How manky are your teeth?

[sausagepastapot]

My teeth look healthy, nice and straight from the front but upon closer inspection my mouth is a hell hole. I'm 33 and wondering how common shitty teeth are as you get a bit older.

I had two really deep cavities when I was pregnant resulting in two very obvious molar removals at either end of my smile.

The more I look at my teeth the more cavities I can see developing (dark grey shadows on my teeth). I really look after them and I am whitening them at the moment; from the front they look really nice, but when I open my mouth it is full of amalgam fillings and the two aforementioned very obvious gaps/grey spots. I blame my Coke Zero addiction....

I am thinking of having implants done after trying a dental bridge when was pg and it was free, but it was shit. I am quite worried about losing more teeth.

So tell me MN, what are your teeth like? Have you had any work done? Do you regret it/was it really painful/successful?

Following with interest. I am the same age and have all my teeth with no fillings but my gums are disgusting. Receding and fully gone in places. I'm thinking it won't be long til I lose some and what to do in the meantime.

My teeth are fine if a touch wonky and overcrowded since wisdom teeth came through. Two are only partially erupted which causes me no end of pain due to food debris getting stuck under the gum flap.

My gums on the other hand look like the posters they put up in dentist surgeries that warn against not brushing your teeth or else gum disease. They are quite grim.

Mine are also sorely due a scale and polish but I can't really afford it atm.

I had perfect teeth as a child and teen. Now they are wonky, stained and bleeding. I'm only 29

I've spent £10k on my teeth. they are lovely. I've had implants, braces, old fillings replaced with composite ones and teeth whitening. I pay £14.33 a month for private dental care which includes 2 check ups and 2 hygienist visits per year. I consider this money well spent.

It was my choice to have this but I don't drive a flash car or have flash holidays. I'm late 50's. I'd rather have lovely teeth than expensive jewellery.

I don't smoke or drink. Don't mean to sound smug, just trying to say that its not necessarily inevitable that teeth become manky when your older.

Genetics were not kind to me. I had yellow teeth, missing teeth and tooth decay so I just did what I could.

Mine are diabolical,2 missing molars,one upper one lower on opposite sides,only consolation is they are towards the back.4 semi erupted wisdom teeth that are pushing other teeth forward and causing overlap, cavities and gum shrinkage causing loose teeth.but considering I've been to petrified to go to dentist for first 18 years then lately another 2 years again,I think I'm getting off lightly.
Ino an ideal world I'd get all my teeth removed and replaced with implants or dentures.

Could you at least replace your old fillings with composite ones? That wouldn't cost too much.

I think your thirties is when all the sweets, fizzy and acidic drinks, not having enough check ups etc all comes to roost. I’ve just had quite a few deep fillings and, while I’ve just about avoided root canals for now, it is a matter of time!

I think it is pretty common for people to neglect their check ups in their twenties as no apparent problem - but just because teeth look fine and no pain doesn’t mean decay isn’t happening. I’m now religious about appointments and using interdental brushes etc but it is now about damage limitation than mitigation.

I have quite a few fillings and a chip out of one of my front teeth, plus they are a bit yellow I’d like to get them whitened but I just can’t afford it. However they are healthy, as I am now a religious dentist attender and brush with my electric brush for two minutes every morning and night! So I haven’t needed anything doing to them for years, happily.

I’m same age OP and mine are pretty good - I am religious about dental appointments and have had Invisalign, get them whitened at the dentist and have white fillings. I think knowing your teeth look nice gives a lot of confidence.

As you get older, the state of your teeth feels increasingly important. None of the cavalier crunching down on hard or very sticky things. Had an implant, which cost a lot - but the alternative ( for a functional tooth ) was awful to contemplate.

I have naturally straight and white teeth - I hate the very artificial looking whitened ones. I have always paid attention to going to my checkups and appointments. I took my DDs at the prescribed times and included funding for it whilst they were at university . One DD has continued to care for hers well, but the other, late 20s, has been very casual about it, for some reason.

Mine are fine - I have 2 amalgam fillings from where my impacted wisdom teeth were impossible to floss between, but since I had all 4 out I've had no problems. When I was pg I had HG but used to bite (but not swallow!) a Babybel after each puking session, which apparently neutralises the acid.

I do think it's mainly luck/genetics though, lots of people have awful teeth who take really good care of their oral hygiene.

You should knock the Coke Zero habit on the head though, or at least start drinking it through a straw to minimise contact with your enamel.

Oh, and I'm 35

Not at all. Am closing on 40, no fillings, my only extractions have been because of overcrowding (6 in early puberty, plus my wisdom teeth which grew outwards into my cheeks after nearly a decade of gradually pushing my other teeth forward, most unpleasant). I am obsessive about brushing though, both my parents have absolutely loads of fillings although mercifully no extractions for decay, yet. But I don't (can't) floss - my teeth are tight jammed together & it shreds the floss, I have to pick it out with tweezers. I don't really drink fizzy drinks, & don't have much of a sweet tooth.

DH has shocking teeth. He's definitely going to need dentures & he's dreading it. Never have I met an adult who likes so much sugary crap, so it follows. And his parents insist on giving him more at every opportunity, & he finds it so hard to resist (he does try). FIL has none of his own teeth, had them all removed (or they'd fallen out) by his late 50s.

I'm older than you (50s) and I have Tetracycline teeth.
Back then ( way back then !) They have that form of antibiotics to babies before their teeth erupted . Sadly it coloured the actual teeth under the enamel so they are never white. No special toothpaste , or teeth whitening would work for me . I'm gutted the companies / NHS that ok'd it for babies or young children ! I've always be embarrassed about them.

I hate my teeth , even at 30 I still get the odd comment I look like a horse. My mouth is just slightly crowded and can be fixed by a brace but I don’t have the money. (4K!) they are slightly yellow but again that can be fixed I guess. 2 fillings I got in my early 20s. People can be cruel.

I’m 48, I’ve got tetracycline teeth too, the only thing that would make them look better are veneers but I can’t afford to have them done . Mine aren’t a uniform yellow either but are patchy, they’re also a bit wonky and my gums are receding a bit.

I had a lot of fillings as a child, I don’t know if they were all necessary or not. I’ve certainly heard that NHS dentists in the 70s used to do unnecessarily work because they got more money the more they did, although I don’t know how true that is. I do find it a bit odd though that as a child I was having fillings either done or replaced pretty much every six months, but as an adult I’ve had no new fillings and maybe every five years or so need to have one patched up.

I am 30 and a mum to one. Apart from 2 fillings my teeth are in good condition I do have 2 wisdom teeth missing but they only had to go because they were impacted, not rotten or anything.

I'm Mid 30's. I have quite nice teeth, all straight apart from my snaggle. No teeth removed. No fillings though I think I may need one. Wisdom teeth came through relatively straight. Could maybe do with a little bit of whitening ( I took tetracycline as a teenager for acne so don't know if this has anything to do with that).
I'm guessing your Diet Coke addiction played a major role in the condition of your teeth yes.

I'm in my 50's and always had good teeth if not a few not qite straight. I always did the dental visits and hygenist visits fillings are all white ones.
But since getting Coeliacs I've noticed they aren't as good, due to the gums being affected if I get glutened. (soreness, small blisters and redness) But when I can eat well and not eat Gluten they feel fine. Brushing and flossing and using the little brushes between teeth makes a huge difference to the health.
I still worry I may loose some, I already lost one that had a crown on due to the nerve dying.

I was like you, OP. My teeth looked ok-ish, but I had massive amalgam fillings at the back, and a couple of broken molars and 2 veeers that I hated.

I have recently had all my fillings replaced with white ones, 2 implants, 2 new veneers and whitening. My teeth now look amazing. But it cost about 9k.

I had my first filling recently at 42 because a piece of tooth chipped off, I do have discolouration of my molars but the dentist cannot see any reason why and my xrays are fine. Gums are receding despite doing all the right things, it's scary!

56 and lots of dental work done. Have loads of fillings, 2 gold crowns , 2 porcelain crowns and a dental plate replacing my missing front teeth( accident as a child). Would love implants to get rid of the plate but cant afford them. Visit dentist and hygienist regularly but just have shit teeth

If the cavities you describe were really deep, then you probably left too much time between checkups seeing as they progress very slowly. How often do you go to the dentist?
I have 4 fillings from when I was younger and only brushed my teeth once a day. My teeth are in very good condition apart from that, so are my gums (not my personal opinion, it's what my dentist said). I don't smoke, brush my teeth twice a day no matter how exhausted I am, normally don't snack between meals, only drink water, go to the dentist once a year for a checkup.

One thing many people don't seem to know is that you should never brush towards your gums but only from the gum to the tip of the teeth in order to protect your gums. The wrong technique can cause them to recede. I only recently learnt this.

I'm 53 with 2 fillings, overcrowding in my teens meant I had 10 teeth taken out but luckily never got wisdom teeth.
My teeth are pretty good but I've been single for quite a while and dated a bit over the last few years and the number of men around my age with bad teeth is shocking.

I lost teeth during my pregnancies.
I saved up and spent over 10k getting my teeth done. I had several implants and zirconium crowns. My teeth look really nice
Definitely more confident and smile more.

I'm 46 and have all my own teeth and one tiny filling .. they are straight due to a brace in teens , my bloody dentist always makes me feel dirty when I go and I have told him I think I'm doing well compared to my peers but he always finds fault .. he has minging teeth !! 🙄