Be True To Your Teeth And They'll Never Be False To You.

[AmbushCat]

I had to go to the dentist this morning and get a temporary crown for a damaged tooth; apparently part of a years-old filling had broken off somewhere along the way. Man, getting that stuff costs a lot of frogs... and a few hours worth of waiting for the numbness in my lip and chin to go away.

Anyway, this experience, hence the poll. Thoughts, anyone?

[Mistress Guendolen]

I had my wisdom teeth out in the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, and I also wore a retainer for several years. Otherwise, though, my teeth are solid. No cavities or fillings, no crowns, no braces- nothing of that nature.

[AmbushCat]

Wish I could say the same thing. I needed to have several sets of wisdom teeth removed some six or so years ago, and once I never brushed my teeth at all over the course of several months. I think you can guess how well that turned out.

[Helel]

Lessee, usual teeth cleanings? Check.
Braces? Check?
Wisdom teeth removal? All of them? Check.
Upper and Lower Jaw Surgery to correct open/asymmetrical bite? Double check.

Surprisingly, I've never had cavities or any real issues with my actual teeth, but the orientation of my teeth was something that's plagued me for some time. Until last summer when I had my jaw surgery. Painful to the extreme, but hey, I can eat better now! :D

[AmbushCat]

Being able to eat. Yes. In my mind, one of the greatest joys of life.

If I was actually diligent about brushing my teeth during my school years, I wouldn't be dealing with this situation at present. Curse my addiction to soda pop!

[Helel]

Yeah, soda pop doesn't help much either, but it's amazing how much things like fluoride in water help cut down on teeth issues- I have a younger cousin that's had about seven cavities in his life already, mostly because of drinking well water rather than normal tap.

[AmbushCat]

After we moved to KS, we have had to drink bottled water since the tap water here is so disgusting (contrary to the claims of my boss ) until recently, when we finally had a purifier installed.

Fluoride in water, though... does the city handle that, or does the average person have a say in getting that?

[Helel]

Most cities handle fluoridation of the water. I also think it's largely widespread enough that more often than not, the city does it. And I doubt most filters would remove it as well.

That said, in the event your community doesn't fluoridate your water, or you prefer bottled water, there are devices/filters that help add fluoride to things like bottled water, I'm sure, but they're not real common/cheap. But realistically, most bottled water is just filtered tap water, so they should have the fluoride in them anyways. I can't be positive though~

[AmbushCat]

Bit of a shame. I wish they had that stuff out here.

Anyway, I had the crown put in just a few days ago. Having that thing on one side of my mouth is going to take some getting used to.

[Zilla]

I've just had cleanings and stuff.... nothing else ^^;

I drank a lot of milk growing up. I actually found I drank less soda than my friends, and usually it was a social thing for me. I'd only really drink soda with friends.

However...

I don't brush my teeth much. When they feel gross, I remember to, but it's not part of my routine. This ends up being about.... once every 2-5 weeks...

It's worked so far ^^;; I've had this pattern for about 3-4 years now, so.. I'm not too worried.