We went to the dentist, yesterday, hurray! Actually, I hate the dentist; I sit in the chair and squeeze the arm rest, eyes clenched, waiting for it to be over. But I am grateful to have dental care and healthy teeth. It's all worth it. I've even been flossing, for three weeks now, in preparation. I hope I keep it up. The dentist was very nice and funny. He said Jesus a lot, which made me giggle even though its pretty irreverant....Like when he was admiring my nice straight teeth he said "You have great alignment, Jesus, that's good." He got his degree in Alabama. So here are my two questions of the day; 1) As grown ups, should we still be getting flouride treatments? Do YOU still get flouride treatments? and 2) Should I get my wisdom teeth out now, even if they don't bother me? We can get flouride treatments here but we have to pay 1000NT$ (like 35$CDN) because they don't give flouride to grownups and so they don't have any of those little trays that fit over your teeth with the flouride in it; they would need to make an impression and that's what you have to pay for. I was just wondering if you guys still get them. And as far as wisdom teeth; they don't bother me, but will they? Will they get harder to take out later if I wait? Will they ruin my alignment if they stay in? Should I just bite the bullet and do it? (By the way, wisdom teeth removal here is virtually FREE, its included in the national health insurance, and it's only like a 3$ office fee. Its the best dental health care plan in the world, or so the dentist said).
Anyway, looking forward to your input. Sorry for the slow week; its been crazy at school and all the great organizing I did at over Christmas has run out. :( I was finally on top of things, and then came report cards, private lesson evaluation forms, then HOP orders are due tomorrow and I havn't started... (HOP orders are when we order everything we will need next year from the states, stuff we can't get here in Taiwan.) Ughgghgh...How frustrating. Only a day and a half left till break.
11 comments:
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Yes, we still get floride treatments, don't know how necessary they are, personal choice probably.
I wouldn't get the wisdom teeth out if they aren't bothering you. No point, just another procedure.
Just my 2 cents!
Shel, you still get floride treatments? I was going to say that no, we don't, because I don't remember getting one for a long time (maybe I just block it out of my memory?) And about the wisdom teeth, I did get mine out because they would have ruined the alignment of my teeth. My orthodontist told me the moment I got my braces off years ago that eventually I would have to get my wisdom teeth pulled. And I'm sure you remember the days following that procedure!!
i still have my wisdom teeth, they are not bothering me and i am determined to keep them. I do still have my bottom retainer from braces glued into my mouth, which should help the alignment issue mentioned by allison. But we'll see what my dentist says about my plans, next time i go see him.
As for the fluoride, i believe we have it added to our water here, making the fluoride treatments less crucial, espcially as adults. Do they have that there? Also, most recommended toothpastes have fluoride, so if you're using one that has it, maybe you can skip the expense...
I wouldn't get your wisdom teeth removed unless your dentist recommends it, they're probably keeping your teeth in line. I would never do it unless I had to, I've seen it do bad things to people. I still have mine and they're fine. I had all my back molars pulled when I got braces, so now my wisdom teeth are grown into where my molars would have been, it was fun times. :D
PS Yay!!! I'm not the only one with a glued in retainer :).
You mean, your dentist didn't remove your glued-in retainer? Once I got my wisdom teeth pulled (by the way, while it's not a day at the beach, it was really not that bad) out came the retainer and now I don't have to worry about my teeth going crazy. Isn't it weird how many different experiences there are on this subject?
Well, I had my regular retainer for like 7 years but I could never wean myself off it like your supposed too because of my instrument playing; the pressure on my teeth never let them set. So finally he just glued one in and said, "You're done, get out of here."
I wonder if I have the same thing as Reagan, where because I got my back molars removed for my braces the wisdom teeth are just filling that space. This is tougher than I thought!
(And I do remember the days following your wisdom teeth removal, hee hee. Good times!)
I still get flouride treatments, but they have it as a mouthwash now at most places for adults. It's not as gross, and it's not foamy.
:)
Yup, we do still get the floride treatments, but b/c it is in the water it isn't as crucial. It was given to us as a choice.
I asked several dentists about having my retainer removed and they all said the same thing. I could have it removed but I'd have to wear a removable one every night. And I'm really bad at losing retainers too, remember when I lost mine at your house Nevada? And you guys had to practically comb the lawn looking for it, only to find it was under a cushion in the living room, lol. It's funny how us "brace faces" can bond over this stuff :).
Nevada,
I had my wisdom teeth pulled last May. It wasn't as bad as people make it out to be. I had them pulled on Friday, and was back at work on Monday, and the weekend, I slept a lot, but it didn't hurt to much.
I had to have mine done because I had one growing forward into the other teeth making them crooked, not out of the gums. Also I had one that had a cavity under the gums, and they do that because they come up and go back down so much. I also had one that had grown in properly, and didn't bother me for like 5 years, then one day it started breaking apart, and chipping away. I was eating steak and a peice of my tooth chipped off, then it started hurting.
You have to consider that they are the weakest teeth you have, and even though they are not causing problems now, they may in the future, and the older you are when you have them removed, the longer it takes and the harder it is to heal.
But they may also never bother you. It is a really hard thing for anyone to tell you what would be best.
The person who would know best is your dentist. He can tell more by your x-rays than we can miles away.
Have a great day.
Trina
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