Metropol

My 6 monthly check up is due soon. Now i hate the dentist as much as i hate the pics he has on the ceiling. Since the age of 10 i've seen the same pics up there. A now faded butterfly pic, a pic of Rome where the tourists are wearing flares and the Lions at Trafalgar Square. I might suggest to my dentist ( after he's finished gauging my teeth out with sharp insruments) That he replace them with puzzles, something like a crossword or word search.

I do like my dentist because as of yet i've never had to have a filling.

What is your relationship with the dentist? Do you love him or loathe him?

I've got an NHS dentist who is fabulous, but I wanted my teeth straightend and whitened, so I had to go private.

The private surgery is very plush! Plasma TV's on the ceiling above the dentist chair and wireless headphones. You even get a Sky remote to play with and flick through the channels while you're in the chair!

However, all this plushness and dental work comes at a price. I decided to pay up front last October, and I wasn't left with much change out of £4,000. However, by the end of my treatment this autumn, I'll have superstar teeth!

My NHS dentist is great, I only need a check up one a year (that's his words not mine) and he said there's absolutely nothing wrogn with my teeth

Except I brush them too hard at times & incorrectly he told me

How coincidental this thread should come up now, particularly as I've got a dentist appointment tomorrow (what a lovely early birthday present - not!)

I believe it's just a check up, but I haven't been to the dentist in a long time, and I've got one or two holes - one of which was just developing the last time I went to the dentist, so I don't know why he didn't do anytihng about it then.

Now, I'm among those who don't really like going to the dentist. I'm not a very big fan of needles. They did gas me once, but I don't think they use that any more (health & safety) I seem to remember last time I went I had work done while I was partially conscious (all I can remember is having a thing attached to one of my fingers to check I was still alive!) but I really am hoping that things have improved... surely in this day and age they can find ways of making things painless and comfortable for patients.

Their "chair" wasn't that comfortable either, it was like a plastic coffin-shaped table that I had to lie on!

Wish me luck!

I'm having a completely new set of (false) top teeth on Thursday 26th April.

I've only got six of the old ones left now, all the others having progressively fallen out due to the nasty chemicals they pumped into my in 2000 and 2004.

The last six will be pulled on the 26th as the falsies are fitted; mind you they're all pretty loose anyway, so it won't be a problem.

Even though the NHS have caused the problem in the first place, I can't get an NHS dentist within seventy miles of here, so am forced to pay about £800 for the work to be done privately.

The wonders of a Labour controlled Britain.

Well that was fun... I missed my appointment this morning - Mum had forgotten about it and went to work, she remembered about it when I rang her to find out where she was though!

She told me my appointment was today but never told me what time it was (9am!) - so I had to go to the dentist just now and apologise, and they've re-booked it for 12:20 next Thursday (12th).

I'm not sure they've improved things in any way either... the appointment card still lists the same types of sedation they offer for nervous patients that it did last time I went - and he has XFM on when he's doing his work - not my cup of tea, that and the surgery still looks like a badly designed building from the 60's!

Jamez, can I just say, apart from the price, your private dentist sounds great! It would be really good if dentists did have TV's on the ceiling - it would take your mind off what they were doing in your mouth - and it would beat having a bright light shone in your eyes!

As I said, the last time I went to my dentist they still had the plastic coffin-style "chair" and they gave you "sunglasses" to stop you being blinded by the light... still I suppose the dentist I go to now beats the previous dentist I had, there was nothing really wrong with him except he didn't wear gloves and had nicotine on his fingers! I think I probably prefer the taste of rubber gloves in my mouth than nicotine... but then I'm not really sure!

Johnny wrote:Except I brush them too hard at times & incorrectly he told me

Would this be because of pre-dentist panic brushing?

You can ask for a "topical anaesthetic" before they stick you with a needle. A topical is a mild numbing agent applied to your gums using a cotton pad. You shouldn't feel the needle at all.

Don't be afraid to ask to be numbed up more if you feel any discomfort. There is no need for you to experience pain these days.

I have an excellent NHS dentist, but I had to be referred by my doctor to see one within an NHS hospital.

I have a very low threshold for dental pain, and I even wince at going to the hygenist. I once had a dentist who said, "Oh for heavens sake stop complaining - you're a man". Every dentist I've had subsequently told me that this was a shocking attitude from a healthcare professional. Some experience pain much more than others.

Anyhoo, I've had porcelain crown work and root canals from my new dentist, and actually fell asleep in the chair - so the pain issue is no more!

Tomorrow at 1pm my mouth will be poked and prodded Eeeek!

Having a check up and scale and polish. No doubt he'll tell me off for not flossing regularly and smoking again. Hopefully he won't find any problems. Not bad 36 and no fillings.

Might look into a professsional whitening treatment. I fancy an Hollywood smile.

cdd wrote:

Johnny wrote:Except I brush them too hard at times & incorrectly he told me

Would this be because of pre-dentist panic brushing?

No, every so often (manily when I'm too tired) I brush too hard and end up with sore gums (normally on the top right as this is where I always start when brushing my teeth.

Where I do it wrong is I brush back & forth not in a circular motion but I have trouble doing it that was as I'm a fat bastard and have fat cheeks .

Time for an electric toothbrush I think, they're suppposed to be better but I have been told otherwise, can anyoen confirm it they're better or not?

miss hellfire wrote:Tomorrow at 1pm my mouth will be poked and prodded Eeeek!

Sounds interesting!

Make sure you don't swallow anything, though. The taste can be slightly undesirable.