I went to the dentist yesterday to have my dreaded dental cleaning done. I hate going to the dentist- but only because every time I go I have a cavity--and not just one-- but several. This bothers me because I brush my teeth more than anyone I know. I floss every day. I have even had people tell me they think I am brushing my teeth too much. I brush my teeth for twice as long as Jason each time we brush together and he makes fun of me because I "overdo it". We even bought matching electric toothbrushes.
So, why all the cavities? 2 years ago my teeth cost us over $1000 to fix. Jason speculates that we were being scammed by the dentist and the problem was not as serious as it seemed. I agree.
But, there is the time before our wedding that I had to get 8 cavities filled in one day. Not to mention all the cavities that I have had growing up.
So, as you can tell I was not excited about the dentist yesterday. The last visit I had- I was told my teeth looked good except for one spot. They said if I brushed really well and took great care of it, it could go away.
You better believe I have brushed. I was ready for the dentist to say that it was gone.
Quite the opposite happened. I am in the chair getting ready to have the hygenist start cleaning, when she looks at my xrays that were taken at the last visit. She starts clicking on this computer screen like crazy and tells me that it looks as though there were a bunch of "trouble spots" on my x-ray that they missed last time. She even says that my actual mouth and the x-rays do not even look like the same person. I was so disappointed. I almost started crying in the chair before the cleaning. She identifies 5 "trouble spots" and tells me she will have the dentist look at them when she is done.
I manage to get through the cleaning without crying and the dentist comes in. I want him to look at the x-rays and tell the hygenist she was crazy and that I have been brushing my teeth. Can't she tell?
He looks at me and says- why didn't we see this before? Oh my. We need to get in there and look at one of these.
Sigh. The only comfort the dentist has to offer is that some people's saliva is different than others. Some people have stronger teeth than others. And I am just one of those people.
I have an appointment in 2 weeks and am disheartened. I don't want to be "one of those people." I want to eat a bag of candy every night like Jason and never have a cavity. I want to brush my teeth and go to the dentist without a cavity.
I guess that will never be the case. I'll keep brushing and hoping though. Mabye one day my x-rays will be great.
I can relate! I brush my teeth WAY more than Cliff does and they took forever to clean my teeth. Luckily no cavities, but tons of plaque on my gums that they had to painfully scrape off. She said something about my saliva too and how it builds up calcium deposits or something, so now I have to floss to try to keep it off. Grrr!
ReplyDeletePoor Faith.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. I am fairly neurotic about brushing (carry toothbrush and toothpaste in my purse!) and actually have only had two cavities in my life. Pregnancy and nursing Campbell wreaked havoc on my teeth. Since then, I've had two root canals, two crowns, and seven cavities. The dentist said sometimes when the nutrients are going to the baby, the teeth get the shaft!
Gross. It's good to know that it only gets worse when you have kids. :) Thanks for the info Kristin and Theresa. I am glad I am not the only one.
ReplyDeleteThink about getting sealants again. Also, check the fluoride content of the water in your area. I don't remember you having many cavities at all while you were growing up. Maybe 1 or 2.
ReplyDeleteIf the dds wants to do a lot of work, ask him to send in a pre-determination to the ins. co. That will slow him down& he'll know he has to prove to them you really need all that work done. Some dds's are just scam artists. I know--you've heard all this before...but it bears repeating! (I used to pay the claims & look at the xrays too.)