Are you surprised when someone in a professional role has bad teeth

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I met with someone in a senior health role today and was quite surprised by how bad their teeth were, a lot of tartar build up on the front teeth which was really noticeable. Their role is well paid so it made me wonder why they've not had their teeth cleaned.

I am not bashing those who can't access a dentist at all or those with weak teeth or poor genetics. My teeth were pretty rotten and I spent around £8000 over several years fixing them, I was really self conscious about them and it impacted day to day life, I couldn't laugh with my mouth open, I was fearful of anyone noticing my bad teeth it was horrid. So, I saved, used credit cards and slowly had the work needed, I don't have turkey looking teeth just average now but what a difference to my self worth.

Plus having braces can be a bit shit. Both my ds's have, I paid privately because I was disgusted that they should've been given nhs treatment, but suddenly didn't qualify . The discomfort. The tooth wanting to always move back. Permanent wire behind teeth and retainers for the rest of your life. And then teeth move and wisdom teeth. Don't go into braces thinking it's all plain sailing because it sometimes isn't.

I think you noticed things about this persons teeth that most people wouldn't, tbh.

I'd rather have bad / wonky natural teeth than really bad veneers like celebs say Jurgen klop!

The only person I know who I wondered why they hadn’t got their teeth fixed was an extremely handsome man in his early 50s who was so striking to look at he could pass as a model. However when he opened his mouth he had very overcrowded and crooked teeth to the extreme. I didn’t judge him for not looking after his teeth but wondered why he hadn’t had braces when he was a teenager but that would have been up to his parents.

I’d be worried if someone professional had really bad / obvious veneers. Poor judgement on their part.

ah Right yes I can see that. I have over 11 silver / white fillings due to an ED as a teenager. I've ended up with gum disease but I've attended all my appointments since the age of 3 I'm now I'm my 30s. I've also lost a pre molar, I go even though I know they'll be judging me to savour what I can

You spent a fortune on cosmetic dental work because you were incredibly self-conscious about your teeth.

Presumably the person you met isn’t bothered about the appearance of their teeth and has enough confidence not to care what other people think about them.

Or, as others have said, maybe they have a dental phobia.

Worth noting, too, that a tooth can look awful and be perfectly healthy. A tooth that’s yellow, stained and crooked isn’t necessarily ‘bad’ at all - unsightly, sure, but not necessarily unhealthy.

I’m slightly ashamed to admit that yes, I have felt this. I booked for a massage at a local spa and the therapist’s top teeth were all missing, and what was left were brown and broken. They were ‘drug problem level’ bad.

I told myself that she may have had a problem in the past and of course I went ahead, but a bit of me didn’t want her touching me because her mouth looked dirty and unhygienic (and I know this is superficial and shallow).

Again: unsightly teeth does not always mean bad teeth. Your teeth might have been rotten, but this person’s teeth might be perfectly OK, just discoloured.

You might also want to consider that health professionals are there to treat you, not to act as your personal role model.

Are you sure it was plaque? I have some areas of exposed dentin so my teeth look yellow in parts but they are very clean and, most importantly, extremely healthy (no fillings, always praised by dentist, etc).

I'm sure some people think my teeth look disgusting. But as someone who has relatives with teeth that are essentially crumbling (through no fault of their own) I'm immensely grateful to have strong heathly teeth that function perfectly. I'll never risk weakening them with aesthetic treatments like veneers and whitening.

In his 50s? I suspect a lot of teens in the 80s/90s didn’t get braces when they needed it. I had wonky teeth in the late 90s but for some reason wasn’t referred on for braces apart from a removable one which didn’t do the job, and my mum couldn’t afford private. I ended up paying for the fixed ones myself when I was on a year out working before uni.

any adult with a decent amount of disposable income can easily afford invasilgn which is very discreet. I guess if people haven’t addressed it’s because they don’t want to which is fine.

Personally I don’t date men with bad teeth . And by bad I mean lots of missing teeth, very yellow, lots of visible plaque/tartar build up and/or very crooked . I don’t really care about my friends/colleagues/random people’s teeth though.

The tartar was covering almost the full teeth on the bottom and half way over the top teeth.

I don't care if people call my judgmental, in all honestly we all are as it's human nature so those who like to belief they aren't are not very honest.

also, I so judge those that take no accountability for their health and then expect the NHS to fix their avoidable illnesses

I had a member of staff with a really root on front tooth, he was absolutely terrified of the dentist, he did eventually get sedated and get it all capped but it was 5-6 years of knowing him before he did that so I kind of felt bad for him as he knew people looked.

You never know what happened to their teeth.

I have black front teeth following recent surgery and prolonged antibiotics, no amount of brushing helps and if I got a professional clean or go for turkey teeth 😁 I worry given my history I’d lose my teeth.

I did ask for them to protect my teeth before I went to theatre (knowing I’d ended up with them chipped after surgery couple of years back) but won’t post the reply I got.

I don’t know if it was the norm to have braces in the ‘80s but my siblings and I are in our 50s and all had orthodontic treatment on the NHS in that era.

Yes I judge. That’s disgusting.

My point was it’s probably a lot more common now for teens to have braces than it was pre-1990. That’s just a guess though, I have no stats on that.

From this description its sounds more like damage/discolouration than plaque (they can look similar - Google tetracycline tooth discolouration) but you've obviously made up your mind that this person is disgusting and that's that. So I doubt any other perspectives will be helpful

I go to the hygienist every 12 weeks. By week 10 I look like I haven't been for a year. And that's no matter how much I do between time.

The joys of an alcoholic and drug addled mother mean my teeth are awful despite very expensive treatment.

My bottom teeth are now a full denture set despite spending considerably more than 8k over the years.

Anyone judging me by my teeth hasn't a clue about the situation.

I have loads of grey hair in my 40s. Judge away. No, I won't be dying my hair!

Unless the person is a dentist , I dont see why it matters what role they do?

It doesn't matter how much money someone has, if they have a fear of the dentist, they aren't going to spend thousands on treatment.

I judge people whose appearance contradicts their role. The manager at my gym is very overweight and sits at a desk all day with a latte in front of her for example. So yes, I'd expect a health professional, phobia or not, to get their teeth cleaned and whack on some whitening strips.

Maybe they're a scruffy bugger who is too lazy to see a dentist.

Maybe despite being in a well paid job, they can't afford to pay for private dental treatment (virtually no NHS dentists now) because they're crippled by student loan repayments, eye watering rent increases, and the general cost of living crisis in general.

My DPs both had false teeth by the time they were 40, does that make them bad people? Lots of people can't get an NHS dentist and can't afford the big fees for private dentistry so unless they're in pain or infected they don't go to a dentist. It's easy for you to be judgemental when you spend £8000 on your teeth but many,many people couldn't even consider spending that sort of money

Yes, I am always surprised to see someone with a good disposable income with bad teeth. It's much more easily fixable that many health/appearance issues, if you have money.