• Rusty Raven M
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    5 months ago

    My dental checkup this morning led to two fillings as well. One of them is just a fairly short term fix and I’ll need to look at a crown when it fails. Tomorrow I have an appointment with the dental surgeon, who will be removing a broken tooth, before doing two implants in a couple of months.

    I’ve been saving up towards all this for a while, but the money is going to be disappearing very quickly. The decision to sign up for extras on the health insurance again was definitely a good one - stretching the timeframe for getting the crowns over a couple of years will mean I’m getting more back than I have paid in premiums for at least 3 years, four if the filling today lasts long enough.

    • Baku
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      5 months ago

      Going to the dentist is one of those things that absolutely fucking sucks, but sucks less than the alternative of not going to the dentist, unfortunately.

      The lack of stability and positive role models in my life has led to having some absolutely fucked teeth. Today is going to hurt, but if I get all of my work done before March, I won’t have to pay for any of it. After that, though, I think my teeth are going to be held on with tape and prayers (or more accurately toothpaste, mouthwash, Panadol, and prayers)

      • Thornburywitch
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        5 months ago

        If you can, get a referral to Western Special Needs Dentistry - they are so damn good and completely non-judgey. They do a lot of work for people with sensory issues and phobias and are completely up to speed on that sort of thing. See my comment below.

    • Llabyrinthine
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      5 months ago

      Good for you! Dental stuff has to be the least favourite for most. Yeah, quotes on a new aligner run was 6.5k. Was hoping it’d be half that, so will be putting that off till next year.

      • Rusty Raven M
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        5 months ago

        None of it is cheap. I’m grateful I’m in a position that the work can be done and that I can manage to afford it. My mother has a lot of problems with her teeth, can’t get implants because she does not have enough bone density (and it wasn’t available earlier in her life when it might have been possible) and she is having a lot of trouble with dentures not fitting well. It really impacts what she is able to eat. It has very much motivated me to do everything I can for my teeth now. I’d rather skip a few holidays and drive an older car now instead of having all of those issues later. I just wish I could go back in time and get my younger self into good toothbrushing habits earlier in life so I’d have less work needing to be done now.

        • Seagoon_OP
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          5 months ago

          sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do, I have a teeny tiny skull and my teeth don’t fit

          in Australia there is a policy of trying to keep every tooth so Miss Seagoon had spacers since the age of 6. When we moved to Europe she had 4 premolars taken out and braces for 18 months. The Euro dentists said the crowding would never improve and would smash her teeth

          • Rusty Raven M
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            5 months ago

            I had a couple of teeth removed when I was in my early teens because my teeth didn’t fit. Then the other jaw ended up with 2 wisdom teeth removed because there was not enough room for them to come through. I think the lower jaw was still a bit too crowded - all of the front teeth overlap and used to be jammed so tightly together I couldn’t floss. Since losing another couple of teeth in that jaw I think they’ve shifted a bit as I’m able to floss there now.

            • Thornburywitch
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              5 months ago

              Feels. As a kid I had about 10 teeth taken out because my jaw was very small and my teeth were extra large. Left me with a lasting fear of dentists and a major needle phobia. Which led to major neglect for the next 40 years or so. I’ve just had my remaining teef pulled and been fitted with dentures. Huge relief. I cannot recommend Western Special Needs Dentistry highly enough. They were so damn good, helped me through the process despite the needle phobia. Completely non-judgy. They do a lot of repair work for people with phobias or other problems.