- Joined
- Jun 4, 2012
- Reaction score
- 19,493
- Age
- 64
- Location
- I'm liek, in Cali, dude.
- Lifestyle
- Vegetarian
Curious about the dental habits of the VV community.
How many times a day do you brush your teeth?
Do you floss frequently, or at all?
Do you use a Water Pik or other brand of oral irrigator?
Do you use a manual toothbrush or a battery powered or electric toothbrush?
Do you take any "extra" steps such as cleaning your tongue or massaging your gums?
Have you had any type of oral surgery such as implants or root canal?
Do you visit a dentist twice a year as recommended?
Are you missing any teeth? Still have your wisdom teeth? Ever have any teeth pulled?
Have you done or plan to do any teeth whitening?
What types and brand(s) of toothpaste do you prefer?
Have you ever experienced any kind of damage to your teeth, such as accident or injury to your teeth or gum disease?
Any cavities filled? If so, do you ask the dentist to provide you with mercury-free fillings?
Do you consciously avoid food or beverages that can cause damage to your teeth, such as sugary or acidic foods or beverages? Or do you prefer to consume these things and make a point of brushing your teeth afterwards?
Have you ever had braces to straighten your teeth?
Do you have "sensitive" teeth and/or gums that require special toothbrushes and toothpaste?
How are your visits to the dentist? Stressful or totally zen?
Do you have dental insurance or do you pay out of pocket?
Do you grind your teeth? If so, do you wear a guard at night?
As you can see, I'm really nosy about it.
You don't have to answer ALL the questions if you don't want to.
Okay, my answers to my questions:
I brush 2 times a day, once in the morning and once at bedtime. I know I should brush more often, but I don't.
I tend to floss for a while after visiting the dentist because I feel guilty when I don't. That sort of ends after 2 or 3 weeks because I get lazy.
I've been using a Water Pik or other brand of oral irrigator for at least 40 years. It started when I had braces and the orthodontist recommended using a Water Pik to clean around and under the braces. It worked so well that I've been using an oral irrigator ever since.
These days I use a manual toothbrush. I've used battery powered in the past, but the manuals are cheaper and since I have sensitive teeth I worried that they're too abrasive on my teeth.
I don't clean my tongue. My Water Pik massages my gums, and seriously, after I use it my mouth and gums actually feel a lot better, and cleaner.
I almost had a root canal, because the dentist said there was one tooth with a lot of erosion and he was concerned about it. The oral surgeon took one look and said the tooth couldn't be saved and there was no point to doing a root canal. The tooth was eventually pulled and I got an implant put in its place.
I visit a dentist twice a year. I go with my mother; we have the same dentist, and she pays my dental bills. I don't have dental insurance.
I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was in grade school. I got general anesthesia. I got to stay home from school the rest of the day.
I have discolored teeth but have not done any teeth whitening. You know what was annoying? When I got the dental implant, the dentist offered to "discolor" the implant to match my discolored teeth. I told him NO THANKS.
I've used Tom's of Maine brand toothpaste for about 35 years. I grew up using Crest, but I'll never go back to Crest or any other "mainstream" brand. Tis the yuck.
I use the sensitive teeth variety and try to avoid toothpaste with fluoride. (I used to get fluoride treatments from the pediatric dentist I was sent to and hated it with a passion.)
When I was in my "tween" years I had an accident whereby a movie screen attached to a wooden ceiling beam in the basement of our house came down from the beam (I had yanked on the screen to get it to roll up into the case) and hit me in the face. I'm convinced that this damaged the roots of my upper front teeth, and that's why they're discolored now.
Since I have a terrible sweet tooth, I've had cavities much of my life. It never occurred to me until I started reading literature on it about a decade ago that cavity fillings had mercury and this could be a problem. This worries me.
I do consume foods and beverages that are bad for my teeth, but I know I have to be conscientious about brushing my teeth to protect them.
As mentioned above, I had braces on my teeth. Big, metal, UGLY braces. I hated them.
And yes, I have sensitive teeth because as I get older, I have more enamel erosion. As mentioned, I use Tom's of Maine sensitive toothpaste. The dentist gave me a sample of a name brand sensitive toothpaste (Crest, I think), but I couldn't bring myself to use it. I still have it. I just haven't used it.)
Visits to the dentist for me have always been stressful because I have always had dental problems. If I'm confident I will have a "good" visit, meaning no problems detected, then I'm relaxed, but I'm rarely that confident.
No insurance. My mom pays my dental bills.
And yes, I grind my teeth. I'm not always aware I'm doing it, but sometimes I realize that I do grind them. And I don't use a guard. It never occurred to me to use a guard, and nobody ever suggested it until I visited a new dentist in June. I promptly forgot about it. When I see him again in December, I'm going to bring it up. Assuming I remember.
How many times a day do you brush your teeth?
Do you floss frequently, or at all?
Do you use a Water Pik or other brand of oral irrigator?
Do you use a manual toothbrush or a battery powered or electric toothbrush?
Do you take any "extra" steps such as cleaning your tongue or massaging your gums?
Have you had any type of oral surgery such as implants or root canal?
Do you visit a dentist twice a year as recommended?
Are you missing any teeth? Still have your wisdom teeth? Ever have any teeth pulled?
Have you done or plan to do any teeth whitening?
What types and brand(s) of toothpaste do you prefer?
Have you ever experienced any kind of damage to your teeth, such as accident or injury to your teeth or gum disease?
Any cavities filled? If so, do you ask the dentist to provide you with mercury-free fillings?
Do you consciously avoid food or beverages that can cause damage to your teeth, such as sugary or acidic foods or beverages? Or do you prefer to consume these things and make a point of brushing your teeth afterwards?
Have you ever had braces to straighten your teeth?
Do you have "sensitive" teeth and/or gums that require special toothbrushes and toothpaste?
How are your visits to the dentist? Stressful or totally zen?
Do you have dental insurance or do you pay out of pocket?
Do you grind your teeth? If so, do you wear a guard at night?
As you can see, I'm really nosy about it.
You don't have to answer ALL the questions if you don't want to. Okay, my answers to my questions:
I brush 2 times a day, once in the morning and once at bedtime. I know I should brush more often, but I don't.
I tend to floss for a while after visiting the dentist because I feel guilty when I don't. That sort of ends after 2 or 3 weeks because I get lazy.
I've been using a Water Pik or other brand of oral irrigator for at least 40 years. It started when I had braces and the orthodontist recommended using a Water Pik to clean around and under the braces. It worked so well that I've been using an oral irrigator ever since.
These days I use a manual toothbrush. I've used battery powered in the past, but the manuals are cheaper and since I have sensitive teeth I worried that they're too abrasive on my teeth.
I don't clean my tongue. My Water Pik massages my gums, and seriously, after I use it my mouth and gums actually feel a lot better, and cleaner.
I almost had a root canal, because the dentist said there was one tooth with a lot of erosion and he was concerned about it. The oral surgeon took one look and said the tooth couldn't be saved and there was no point to doing a root canal. The tooth was eventually pulled and I got an implant put in its place.
I visit a dentist twice a year. I go with my mother; we have the same dentist, and she pays my dental bills. I don't have dental insurance.
I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was in grade school. I got general anesthesia. I got to stay home from school the rest of the day.
I have discolored teeth but have not done any teeth whitening. You know what was annoying? When I got the dental implant, the dentist offered to "discolor" the implant to match my discolored teeth. I told him NO THANKS.
I've used Tom's of Maine brand toothpaste for about 35 years. I grew up using Crest, but I'll never go back to Crest or any other "mainstream" brand. Tis the yuck.
I use the sensitive teeth variety and try to avoid toothpaste with fluoride. (I used to get fluoride treatments from the pediatric dentist I was sent to and hated it with a passion.)When I was in my "tween" years I had an accident whereby a movie screen attached to a wooden ceiling beam in the basement of our house came down from the beam (I had yanked on the screen to get it to roll up into the case) and hit me in the face. I'm convinced that this damaged the roots of my upper front teeth, and that's why they're discolored now.
Since I have a terrible sweet tooth, I've had cavities much of my life. It never occurred to me until I started reading literature on it about a decade ago that cavity fillings had mercury and this could be a problem. This worries me.
I do consume foods and beverages that are bad for my teeth, but I know I have to be conscientious about brushing my teeth to protect them.
As mentioned above, I had braces on my teeth. Big, metal, UGLY braces. I hated them.
And yes, I have sensitive teeth because as I get older, I have more enamel erosion. As mentioned, I use Tom's of Maine sensitive toothpaste. The dentist gave me a sample of a name brand sensitive toothpaste (Crest, I think), but I couldn't bring myself to use it. I still have it. I just haven't used it.)
Visits to the dentist for me have always been stressful because I have always had dental problems. If I'm confident I will have a "good" visit, meaning no problems detected, then I'm relaxed, but I'm rarely that confident.
No insurance. My mom pays my dental bills.
And yes, I grind my teeth. I'm not always aware I'm doing it, but sometimes I realize that I do grind them. And I don't use a guard. It never occurred to me to use a guard, and nobody ever suggested it until I visited a new dentist in June. I promptly forgot about it. When I see him again in December, I'm going to bring it up. Assuming I remember.
