i quite enjoyed my trip to the dentist today. my hygienists name is lauri, and she was very nice lady. very friendly and i felt very comfortable asking her questions and stuff. there was a lot to go over, i told her about my cavity and about my baby-corner tooth. she took a lot of x-rays and one specifically of my baby-tooth to get a clear idea of what's going on. i have a baby-corner tooth with the adult tooth behind it still under the surface. it's just never come down thru the gums and the baby-tooth has never budged. i heard recently that sometimes impacted teeth can develop cysts around them, which cause a lot of serious problems. this obviously concerned me, so i wanted to get the low-down on that. my old dentist (dr motruk – i won't hesitate to name-names in this case because i would strongly advise any patients of his to go elsewhere) was almost secretive and wouldn't really tell me anything about my oral health. where lauri today was the exact opposite. she said it's their policy to discuss all matters with their patients so they can together work towards a healthy mouth. that amazed me, and it makes a lot of sense! she explained everything she was doing, and why they were doing it. she also explained how oral hygiene affects the rest of the body, how plaque contributes to diabetes and heart disease. it was very interesting!
anyways, the dentist only came in for a 5 minute inspection (i spent about an hour and a quarter with lauri. i realized that hygienists are like dental nurses. they do all the ground work and one-on-one stuff, and the dentists do all the specialty stuff and have the final say). i discussed my impacted tooth with the dentist in depth, she seemed annoyed at my old dentist for not properly dealing with it when he should have. she said i should not have a baby-tooth as a grown-up if there's an adult tooth in there. she said if you reach 13 and you still have baby-teeth then they should be pulled. my corner-tooth would have come down properly back then, but it's too late now, it's roots are firmly developed and it's not moving without braces. she said it's in perfect condition and would be every easy to slip into place with orthodontics. however, that's not something i'm interested in pursuing. she said that considering the location and condition of my impacted tooth, there is no concern of cysts. which was all i needed to know. phew!
when the dr was in seeing my teeth, she checked for cavities. i was listening carefully for her to confirm or deny whether or not i did in fact have a cavity. she didn't say much, then in almost no time at all she was shaking my handing and leaving the room. i was about to say to lauri "does that mean i don't have any cavities?" when she said "you have 4 cavities" i gasped in shock! then she said "oh, wait, no, you have 8 cavities. that was just the bottom". hahaha, i could have fallen over. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
so i discovered why one should not wait 4 years between dentist appointments. i'm extremely thankful that i have coverage thru work. needless to say i have a greater commitment to brushing my teeth after every meal. i have to go back next week for a cleaning, and then back twice in january to get my fillings done. i need to decide if i want white fillings or metal fillings. they said metal fillings last longer. i kind of like the idea of metal fillings. they seem so old-school. i'll have think about that, since i'll have to live with my decision for the rest of my life. in a way it's like a really bad tattoo.
to call for hands of above,
to lean on,
wouldn't be good enough.
10 comments:
metal fillings = mercury in your mouth.
It's true they last longer. It's true the amount of mercury in them is small and most dentists feel it's safe. But the fact is, it's a toxic substance taking up residence in your mouth. I know someone (and have read of others) who had terrible health issues which improved drastically after having all their mercury fillings replaced with white ones. It's very important to get white ones put in by someone who knows what they're doing though. It is not the same process as metal fillings and there are dentists out there who use the same process anyhow. I know because it happened to me! It caused a lot of trouble in my mouth.
Sorry for preaching at you! Just thought you should know before you make a final decision.
i'd thought of that. i also wondered that under the very rare possibility if i got electrocuted would the metal could melt and weld my jaws together.
BUT my dad was just over and he said they don't use mercury anymore. he said they used to, but that's been discontinued. regardless, i planned to ask the dentist all the possible complications. i appreciate you passing along that info, that's very helpful.
wow. everything i ever needed-to-know-but-didn't-know-it about dental health. and somehow, i never thought to question it... crazy!
heehee. ya, that was quite a long ranty entry about the dentist and my teeth. haha. it was a very interesting experience. i've realized that i'm pretty much fascinated by anything i don't know about and some of the stuff i DO know about.
The girl's dentist in Ottawa still uses fillings with mercury in them. He was pretty upfront about it. He does the white ones though, too, for patients who want them, but he prefers the metal ones.
The thought of you getting your jaw welded together by electrocution is pretty funny - talk about laughing at inappropriate things!
some dentists refuse to do metal fillings at all anymore - like mine. so maybe that's why your dad thought mercury wasn't used anymore?
The official word on mercury in fillings doesn't sound altogether convincing: http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health/
faqs_resources/faqs/
dental_amalgam_faqs.asp#2
You could always get GOLD fillings!!
I second the oral bling proposal.
haha. yes, the gold fillings sound like a perfect solutions. although, someone did suggest jelly-fillings. that sounds appealing as well. it would definitely be the most tastey option.
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