at least I didn't put it off too, too long
Sep. 9th, 2024 02:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kareinaAs a child we saw a dentist every year (and had cavities filled every year). Mom's teeth were bad, so sometime in the early 1980's (when she was in her early 40's) she had them all removed and replaced with dentures (which she hated), and she always told us to take good care of our teeth so it wouldn't happen to us, and I have always brushed and flossed my teeth daily.
After I left home and got too old for free medical care on base and was a uni student on a limited budget I went years without seeing a doctor or dentist (other than getting new contacts regularly, and going to Family Planning for an annual pap smear and more birth control until I had the cash to just get my tubes tied and my eyes fixed from the cash from dad's estate after we lost him).
When I moved to Sweden in 2011 I decided that I really should book a dental checkup and teeth cleaning, as it had been so long I had no idea when the last time had been. They removed an impressive amount of plaque from the inside back of my front teeth, and pointed out that I must be brushing too vigorously, and with too hard of a toothbrush, as my gums were starting to erode back from my teeth, but there were no other problems needing immediate care. So I switched to a soft toothbrush, and tried to remember to be gentle when brushing.
Years slipped by. Occasionally I would think I should book another dental checkup, but that is a phone call that needs to be made during business hours, and somehow I never did. More recently the places where my gums don't cover the parts of my teeth that ought to be covered have started looking disturbing, and they are feeling more sensitive, so today I finally checked the webpage of the local dentist, and this time they had a web form one could use to ask for a time, so I filled it in, and a couple hours later they called me and asked me if I could come in later today. I could, and I did.
So the dentist had a quick look, pointed out the really obvious problems, and then did a full exam with x-rays (boy are x-rays fast these days, nice to see the results pretty much instantly!). The places on the right side where I have worried about how the tops of my teeth look are the worst problem--not only are the gums eroded, but so are the teeth and part of the bone, which causes a risk for getting an infection in the root, which sounds dreadful. So she recommends putting on an external "filling" to cover those areas, and said something about helping the bone, too, so that those teeth don't become loose. In addition I have cavities in three of my back teeth, not yet bad enough to hurt, but time to fill them too.
The dentist says it will take at least three visits to do all of the work that needs doing. Since I have a job starting on the 26th she will do as much as possible before then. The receptionist managed to find me time for Wednesday afternoon this week, and Thursday next week, and that was it before the job starts, so the next visit thereafter will be a 07:30 three weeks in to the new job, which should be fine for not taking much time from the work day, but we will see how the first two go.
I am also looking forward to the part about getting the teeth cleaned, as they are kinda stained, especially on the inside of the lower front teeth. Clearly, while I learned my lesson to brush regularly, I never learned proper technique for that. I also am guessing that even though I tried to improve after seeing that dentist in 2011, that I wasn't very successful in that attempt. It kinda sucks that most of the wear and tear on our bodies are self inflicted as we never even got the manual, so couldn't read it...
After I left home and got too old for free medical care on base and was a uni student on a limited budget I went years without seeing a doctor or dentist (other than getting new contacts regularly, and going to Family Planning for an annual pap smear and more birth control until I had the cash to just get my tubes tied and my eyes fixed from the cash from dad's estate after we lost him).
When I moved to Sweden in 2011 I decided that I really should book a dental checkup and teeth cleaning, as it had been so long I had no idea when the last time had been. They removed an impressive amount of plaque from the inside back of my front teeth, and pointed out that I must be brushing too vigorously, and with too hard of a toothbrush, as my gums were starting to erode back from my teeth, but there were no other problems needing immediate care. So I switched to a soft toothbrush, and tried to remember to be gentle when brushing.
Years slipped by. Occasionally I would think I should book another dental checkup, but that is a phone call that needs to be made during business hours, and somehow I never did. More recently the places where my gums don't cover the parts of my teeth that ought to be covered have started looking disturbing, and they are feeling more sensitive, so today I finally checked the webpage of the local dentist, and this time they had a web form one could use to ask for a time, so I filled it in, and a couple hours later they called me and asked me if I could come in later today. I could, and I did.
So the dentist had a quick look, pointed out the really obvious problems, and then did a full exam with x-rays (boy are x-rays fast these days, nice to see the results pretty much instantly!). The places on the right side where I have worried about how the tops of my teeth look are the worst problem--not only are the gums eroded, but so are the teeth and part of the bone, which causes a risk for getting an infection in the root, which sounds dreadful. So she recommends putting on an external "filling" to cover those areas, and said something about helping the bone, too, so that those teeth don't become loose. In addition I have cavities in three of my back teeth, not yet bad enough to hurt, but time to fill them too.
The dentist says it will take at least three visits to do all of the work that needs doing. Since I have a job starting on the 26th she will do as much as possible before then. The receptionist managed to find me time for Wednesday afternoon this week, and Thursday next week, and that was it before the job starts, so the next visit thereafter will be a 07:30 three weeks in to the new job, which should be fine for not taking much time from the work day, but we will see how the first two go.
I am also looking forward to the part about getting the teeth cleaned, as they are kinda stained, especially on the inside of the lower front teeth. Clearly, while I learned my lesson to brush regularly, I never learned proper technique for that. I also am guessing that even though I tried to improve after seeing that dentist in 2011, that I wasn't very successful in that attempt. It kinda sucks that most of the wear and tear on our bodies are self inflicted as we never even got the manual, so couldn't read it...