firefish Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 4: But meanwhile an abcess was forming at the base of the tooth 5: your immune system got low or similar and the abcess went from chronic to acute and now hurts like hell. Yeah, the dentist told me it was an abscess. I feel like a hipocrite, cos when my cats get into a fight i always take them to the vet, just incase they get an abscess, but i've got one and i'm not doing anything about it. What i found really annoying is that the dentist that i went to told me about my two options and went into some detail about the root canal and never even talked about getting it pulled (which is what i was leaning too) and i had to ask him to tell me about it being pulled.... I'm considering sometime going to my dads dentist cos aparently he actually listens to what dad wants. its a miracle!!! So could i actually be completely knocked out if i went to get something done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Having worked for 8 different dentists, some closely, DO NOT base your selection on price! Many cheap ones are utter SHITE Many expensive ones are just out to empty your bank accounts and also do SHITE work. Get a bunch of recommendations. Go with what you feel comfortable with. Ask if they take digital xrays - much much more shows up on them! Dont know if you remember Stella but my daughter has (and still does) the same job as you did....I can still get you work up here if you want. As you mention... you know what your talking about and I have also always listened to my daughter as well... pays to be in the know eh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Firefish, Bet your cats you put off going to the vet if they had a choice What tooth is it? (count from the front back) Basically if you CAN keep a tooth, DO. If the tooth is so far gone and would be a waste of money, your dentist will tell you that. If he barely mentioned having the tooth pulled then it is probably well worth saving. The only tooth you will not miss all that much is your very back tooth. All the others become places for food to get stuck, cheeks to be bitten and look pretty unsightly. However, yes having it pulled out is always an option. It is also permanent. (Think about how many years you plan on living, multiply that by 365 days, then multiply that by 3 meals per day. That is how many meals you will not have the use of that tooth for. Note snacks are excluded, factor in accordingly Also having one tooth out changes how you eat. The other side will get used more. Imagine a long table with ten legs. Take one leg out. Weaker but still works. Take another out. Dump piles of heavy books on it. At some point other legs will give way. Moral of the story is that if your teeth are heavily filled, taking one tooth out puts the rest at risk of breaking. Yes you can have sedation for anything Costs more and many dentists don't do it. But always a possibility somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Hi Barrie, Yes I do remember and was wondering when you would turn up Thanks for the offer but I am studying here next year so moving is not an option. Also I am sick of dentists (though as you can tell I find the subject interesting... :oops: ) I still envy what your daughter earns! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 while thinking of your discomfort and fear, also think about the poor old dentist that spends his life looking down someones gob all ady... did you know they have the highest suicide rate of all jobs? also think about the job Stella had (and my daughter Lizzette) that spend their days sucking spit.... Now if you keep that in mind while they are working on you, it may well put a smile on your dial and let you forget your fears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 hehehe dental assistants have a really sadistic love of blood and gore! Ironically dentists are not huge fans, and most hate taking teeth out (so many annoying things can go wrong). It is a full-on job, with little prospect of promotion apart from reception or practice manager, which I can't stand. BUT it is very interesting if you like medical science. You do not need prior experience and are trained on the job. You do need good organisational skills and will wind up with serious issues with cleanliness (if you are any good). Apparently the suicide rate thing was based on a poorly designed study in the 60's, was incorrect but oft-quoted. (can you tell I am desperately trying to avoid writing my book? is working rather well......sadly) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 What tooth is it? (count from the front back) 3rd from the back, on the bottom Also having one tooth out changes how you eat. But since i haven't been eating on that side, if i had it out, and continued to eat on the other side it wouldn't change much. I probably won't do anything, but thanks for all your info stella, its good to hear stuff while i'm not in a dentists room (but i'm still really nervous just thinking about it) it actually makes seeing my nana this weekend seem like a piece of cake in comparison to all this dentist talk! Why i was leaning towards getting it out is that my mum had a root canal and 15 yrs later she had the tooth taken out (root canal failed ) so i figure that just incase my root canal fails, i might as well just have the tooth taken out instead of going through the root canal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 about the slightly wobbly tooth it only wobbles like half a mil its been sensitive on and off for a few yrs now(6) after i got my braces off and the othadontist sanded back that stuff off i think he pushed to hard and took the enamal off :evil: cause my tooth went really flat there anyway all this talk about dentist is making me scared but im going to go to one tomorrow before i get tooth ac thanks stella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted December 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 I just want to thank everyone (especially Stella) for all of your help. Thanks to those of you who have PMed and given me kind words and encouragement. I am going to get my teeth out; I know that it's something I'm just going to have to suck up and do. I think this is a good place to share your experiences with getting dental treatment (but let's try not to scare me too much, huh???) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 I had general and work up half way :-? At the end as i was coming around. They showed me photo's, i thought the first was a elephant and the 2nd one a tree. They where both flowers. Dont let your pain killers wear off or you feel like you just want to die Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-town... Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 DAMN im so glad I got mine out before I was 18! ahaha FREE OF CHARGE!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Why i was leaning towards getting it out is that my mum had a root canal and 15 yrs later she had the tooth taken out (root canal failed ) so i figure that just incase my root canal fails, i might as well just have the tooth taken out instead of going through the root canal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Discusguru - 15 years is not bad going! But WHY did it need to come out? Most fail because later on they got decay or broke a cusp off an the patient avoided going back to get it fixed ('it didn't hurt') so it wasn't the fault of the root canal. Very frustrating seeing people waste their money and teeth that way. If it WAS the fault of the root canal then it probably would have caused problems earlier. Can and does happen. Most root-filled teeth are very fragile things. The inner core has been removed, most of the structure of the tooth is now filling and is therefore much much weaker. They really need a crown on them to hold them together properly. This should be done 6-12 months after the root-filling so you know the root filling has settled. Yes it is $1000 extra... Sadly most NZers would rather spend that on a TV than have fully-functioning aparatus for one of the most enjoyable and vital things we do: eat! A-town - good plan! (everyone under 18 years old gets free dental care. Great fun is telling some idiot that avoided the dentist throughout their teens that they need all their teeth out and dentures*, $3500 thank you very much!) (* youngest we did was 26 years old, saw a 22 year old with no teeth, top denture only, and my friendly local denture tech has done dentures for a 19 year old boy and a 18 year old girl. Children lose all their teeth too, due to parental neglect, but you can't do dentures on them as they are growing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Tell me Stella Are you like Lizzette and the first thing you notice is the teeth? Some may say they stink of BO... other that they didnt have the zip done up but Liz always notices the fangs :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Totally. I recognise people by their teeth. I find I have conversations with peoples teeth (like how some people have conversations with your eyes or..... 'eyes'....). If something odd is there I get obsessive about trying to work out what it is (real or false? is it a crown? is that tooth dead therefore grey, or entirely rotten on the inside? etc etc etc...... And the funny thing is now my two best friends have found themselves doing it too! I need help.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogod Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Can anyone recommend a good dentist in Auckland?Interesting thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Totally. I recognise people by their teeth. I find I have conversations with peoples teeth (like how some people have conversations with your eyes or..... 'eyes'....). If something odd is there I get obsessive about trying to work out what it is (real or false? is it a crown? is that tooth dead therefore grey, or entirely rotten on the inside? etc etc etc...... And the funny thing is now my two best friends have found themselves doing it too! I need help.... :-? Mmfffm mmfff mufff mffflll mmf! That's speaking with my lips closed so you can't see my teeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Can anyone recommend a good dentist in Auckland?Interesting thread. Green Bay Dental book in with "Rush" My daughter use to work there and only has good things to say about Rush She sometimes works there part time now but also works at other places part time as well as she has a baby so only wants a couple of days a week now Why Green Bay... They are bluudy good and have the attitude that the only way to make sure people look after their teeth is to make it as affordable as possible while giving the best treatment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 wow how old were people generally when their wisdoms came through? I'm 20 and mine still have not come through... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted December 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Mine first started when I was about 17. I'm nearly 20 now, and 1 of mine is about 10% through, the others haven't erupted yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 mine started when i was 15 i think, 18 now and 2 are fully out and 2 are kinda erupting. I think i've been lucky cos i only have had a hour of pain due to the wisdoms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted December 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 How have you had only an hour of pain??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skoll Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Hmmmmm, the fun and games of wisdom teeth... I had all four of mine out at the beginning of last year. General, and blessed surgical insurance. Oral surgeons are covered by that while dentists aren't (at least in my policy). Cost more to see the dentist to get referred than all the rest combined. Unfortuntately they didn't want to come out... four teeth ended up as 12-16 pieces of teeth as they had to cut them apart to get them out. Meant I was under for longer and was pretty woozy for the rest of the day. My wife on the other hand had hers out, came out no problems at all and she sat up while they were wheeling her out of the operating room. I was most jealous! In Wellington, Gerard Thyne was the oral Surgeon who did both of ours. Gavin.... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 wow how old were people generally when their wisdoms came through? I'm 20 and mine still have not come through... 56 and still got them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 haha glad I'm not the only late bloomer! I heard that not everyone has to have them taken out all depends on how they fit in your mouth? Not too sure whether my cousin was lying or not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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