and optician check as I wear contacts and glasses. Skin cancer and eyesight loss aren't much fun.

Where I'm from (Australia) it's commonplace to protect rear adult molars by fitting painless, cheap fissure seals. I've had these my whole adult life which means no fillings.

I didn't go for ages because of dental phobia, and needed a replacement filling and a root canal. I now see the dentist every six months and the hygienist every three months as I find going regularly keeps my irrational fear of the dentist under control. I've not needed anything done since that initial work after not seeing a dentist for years and that was about ten years ago.

Go every six months and have since childhood: no fillings, no extractions, no root canals - ever. Of course, £40 a year for 40 years would also have added up - but not enough, I think, if I'd needed any major work as a result of ignoring my oral health, I suppose

Saying you never go to the dentist is a bit like saying my 80 year old granny has smoked for 60 years and is in good health. It's different for everyone. Dh went to the dentist once (when I made him) and was told he had bullet strong teeth and has never been since.

I go regularly and have just had lots of work done. But I have quite soft teeth and want to keep as many as I can for as long as I can. The cost of a six month check up is totally worth it for me.

The thing is, it's not going to the dentist that keeps your teeth healthy, it's everything you do in between. The trouble with that is that sometimes things creep into our lives that in a few years time would start to have serious effects, like gum disease, dietary changes (looking at you, middle aged men who take up cycling and start drinking sports drinks), habit changes like becoming vegan, getting gastric reflux, diabetes and so on.

Dentists can often be the first people to notice these things and put mitigations in place, if you wait until you have a symptom of eating sugar too frequently or poor dexterity leading to gum disease, it's often too late to just change the habit back and you need an actual physical intervention such as a filling and so on.

So go to the dentists for a steer as to what to do for the other 364.9 days of the year and all will be well.

Recall guidelines are published by NICE and depend on your level of risk for decay, gum disease and oral cancer.

Dentists go up in front of the GDC for not offering treatments, tests and intervention more than they do for performing unnecessary treatments so bear that in mind when they mention things you hadn't considered you may need!

I don't treat patients anymore and my life is infinitely less stressful, these threads remind me why it was a good decision!

I did pull one of my own teeth out once though because I couldn't afford to go to the dentist

Holy crap livia, what happened?

I go every 6 months and the dentist certainly doesn't look for work. Quite the opposite. He really only does something if it needs doing.

I've had a cap on my front tooth since I was 7. It's only been replaced once (16 years ago, when the original cap was 13 years old). Both times I be been told to expect it to last for a year or so. But my dentist says it's fine and doesn't agitate to replace it (with a crown). Last time it was replaced, the dentist said I could have a crown, veneer or just another cap and recommended that the cap was the most conservative option (it's also the cheepest).