Any of you haven't been to a dentist in 10 or 20 or 25 years not because of$

My dentist was always about 600 miles from where I live and usually out of town when I went there. So I rarely saw him. He retired a few years ago. As I never seemed to need a dentist (knock wood) I haven't bothered looking for another.

Nothing but trouble still, now that I'm going to the dentist regularly. I might say "this tooth feels a little rough," then next thing I know it's root canal and two more teeth pulled. It's like the middle ages. I expect them to drown me to see if I'm a witch next time around.

20 years is a long time. Probably too long. I go every 5-10 years.

But regular dental visits are something I’m not a fan of. And by regular I mean every 6 months as is recommended by your dentist and the ADA. But here is the thing that bugs me. Most people go to a dentist for routine cleanings performed by a dental hygienist and have little interaction with a dentist. Most hygienists are highly competent individuals that can identify potential issues that a dentist should follow up on.

So why do you need to go to Dentist to get your teeth cleaned and pay inflated fees driven by greedy dentists and insurance companies?

Routine teeth cleaning should be a simple service available without the hassle of visiting a dentist per se. No insurance involvement at all. For most people this would likely reduce the periodicity of actual dental visits to biennial at most.

The ADA will never let that happen.

I didn’t go for about 20 years. It started when I turned 18 and didn’t have my parents there to make me go. Over time, I developed a a fear of going because it had been so long. I was forced to go when I got a tooth abscess (childhood filling broke and tooth got infected). Honestly, it was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. After that visit, I had to have 2 root canals. One of which failed and I needed up getting that tooth extracted. I also had 4 other cavities filled. Thankfully I found a great dentist that made me feel comfortable. I did pay a couple thousand dollars after it was all said and done. But I now go every 6 months for a cleaning and have had no issues since. It is a stress relief not worrying about my teeth any longer. I encourage you to go. And like another poster had said, dentists have seen it all. Try to find one in your area that works with patients that haven’t been in some time or have a fear of going. Sometimes they advertise this on their websites.

Dental health is essential, just like getting enough sleep and eating well. It's crucial to maintain good dental health to avoid further problems. My daughter saw the dentist for the first time when she was 10 years old. She had crooked teeth, but a friend of mine who works as a cosmetic dentist suggested we wait until she was older because it would be challenging for a small child to wear braces. However, her mismatched teeth were to blame for her overbite. When the overbite issue started causing damage to her teeth, we decided to take her to the dentist for treatment.

i didn't go since i turned 18 and started having to pay for it. the problem is even if you brush well, plaque still builds up on the teeth and it makes your gums recede. when that happens your gums and teeth can become infected and you end up with dead teeth and root canals. when you go to the dentist for cleanings, they scrape away all that plaque/tartar so your gums don't recede, or at least not as much, I think some receding as you get older is unavoidable.

if i had my time again i would go, and I would have better teeth and gums for sure. every 6 months like they advise is probably overkill but every year seems about right.

also other things I wish I had known - some fruits are very acidic and thin the layer of enamel on your teeth. i thought of fruits as being healthy, but many aren't for your teeth.

chemicals in swimming pools soften the enamel on your teeth, so if you are a swimmer or swim to crosstrain for running, and especially if you eat something acidic later, the enamel will erode quicker because it is weaker from the chemicals in the water.

to avoid both these issues, rinse your mouth out with water or mouthwash immediately after swimming and immediately after eating anything acidic, don't wait for bedtime.

If you don't go to the dentist, you could literally die from the rot in your teeth affecting the rest of your body.

That's interesting about swimming. I hadn't realised that or thought of it. It makes sense though.

Things I've found that have helped me:

Use a good electric toothbrush

Replace the heads regularly (important)

Don't use the sensitive/'soft' ones, they don't clean thoroughly at all and leave stuff on the surface of your teeth

Don't buy heads online unless it's from a storefront to a real life shop - there are too many fakes out there. I spoke to Braun or Oral B about this, they ran a test on my toothbrush heads and they were fake. Fortunately only used them a few weeks

Use a good quality toothpaste

Floss or use the little interdental brushes. I'm undecided on which is better. The little brushes seem to have the potential to cause some damage. Floss is more delicate and seems to get into more places, but the little brushes may be able to remove more, not sure.

Brush twice a day.

Use good technique - with an electric toothbrush this is very different from a manual toothbrush technique. I often see people using electric toothbrushes as they were manual ones, moving them around a lot. It doesn't work like that.

Try not to eat crap, sugary stuff, sticky sweets, lollies. Worst thing I've found was some chewy sweets that were very sour. They stick to teeth.

Stay hydrated.

Drink lots of water, try not to drink too much fruit juice or obviously soda.

Chewing gum is meant to be good (sugar-free).

It’s great that you’re taking care of your teeth, but it’s still important to see a dentist, especially since you have some gum recession. Avoiding the dentist for years is common due to fear, but many dentists specialize in helping anxious patients. It's never too late to get checked out, and it will give you peace of mind. Even if you’re not in pain now, a professional evaluation can help catch any issues early and prevent future problems. Consider finding a dentist who understands dental anxiety and offers gentle, patient care.

I get nervous each time I go.

The practice used to be run by an old gentleman who was no-nonsense, only worked on teeth that needed it and wasn’t all that expensive

He sold his practice to a couple fresh out of dental school, the lady dentist looks like she comes from a Playboy column titled “ Dentists of Playboy “, the husband looks like the dentists I used to see in “ Columbo” with the farari driving down into the garage and sunglasses…

Constant X-rays, wanting to put screws in my gums, weird things and a menu price sheet.

The nervous administration girl coming in with something to sign the moment you agree to have a tooth filled.

These young power couple dentists types are killers.

Being afraid doesn't make any sense, go just to become a stronger person.

However, my few semi-serious issus, which include a few root canals, and a lost tooth and movement of other teeth during the 6 month long process of getting a post and fake tooth, came from bad work from dentist and orthodontic surgeons my dentist referred me to. But don't be afraid unless you don't trust yourself to detect a real fraudster or put out the energy to get second opinions and whatnot.

Didn't go for decades either. Went had receding back gums with 6mm pockets. No cavities. Did the deep clean 4 quadrant for 800$ . Now 141$ every 6 months for regular perio cleaning. Pockets went down.

Was sure it was a scam at first but then looked up perio deep clean and changed my mind. Cavities are only half the equation

If your broke or wary get one of them gum pocket measure things and see how deep your pockets are. 7mm and up is bad news. I was close.

No regrets

Bright Dental here in tampa