To think that adults are supposed to go to the dentist too?

[YourTealBalonz]

It feels like so many people act like the dentist is optional once you hit adulthood, only going when something hurts or skipping years altogether. But surely we’re supposed to still be going regularly?

Isn’t part of being a functioning adult keeping up with this stuff - like check-ups, cleaning, prevention, etc?

Or AIBU and it’s fine to just… not?

The problem with a rotten tooth , it’s not the rotten part that causes the problem , it’s the root and leaving it behind normally causes problems when it’s a diy job because of the trauma caused .

Your child’s experience goes to show that you can’t always predict what teeth will be easy or what will be a problem. In general the teeth you remove for braces, in a young person are normally very easy .

Also referring to hospital normally means a wait of months to years . Sometimes no matter how experienced you are teeth will take you by surprise.

It stops ‘mattering’ so much because many people simply cannot afford it.

The lack of NHS dentistry is a national crisis - lots of people are finding their lovely NHS dentists are retiring and are then told they simply no longer have a dentist. So you join a 5 year long waiting list for a new NHS dentist. In the meantime - no dentist.

Meanwhile, you have ever rising costs of living on wages that are not increasing and most people find that no, they can’t afford £100 - each - just for a check up once every 6 months.

I'm not in the UK and we have to pay to visit a dentist. So yes, while we should be going to the dentist regularly, many don't due to the cost and it seems that is the situation for some in the UK also.

I have known several peopel to pull their own teeth out with pliers. They were that desperate.

I had a tooth out. Was very loose, and I could have pulled it out if it were not for the pain. The tooth was healthy, but my bone was not. My tooth had twisted out of position and was sticking out of my mouth. I was not eligible to have it removed as an emergency under the NHS because I was not in pain or had a severe infection. I had to go private and pay £180 for the privilege.

The other dentists and it was a different one on each booking, who came in as I said dosed him up and teeth were out within 5 minutes this particular dentist does just seem rather lacking.

Luckily in our area hospital referral for dental work does see to only be a couple of months.

This often happens, the early work “loosens” the tooth so when someone else comes in out it pops . I have been both the person coming in and the person who had someone come in . It will have happened to most dentists.

Why wouldn't they be serious about taking their own teeth out due to the lack of affordability of dental care? My FIL has done this several times and I know of several others who have done the same thing. If your only option is severe pain or doing it yourself, what would choose?

@Lollygagglewhile you’re here, any numbing tips?! I’m a redhead and really struggled at the dentist this week, they just can’t seem to numb me enough. I had 4 injections and nothing and the filling was a replacement that was v shallow so I ended up telling them to do it even though I wasn’t numb
they asked if my lip felt different and nope

We were lucky that we got accepted onto a new NHS list as when our dentist decided to go private, they gave us a discounted price of £120 per child for a check up!
And for myself they asked for £150! No way I could afford that! Just absolutely pure greed!!

Ask your dentist for which painkiller is best , but in general if you take a painkiller with an antiflammatory action around two hours before the proceedure and the dentist uses a local called articaine with a vasoconstrictor and leaves time for it to work even people who have difficulty numbing up will be numb.

Oh that’s a good tip! I have naproxen and dihydrocodeine at home, thank you
if he does get me numb it’s worn off in 15 mins and there’s a lot of “you and bloody anaesthetic”

That’s why it needs a vasoconstrictor . Also I presume the filling was on a lower back tooth. The block for this can be challenging and there are various techniques when this block fails to work .

Yes, second molar from the back
it was just removing a small amount of the biodentine stuff and adding a permanent filling on top

Two things
biodentine means original decay was very close to the nerve so teeth can be very touchy afterwards

these teeth can sometimes have a nerve supply coming from unexpected places so different injections may be needed. I suspect the main problem is the proximity to the nerve.

Yeah last time he drilled through right to the nerve which was not fun. It’s worked though and means no root canal unless it starts again

YANBU but in my area, the waiting lists are over 5 years long. I moved back just over 2 years ago. And I can't afford private dentistry either 🥲

I literally don't know anyone who has regular opticians appointments when they don't wear glasses or anything.

I used to go every 2 years before I had laser eye surgery but only because I needed the prescription to get new glasses.

You are very privileged, and must have a wealthy social circle if you can all afford to pay just to check for problems you don't have. Lots of people can't afford to go to the dentist/opticians even when they have issues!

You still haven't explained why it's necessary to have pre-emptive regular check ups for 2 parts of your body (eyes and teeth) but not the other 99%?

If that’s true that could go some way to explaining the increasingly bad driving / parking standards - people don’t realise they can’t see!

More people die of oral cancer than prostate and cervical cancer combined and rates are rocketing, particularly in younger people. For this reason dental checks are recommended at least every 12 months. This is without the problems of gum disease which over 50% of the adult population have and decay .

There are over 200 diseases you can diagnose from looking at the mouth and tongue, from leukaemia , to Chrons , to diabetes , to b12 deficiency .

prevention is much, much cheaper than treatment which is why blood pressure checks , blood glucose checks , smear tests , bowel cancer tests, mammograms , vaccinations , prostate checks etc are routinely carried out in the NHS.

Almost 3000 road accidents a year are caused by poor driver vision . Eye tests will also pick up things such as diabetes , high blood pressure etc.

For the £36 per person treated per year (including patient charges) the tax payer has had a bargain from NHS treatment but one that has been paid for from dentists pockets.

Good medicine is not waiting until there’s a problem, it’s finding it and treating early ?

My eye tests are free as I’m over 40 and my dad has glaucoma. Lots of workplaces will cover eye tests too
my dentist is about £27pm and includes 2 check ups and 2 hygienist appointments so I already pay for it

Sometimes there is over diagnosis like in breast cancer. Some cancers are so slow growing they will never cause harm but the treatment can.

Some people won’t admit to not regularly visiting the the dentist, for whatever reason, whether it’s the expense, the lack of NHS dentists, or just plain fear.
So although you THINK you don’t know anyone that doesn’t visit, it might just be a cover up so as not to confess.
No judgement, it’s their body, their choice.

Ive been privately for years, and I only go every two years, as advised by those dentists! So not that expensive overall. Luckily I have very good teeth. Only been to hygienist twice in my ife too.

I think if you are blessed with good teeth and gums, you don't need to go so often. I think it's been suggested to lengthen the time gaps for NHS too.

Children and pregnant mums need free access to NHS dentistry. Everyone else should probably go privately. It's the norm in the rest of Europe.

Because they cannot afford the treatment. A one off payment of £50 for a private checkup they may just be able to afford yearly, but any actual treatment is just simply unaffordable, even at NHS prices and it's just not worth it mental health wise to know that you have a cavity that you cannot afford to do anything about.

I have always gone to the dentist every 6 months for check-ups as well as, of course appointments to treat specific problems. I am 71. My husband (79) on the other hand, hasn't been to the dentist in the 50 years that I've known him.