The Dental Forum

chrisisall

How are everyone's teeth here?
I am of UK (mostly), German & Swedish extraction... and the joke goes that the UK has a bad teeth thing going on. But the reality is that peeps in America have worse teeth. We love our soda & our crap foods... guilty as charged I'm afraid.
So I am looking at renting out a room at my Dentist's office for the next few months to get nearly HALF of my teeth fixed or face a more severe type of extraction. )
I brush, I floss, but at 56 I find I have to pay the piper. Crappy insurance means I pay mostly out of pocket. X-(
Thoughts? Rants?

Jag

chrisisall wrote:

How are everyone's teeth here?
I am of UK (mostly), German & Swedish extraction... and the joke goes that the UK has a bad teeth thing going on. But the reality is that peeps in America have worse teeth. We love our soda & our crap foods... guilty as charged I'm afraid.
So I am looking at renting out a room at my Dentist's office for the next few months to get nearly HALF of my teeth fixed or face a more severe type of extraction. )
I brush, I floss, but at 56 I find I have to pay the piper. Crappy insurance means I pay mostly out of pocket. X-(
Thoughts? Rants?

That’s an unusual and interesting topic! There are many reasons for bad teeth, of course good hygiene and healthy eating habits are important, but genetics plays a huge role too – some of us are just born with better teeth than others (even though they don’t grow straight away). Also, the reason the UK is considered to have many people with bad teeth is probably not that they don’t have good dentists or cannot afford to pay for treatment, but that they are either too scared or can’t be bothered to make an appointment… In other countries cost may be a more important factor. When you say you are having your teeth fixed, is that just simple fillings or big jobs (like implants)? And how come you have to do so many now?

Loeffelholz

Finally! A less attractive topic than politics...! )

minigeff

My smile looks like a bag of smashed clothes pegs.

Silhouette Man

That reminds me that I need to make a dental appointment.

I grind my teeth in my sleep apparently so I'm going to need a gum shield.

Hardyboy

One of the best days of my life was over 30 years ago when I visited an orthodontist to have my wisdom teeth pulled and he assumed I must have had orthodontia because I have the "straightest teeth [he'd] ever seen." Nope--it's all due to good genes and good dental hygiene. Unfortunately, my teeth are not impervious to age. In the last few years the metal fillings I got when I was a kid began to break down, causing teeth to break down around them--I've had two back teeth removed and so many caps and onlays I'm forgetting which teeth are whole and which are enhanced. But I still have a great smile. . .

always shaken

I like the episodes of family guy that depict us Brits , They always show us British with yellow ,wonky odd,mis-shaped buck toothed owners of the worst teeth ever ,I still think its funny )

hehadlotsofguts

O

always shaken wrote:

I like the episodes of family guy that depict us Brits , They always show us British with yellow ,wonky odd,mis-shaped buck toothed owners of the worst teeth ever ,I still think its funny )

The Simpsons make fun of us too. One episode had the family going to the dentist and the dentist had a book called The Big Book Of British Smiles, which he used to scare kids into looking after thier teeth.

chrisisall

Jag wrote:

When you say you are having your teeth fixed, is that just simple fillings or big jobs (like implants)? And how come you have to do so many now?

My teeth last a long time, then suddenly one will crack or deeply chip for no apparent reason. It's a lot of nuisance stuff plus three crowns necessary. Must be genetic- my Dad took crazy great care of his teeth his whole life & still had this happen too...

Silhouette Man

hehadlotsofguts wrote:

O

always shaken wrote:

I like the episodes of family guy that depict us Brits , They always show us British with yellow ,wonky odd,mis-shaped buck toothed owners of the worst teeth ever ,I still think its funny )

The Simpsons make fun of us too. One episode had the family going to the dentist and the dentist had a book called The Big Book Of British Smiles, which he used to scare kids into looking after thier teeth.

I think it's because we don't floss! )

chrisisall

Silhouette Man wrote:

I think it's because we don't floss! )

No flossing? This is a dental thread....

)

asio

Silhouette Man wrote:

I grind my teeth in my sleep apparently so I'm going to need a gum shield.

Me too. Good thing I'm already married, I doubt I'd ever meet a girl/woman who'd be comfortable dating a man who wears a mouthguard to bed.

Lady Rose

Hardyboy wrote:

One of the best days of my life was over 30 years ago when I visited an orthodontist to have my wisdom teeth pulled and he assumed I must have had orthodontia because I have the "straightest teeth [he'd] ever seen." Nope--it's all due to good genes and good dental hygiene. Unfortunately, my teeth are not impervious to age. In the last few years the metal fillings I got when I was a kid began to break down, causing teeth to break down around them--I've had two back teeth removed and so many caps and onlays I'm forgetting which teeth are whole and which are enhanced. But I still have a great smile. . .

Genetics must play a part.

I have always had very strong, straight teeth. I'm not mad on the colour but I keep getting told that is a good thing as it is where the strength comes from. Naturally very white teeth can cause problems as there is too much calcium apparently and they can crumble.

My daughter is 19, has straight teeth, never had a brace and never had a filling and again has same colour teeth as me.

The old amalgam fillings seem to be causing problems for people later on in life when they leak. Fortunately the fillings I have had (not many) have all been replaced with a white stuff.


Why are American teeth so white though? Do you have fluoride in the water?

Thunderpussy

On a recent episode of QI, they stated in a world survey, that Britain had the best teeth
Of any country.

always shaken

Like my esteemed fellow agent Welshboy ,I have been to the U.S.A. more times than I can remember .and to be honest ,I don't think they have any better or worse ,for that matter teeth than us Brits .We all have an image of a typical American with blazing millimetre perfect white teeth ,but I think that image is reserved for the likes of the Kardashians , Beverley hills 90211 ect ,WE in Blighty have to a degree ,free dental treatment ,

Lady Rose

always shaken wrote:

Like my esteemed fellow agent Welshboy ,I have been to the U.S.A. more times than I can remember .and to be honest ,I don't think they have any better or worse ,for that matter teeth than us Brits .We all have an image of a typical American with blazing millimetre perfect white teeth ,but I think that image is reserved for the likes of the Kardashians , Beverley hills 90211 ect ,WE in Blighty have to a degree ,free dental treatment ,

Your right.

The only Americans with great teeth are those that can afford it.

Whilst here we can't have anything cosmetic we can at least, for the best part, have safe teeth and gums if you want to (unless you're looking to go on 'The Jeremy Kyle Show' ) ) as the most expensive treatments are capped under the NHS.

Hardyboy

Lady Rose wrote:

Why are American teeth so white though? Do you have fluoride in the water?

Yes we do. . .and there are people here, like the crazed general in Dr. Strangelove, who still claim that it's a government plot to poison us! And it's almost impossible now to buy a toothpaste that won't (at least according to the advertisements) turn your teeth so white you can illuminate your neighborhood at night.

Hardyboy

Lady Rose wrote:

The only Americans with great teeth are those that can afford it.

No--it's those who have good dental insurance. Fortunately, I'm one of those. . .but I had to shop around to find a dentist who was in my plan. With it I get three checkups a year and a hefty co-pay on major work (such as my last crown). We're only semi-socialist in this country. . .

Thunderpussy

I didn't get my wisdom teeth until I was around 35 or so. In fact when my youngest
Daughter was " Teething " so was I ) I could understand the pain babies go

Lady Rose

Hardyboy wrote:

Lady Rose wrote:

Why are American teeth so white though? Do you have fluoride in the water?

Yes we do. . .and there are people here, like the crazed general in Dr. Strangelove, who still claim that it's a government plot to poison us! And it's almost impossible now to buy a toothpaste that won't (at least according to the advertisements) turn your teeth so white you can illuminate your neighborhood at night.

I have family that moved to the US quite a while ago and you can see their teeth are visible whiter than when they were her and they haven't had any cosmetic treatments.


Our NHS treatments are quite good and if you're on benefits you get them all free ...

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/dentists/Pages/nhs-dental-charges.aspx

There are private dental plans but they don't include much or very expensive.

ACACIA_AVENUE

I find the best time to go to the dentist is 2.30

minigeff

ACACIA_AVENUE wrote:

I find the best time to go to the dentist is 2.30

tried making my own set of dentures once but only had silicone to hand..... ended up with a wubbery set of knashers though.

always shaken

I had to go to the dentist ,to have a wisdom tooth out .So I had a shower put on clean clothes (obviously) and off I went .Well this tooth was harder to get out than my wifes purse ) .I sat in that chair while the dentist tugged ,puuled, pushed ,swore, knelt on the chair ,and eventually the thing came out ,Talk about Bond in the wicker chair in Casino Royal ,I was soaked to the skin ,I was wringing wet ,I had to go home and have another shower and another change of clothes