chat

I can see and smell this post and it's very gross.

Yeah, I should have mentioned that, it's not exactly a post I planned out. Not quite effortpost tier.

I never knew this, what's the reason?

Yeah, finding a good dentist is really important. The "family friend (or similar) that you personally know from things unrelated to dentistry" strat has worked pretty well for me. "Small town in a big city" type of thing, I guess. Often I connect with dental medical professionals (orthodontic, dentist, etc,) over academic pursuits. Lots of them are quite smart, and like to exercise it. That strategy doesn't always work well with other medical fields, and personally knowing dentists can be hard (it's not like there's a huge number of them).

It reminds me of the situation with therapists, a lot. Quality can vary wildly, cost can vary wildly, and peoples experiences often do not line up, even with the same person.

It's not like therapists or dentists are inherently bad, it's just a situation that can easily turn predatory (especially considering, like I said, how struggles with prevention in poorer communities lead to great cost later on).

I wish I could

your enamel

Interesting story about that, actually. A number of my family members just don't have enamel on their teeth (or only in some spots), some weird genetic thing (not erosion, just like that from the start). My baby teeth were like that, and also got quite fucked up for unrelated reasons. Then my adult teeth popped in, they had abnormally strong enamel (apparently something from the other side of the family). There were times where I didn't treat my teeth very well (common with addiction), and yet I've never had a cavity. I don't feel heat through my teeth, really at all.

I do however get excessive plaque, and am somewhat at risk for gum issues. That, along with my strong enamel, means that a few dental professionals have independently told me it's better for me to brush more often than others, and to be "less gentle". I also at one point had braces (messed up baby teeth carried over a little), and at that point in particular they told me to brush a lot (so there wouldn't be a color difference between what's under the brackets, and the rest).

So I brush three times a day, instead of the usual two. My post wasn't really my daily brushing routine, it was more begging people to brush a little (too many people don't). And to floss. And to go to the dentist (I know a guy who didn't go for two decades, until he finally got insurance that covered it. Wasn't the worst thing in the world, but also he had several cavities).

halitosis

It's not like it doesn't exist, though. And, more to the point, a lot of "bad breath" seems to have more to do with what they've eaten, than underlying medical condition. I mentioned that this was a call out elsewhere, so lets just say: please, please, please stop eating the stinky fish. At least it's not those Scandinavian ones that stink up all of everything, but it's still not pleasant.

I've been using the same electric toothbrush since at least like 2014 and just buying those replacement heads

battery's weak but it hardly matters, it only needs to last a couple minutes. it absolutely feels like it does a better job than my ass, to the point where on vacation when I don't have it I brush extra hard to compensate

Well, drinking water after vomiting is at least good advice (it helps neutralize the acidity, and, perhaps more importantly, re-hydrates you)

Fluoride

Also, be sure to get your brush close to the area where the gums meet the teeth when brushing. It's an easy to miss area.

I did this for ages before the dentist told me I was doing it

someone taught me how to brush wrong as a kid I swear to god.

This is what I’ve been told by my last two dentists as well and makes sense to me

I should start keeping flossers in my bag tbh

I've found those little plastic floss fork things are waaaaaaay easier than fucking around with a piece of floss

Now you're making me question if I miss any spots flossing, lol

Oh, interesting. You mod an India community, so somewhere in India I presume?

I'm not sure I've ever paid for floss, it's something I see handed out a lot for free. Syringe Service Providers often have it, along with other basic services, and will often just include it with other stuff if they think you're using meth (meth mouth is a pretty bad image). I've also seen dentists handing it out, as a cheap advertising tool to get more customers. In addition, I've seen people at parades throwing them to people, instead of candy. But that's all American, and probably even true in a lot of places here.

Glad to be of service

Nice! Wishing you luck in your continued dental adventures.

Death to Amerikkka

The financial aspect is definitely a big deal. Dentistry is expensive, orthodontics even more so (I've seen people pay car prices, even with insurance. It's obscene, but orthodontics is often long, slow, and, unfortunately, necessary).

I relate to the not smiling, I still struggle to do more than a closed mouth smile. Basically ingrained in me, from my baby tooth years.

I've seen some employers basically use people's smiles to judge their "worth", to get a gauge on their background and current financial status. "Meth mouth" has occasionally been mentioned by name, the lack of dental care is often associated with lower class drug use. Dental status and financial status aren't protected categories (federally at least, maybe some locality has a different law?), so employers can discriminate on that basis all they want.