Cavities and the Dentist

[Mr Light]

I haven't been to the dentist in seven years unfortunately. I moved to another state and never found a dentist up here. And the reason I keep putting it off is because I'm terrified of needles and drills.

But yesterday someone at work told me that when she gets a cavity, the dentist doesn't use a needle or a drill, he just squirts this white paste into it that hardens and THAT'S IT.

Is this true? Is this some new dental technology advancement in the past seven years?

 

[RoJoHen]

I just had a cavity filled a couple weeks ago, and the dentist certainly used a drill.

 

[Dream]

White paste?

Sounds like bullshit to me.

 

[RoJoHen]

It sounds like she's confusing fillings with sealants.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

No frakkin way that's true. Unless she is going to a complete quack.

Brief background: I was very sick when I was young - had ruptured appendix and nearly died. Had extremely high fever and the doctors used all kinds of drugs to keep me alive, lower my fever, etc. As it turns out, this effected all of my adult teeth, which were just coming in at the time. So I ended up with decalcification, and as a result, lots of dental work throughout my lifetime. So although I am not a dentist by any means, I have spent a lot more time in the dentist chair than your average person (numerous fillings, 3 crowns, 2 root canals, 4x per year periodontics-type cleanings), and sort of got educated as a result.

They use the drill to get all the decay out of your tooth. They have to do this. If they don't - if they just fill in the cavity as your friend described, your tooth will rot from the inside out, pretty much.

I go to a dental office which prides itself on being very high tech...and they still drill. I don't have any new cavities, but we are in the process of replacing fillings that are years (decades) old and that in some cases have begun to 'leak' (not a good thing - great place for decay to build up). What they do when I go in to get a filling replaced is shoot me up with novocaine (hard core, too - I don't muck about with only one shot - I want to be NUMB), drill to remove the old filling and any new decay, put some stuff into the tooth (I think it's to deaden the nerves inside the tooth or something), and then put the filling in over that. Then they drill some more on the top to get the bite right (they make me bite down on these little carbon paper looking things to tell where they need to shave the filling).

If you get the correct amount of novocaine (I am normally numb until dinner time, if I go in at 11 am), it's not painful at all. The noise and the vibrations still suck and I'm white knuckles holding on to the chair arms. But it's not painful. They even deaden the inside of your mouth with some gel before they give you the novocaine shot so you barely feel it. And they would give me gas too, if I wanted it, but I don't like that stuff.

I would really go in if I was you. I get that you don't like it (who does?), but if you keep on as you are, you are only going to compound any problems you might have. What might be fixed with a filling now could end up being a root canal later. And while in my experience, root canals are not as bad as their rep suggests....they are still ghastly.

 

[Timby]

No shit. Avoiding the dentist for seven years because of a little fear of needles and drills is madness, as silly as not getting a blood test because you don't like the needle. You're basically playing Russian Roulette with your teeth, Mr. Light -- and once they're fucked, you're getting dentures. I don't like a stranger putting his hand on my junk and telling me to turn my head and cough, but I still get an annual physical. Sack up and make an appointment, before your teeth rot and your breath smells like barbecued dog hair.

 

[JarodRussell]

I haven't been to the dentist in seven years unfortunately. I moved to another state and never found a dentist up here. And the reason I keep putting it off is because I'm terrified of needles and drills.

But yesterday someone at work told me that when she gets a cavity, the dentist doesn't use a needle or a drill, he just squirts this white paste into it that hardens and THAT'S IT.

Is this true? Is this some new dental technology advancement in the past seven years?

Yeah, he is squirting a white paste into it, but only after the drilling. The white paste is the filling. But you need to remove the caries/cavity first. That's what the drill is for.


And yeah: there's no need for needles and drilling if you go to the dentist regularly.

 

[JarodRussell]

Yeah, he is squirting a white paste into it, but only after the drilling.

Aaand that's what she said.

 

[scotpens]

Yeah, he is squirting a white paste into it, but only after the drilling. The white paste is the filling. But you need to remove the caries/cavity first. That's what the drill is for.

And yeah: there's no need for needles and drilling if you go to the dentist regularly.

Some people go to the dentist regularly, have their teeth professionally cleaned two or three times a year, and still get cavities. It’s mostly genetics. Some folks just unfortunately have crappy teeth.

And I assume the “white paste” is the composite resin material that’s used for fillings nowadays. I have two metal amalgam fillings. One of them was deteriorating and had to be replaced a couple of years ago. The other is still good — and it’s 40 years old.

 

[JarodRussell]

Yeah, he is squirting a white paste into it, but only after the drilling. The white paste is the filling. But you need to remove the caries/cavity first. That's what the drill is for.

And yeah: there's no need for needles and drilling if you go to the dentist regularly.

Some people go to the dentist regularly, have their teeth professionally cleaned two or three times a year, and still get cavities. It’s mostly genetics. Some folks just unfortunately have crappy teeth.

Yeah, I know a couple of those. The only time they brush their teeth is before they go to the dentist, and then blame it on genetics.

 

[Kestra]

Yeah, he is squirting a white paste into it, but only after the drilling. The white paste is the filling. But you need to remove the caries/cavity first. That's what the drill is for.

And yeah: there's no need for needles and drilling if you go to the dentist regularly.

Some people go to the dentist regularly, have their teeth professionally cleaned two or three times a year, and still get cavities. It’s mostly genetics. Some folks just unfortunately have crappy teeth.

Yeah, I know a couple of those. The only time they brush their teeth is before they go to the dentist, and then blame it on genetics.

I brush and floss regularly and I've always had cavities. I stopped going to the dentist because the guy was so mean to me and kept accusing me of lying that I actually started crying.

I went many many years without going to a dentist and then went to one about six months back, and no cavities! I don't get it.

 

[Mr Light]

Did you change the sort of things you eat?

 

[Kestra]

Nope. My dental hygiene remained the same as well. I got older, obviously, so I don't know if something changed otherwise. My first cavity was before I had my permanent teeth.

 

[RoJoHen]

Some people just have better teeth than others. You try your best to keep them healthy, but even someone who takes excellent care of them can still get cavities.

 

[JarodRussell]

Some people go to the dentist regularly, have their teeth professionally cleaned two or three times a year, and still get cavities. It’s mostly genetics. Some folks just unfortunately have crappy teeth.

Yeah, I know a couple of those. The only time they brush their teeth is before they go to the dentist, and then blame it on genetics.

I brush and floss regularly and I've always had cavities. I stopped going to the dentist because the guy was so mean to me and kept accusing me of lying that I actually started crying.

I went many many years without going to a dentist and then went to one about six months back, and no cavities! I don't get it.

The cavities were formed way back in your youth when you didn't brush properly (tiny seeds, if you will). Then you started brushing properly and no new cavities formed (which is why it's so extremely important to get kids to brush their teeth). But the ones you already had grew because one can't keep them under control, no matter how good your dental hygiene is. The fact that you didn't get anything once you stopped visiting the dentist is just coincidence.

 

[Kestra]

I don't think you can really assume that. The cavities I got spanned at least fifteen years. In one case, my brother, sister and I all had a cavity in the same tooth just different levels of severity from oldest to youngest.

I believe it is very possible to have good dental hygiene yet still form cavities. This doesn't mean you shouldn't even try, but it's not just about bad brushing.

 

[thestrangequark]

^You're absolutely right, Kestra. My grandfather was head of the University of Washington dental and oral surgery schools for years. From him I inherited my obsessive oral hygiene, but from my mother I inherited pitted teeth. My grandfather diagnosed them: it's a genetic condition where my teeth have microscopic pores in them -- some can even go all the way through the tooth. This means no matter how good my oral hygiene, I am more prone to cavities. I haven't had many cavities (3), but that's because I am obsessive about keeping my mouth clean.

In other words, like Kestra said, you can't assume to know a person's cleaning habits just because they had a cavity.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Yeah, I know a couple of those. The only time they brush their teeth is before they go to the dentist, and then blame it on genetics.

I brush and floss regularly and I've always had cavities. I stopped going to the dentist because the guy was so mean to me and kept accusing me of lying that I actually started crying.

I went many many years without going to a dentist and then went to one about six months back, and no cavities! I don't get it.

The cavities were formed way back in your youth when you didn't brush properly (tiny seeds, if you will). Then you started brushing properly and no new cavities formed (which is why it's so extremely important to get kids to brush their teeth). But the ones you already had grew because one can't keep them under control, no matter how good your dental hygiene is. The fact that you didn't get anything once you stopped visiting the dentist is just coincidence.

I have crappy teeth because I had ruptured appendix, a high fever and massive doses of sundry drugs back when I was 8 years old and my adult teeth were coming in. They all came in decalcified...and there was NOTHING I could do to stop it. It wasn't because I was a crappy brusher. It was because I was sick.

There are likely many reasons why people have bad teeth, besides crappy brushing. Crappy brushing will get you bad teeth, but it is not the ONLY thing that will. Genetics, illness, etc can all be factors.

I know you blew that notion off in this post and earlier in the thread (you implied that blaming genetics is something people who don't brush do)...but it really can have an impact. As can illness. I am proof of that. Because believe me - I still have all of my teeth...but I have had to work VERY hard at it. Being that sick at age 8 was definitely a 'gift that kept on giving'. And has supported many a dentist's vacation home.

 

[propita]

That sucks PKTrekGirl! I didn't have those health issues, but chipped my two upper front teeth and ground my molars. Multiple fillings, 15 crowns on 8 teeth (molars), 3 of those root-canal-Ed, one of those yanked and replaced with an implant ($2500!!!---don't do that). So I've spent some "good times" at the dentist. Oh, and pain killer wears off fast.

But with all that, I'm told my teeth are actually in good condition. So, OP, I wouldn't worry. Your teeth may not be as bad as you fear. A lot of it is genetic--some who take care of their teeth have nothing but problems while others who never even brush have fantastic teeth.

 

[edisraf]

Several things.

If the decaying part of the tooth is not removed (read drilling) it will continue to decay underneath the filling and the whole thing will have to be done again.

Teeth need to be cleaned once in a while to remove plaque build-up. Build-up can be limited by brushing and flossing, but not entirely eliminated. Build up is hard and sharp and will cause gums to bleed and become inflamed.

Inflammation in any part of the body can contribute to a heart attack in another part of the body. Guess which part. So dental health is related to total health.

I had a friend who had a bad experience at the dentist as a kid. She said that what the dentist was doing to her teeth hurt a whole lot. He said that she was just being a baby and it couldn't possible hurt. Now she can only get her teeth worked on under sedation. But she gets it done that way and her teeth are beautiful.

raf

By the way. I was reading some pamphlets in the dentist's office a few weeks ago about soda pop. It was a bummer. It seems that soda pop with sugar can cause cavities and the non-sugar sweeteners are high in acid and can soften enamel. It recommended that if you do drink soda pop you should rinse out your mouth with water immediately after. Bummer!