Teeth Issues

[KhoOnxNouxWanxJai]

Ok, my best friend was kind of wondering about something, but I can't really give her an answer because I don't really have experience in this field or know anyone else who does. She hasn't been to the dentist since she was like 13 and the past few years of her life she has been really lazy when it comes to brushing her teeth. She brushes it but only once a day! The last year or so she started to notice some brown stains between her teeth. I'm assuming that it's Calculus build up or tartar. I told her that she'll have to go see a dentist to have them do a cleaning and possibly scrape it off. The thing is that she has no health insurance and she is afraid of going to the dentist. I told her that there is absolutely no choice she has to go cause the stains are becoming very noticeable. You can see them between her gum lines in the few bottom front of her teeth. Well between them. The thing is that she has to wait until at least January because thats when she'll have health insurance.

I guess what I'm asking is do you guys think if she starts brushing 3 times a day or after she eats for at least 2-3 minutes each that it'll keep the damage minimal? She's a soda junkie and addicted to coffee to the max. thats one of the reasons why I think this happened because she didn't brush on a regular basis and all the sweets she have!

The thing is that the stains are there but she doesn't feel any pain or have any cavities or anything. She's scared that the problem will be really big like gum disease or something.

I told her that it shouldn't be gum disease because her teeth don't hurt when she eats and her gums are tender or sore and they don't bleed. Also they look pretty good they aren't like swollen or anything that shows signs of a serious problem.


You guys think that if she brushes on a regular basis for 2-3 minutes each until she goes to the dentist that it'll help it not be so bad? Do you think that there is a real serious problem?


I don't think it would be because I know a few people who had the same problem and they were coffee drinkers and smokers. So I'm hoping for her sake that it isn't serious.

LOL after talking to her about this I am trying to quit soda and coffee myself -.-" Then again I do take care of my teeth.

 

[zienan09]

wow..im sorry to hear that about ur friend..

tell her to cut back on the soda and coffee and sweets..its not good for the teeth. and i think it will help if she brushes her teeth. also..maybe use mouthwash..i see people do that, though i dont personally. they would brush their teeth and then use mouthwash.

hope everything works out for her~!

 

[yaksoh]

ur friend should hurry and get a check up
there's no temporary care
and she has wat is call "teeth erosion"

 

[cecilia]

i'm not a hygienist or a doctor, but i used to work as a receptionist at this one dental place -- i also see my dentist on a regular basis too .. so here's my advices: cut back on the whole caffeine stuff. no soda -- water and only drink it when you crave for it. brush twice a day at least -- MOST IMPORTANT THING of all is FLOSSING -- it helps getting tartar/plague build up. my hygienist suggest flossing whenever you have a chance after you're done eating --- USE mouth wash if you can to kill germs & helps with bad breathe .. *try to stay away from chewing gum b/c it'll cause TMJ problem in the long run

Also, when she brush, she need to brush it in a circular pattern instead of up and down -- left and right .. she needs to concentrate mostly on the back of her wisdom/molar b/c it's the hardest place and most plague/tartar buildup will rest in. Another thing that my hygienist said was that just because you don't see anything wrong with your teeth, doesn't mean, everything is good, sometime, we don't know we have cavities until we have our teeth check. Dental visit are quite expensive but i think for her own health -- she still need to go in and get a check/clean -- at least, once a year.


Also, from what i known/read/heard, if her gum are not red -- then she's not so bad but if it's red, puff -- then she have some issues.


here's an article to read too : http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/630690/main.html
it could also lead to periodontal disease : http://www.perio.org/consumer/2a.html
ADA page -- lots of good stuff : http://www.ada.org/public/topics/periodontal_diseases.asp

 

[little]

i too was having a problem with my teeth. i havn't gone to the dentist for like 9 years no health insurance and thought it would be expensive and i didn't see any problems so that's why. Until recently I started to see stains in my bottom back teeth and if my front teeth didn't show that between my teeth it shows like a black thing i thought it's cavaties but it's not. from my eyes i have a small cavaty up on my side teeth but it didn't hurt. so i wasn't comfortable smiling cuz of this teeth that seems like a gap or black stains. I decided to go to the dentist for cleaning and what the dentist suggested. the dentist clean exam for $125 and she discounted me 30 so for that I paid $95. i have no health insurance and she's an acquanance. so she suggested for me to get that upper tooth fill cuz the cavatity is big when i see it small and she said that if i don't do it soon and when my tooth starts to hurt she'll have to do a root canal and that's like $1000 and fill $130. i went in the next day to get my tooth filled. 2 days cost me $225 is that cheap? but still i think of it expensive or not i must have to do it cuz it's been years and i really have 1 set of teeth i need to take care the best and get it check at least 1 a year. if i have insurance than 2 times a year. as for cutting back sweets no way i can't do it. it makes me happy energize eating sweets sodas. i brush and mouth rinse 2 a day floss at least 1 or 2 day

 

[cecilia]

^i have dental insurance and it cost alot too .. b/c i have a few works done this year, i have to pay out of pocket 300 too .. but in the end, it's all worth if you think of all the health risk .. my cleaning cost me $113 with no discount b/c i have insurance to cover most of it .. but yeah, dental dose have payment option for those without insurance so if anyone feel insecure about their teeth, just think about all the possibility you could do to save your nice perfect set of teeth and the risk you'll be missing then it'll be worth the pay by the end of the day.

 

[KhoOnxNouxWanxJai]

Thanks guys I've told her that she really needs to go, but she really can't right now. She has 3 kids and she's a single mom so she is really tight on money. She won't be getting health insurance until January with her new job because they have to wait a period before they could sign her up.

She's started brushing 3 times a day and drinking nothing but water. She also mouth wash and she flosses. I' hope that it's not soo soo bad. I know it's serious, but I really don't know what else she could do. I wanted to loan her money, but I'm pretty broke myself -.-"

She's trying to take great care of her teeth until she could go to the dentist. I know that it's going to hurt because I've talked to people that said the procedure for cleaning hurts the first few minutes but they get use to it and it's worth it

I'll keep it updated until she gets the results from the dentist -.O even though it might be awhile.

 

[crabby]

Will for the time being until your friend gets her health insurance. Maybe your friend can look into a non-profit community dental clinic to get her teeth check-up. Cuz where I live we have one of those non-profit community dental clinic that provide dental care for low-income or those that are not insured. One of my ex-coworker got her teeth extracted at the clinic and she didn't even have to pay a dime. I don't know how it exactly work but I think it's worth looking to it. Hope this help out a little. And good luck with your friend.

 

[thai-lakorn-fan-forever]

tell her to get some whitening kits, which work as well as the whitening treatments at the dentist, and are only $30-$40 a pack. also, she should lay off the coffee, soda, and juices, because they'll stain her teeth...if she can't give them up, at least drink them through a straw...

 

[kulyia]

thank god im still under 18. tell her to use mouth wash Listerine. it works good for when you gums are a bit swollen or to kill those extra germies.

 

[*Ice*]

i use blanx tooth paste its about 18 pounds in uk, keeps the white, stain free, plaque build up and cavity control. i also use the blanx mouthwash and use floss, my teeth are pretty good, apart from my sport injuries, she might have like really bad tooth decay as well as she likes the soda's and that. maybe she needs a big change in diet.

 

[Liberty]

Will her healthy insurance include dental coverage? Because many people assume health includes dental when it doesn't usually.
If she's getting coverage in Jan. or Feb. I'm sure she can wait until then if there's no pain but I'd suggest she cut down on the soda until then. Coffee, like tea just stains the teeth. Soda on the other hand does a lot of damage to your teeth if you don't take proper care of them.

Brushing once a day isn't enough. Twice a day is the recommended amount but she needs to floss and use mouth wash. Flossing is a big help because it removes any food that gets left behind that brushing doesn't get to. Decayed food between your teeth causes a lot of problems. Just because she doesn't feel pain doesn't mean she doesn't have gum disease. People need to be aware of how to brush properly as well. Brushing too hard will cause gum damage and sensitivity. Not brushing thoroughly won't clean your teeth either.

She's old enough to know what proper dental hygiene is and is obviously not practicing it. I get so ticked off with people like that. I have dental issues of my own and can't see the dentist unless it's an emergency because I don't have any dental coverage and everything comes out of my pocket. Times tough and money is tight, and dental work, even the most basic stuff isn't cheap. I try to avoid it by taking very good care of my teeth, brushing in the morning and before bed, flossing every night, and gargling with good mouth wash every night as well. I also minimize my intake of certain unnecessary foods like soda and sweets.

 

[kitkat]

You can use a Hydrogen Peroxide instead of "Listerine" for mouth wash, it's for killing germs and for reducing the buildup of germs, too. It should be much cheaper since she's on money tight, right? And like everyone said, she needs to floss her teeth after meals and brush it twice per day is highly recommended, make sure it gotta be circular pattern.

Stay away from caffeine as much as possible, she can drink it but with straw.