How GOOD are your TEETH?

[AviatorTom]

My teeth are horrible. Bad teeth run in my family. Both parents had dentures and my sister had at least one bridge. I have two bridges and two crowns in my mouth, to deal with teeth I lost to cavities when I was much younger.

How about you? Do you have good teeth or bad teeth?

[purplepoppy]

My teeth are good. According to my dentist the reason so many old people have bad teeth is the old policy was to give kids fillings whether they needed them or not. The old mercury ones needed a bigger hole than the modern fillings replaced several times as you grew. By adulthood the fillings had done more damage than decay and weakened the teeth.

Same reason old people have dentures, they were pushed on people often as special offers that would save them years of dental visits.

[AviatorTom]

@purplepoppy Once again, you have demonstrated that you are a repository of useful (and correct) information.

[Bricealan]

@purplepoppy My dentist said the same thing. The Amalgam (silver fillings were twice the size they needed to be) My dentist said, they called it "extension for prevention) The large fillings, weakened the tooth structure, and the tooth eventually broke off. Hence, they usually pulled the teeth and the 'victim' ended up with dentures. My father had all of his teeth pulled when he was 27!!! Good god.

[FreyaRed]

This is true.
If there is a caries cavity or anaerobic dentin infections beneath enamel you have to open it and clean it until no infectious tissue remains. It won't disappear from alone.
Amalgamate low quality fillings used often in the past are one reason another is that dentist didn't have tools like contrast and etching agents we have today to clean and disinfect a cavity. Dentists had two, three decades ago to remove a lot of healthy dentin and enamel to ensure there is no infected tissue and to ensure filling adhesion.
Of course there were good amalgamates with high gold and silver amount which have last 30-50 years, so is amalgamate per definition not bad but that cheap insurance funded material used in UK and rest of western Europe wasn't really that good and needed to be replaced often. This led to bigger and bigger cavities and at some point there was no tooth tissue. What remained was endodontic treatment (Root canal treatment) with crown mounted on a pin. Or some enamel caving works like crown bridges which are considered a crime on modern dentistry.

[ArrowheadSW]

@purplepoppy Yes I remember almost all of the fillings that I got as a child or early teens, needed to be replaced by the time I was 30. The material they use now is so much better.

[sage2021]

Believe it or not, at age 71, I still have my own teeth. No dentures.

What's cute is that I still have the little ruffles on my bottom teeth like when they first came in when I was 6 or 7 maybe?

I've has several crowns and root canals, bought and paid for at a very high price. One fell out way in the upper back where you can't see the space it left..

[sage2021]

Thank you for the MHO🙂

[Chazmatazz269]

A bit of both. I wasn’t taught good oral hygiene as a child. So it was years into adulthood before i realized what i was doing wrong and started being a bit obsessive about it. I’ve had to have two teeth pulled because of the lack of good habits in my youth. Both of the doctors that extracted my bad teeth commented emphatically and repeatedly about the strength of the root.
I would say that i naturally have good teeth, but years of bad habits took their toll.

[AviatorTom]

@chazmatazz269 I can appreciate that. My parents had dentures, which they just took out at night and stuck them in a glass of water, sometimes with Polident cleaning bubbles. Because they rarely brushed their false teeth, they didn't teach me to brush mine. I lost several teeth by the time I was a teenager. I've been better since then.

[EzraIsShy76028]

Not great. My teeth mainly suck due to severe depression and self neglect. I've had 2 teeth pulled already and some relatively minor cavities in several other teeth.

The dentist did say that besides the 2 teeth that were pulled out the rest of my teeth look surprisingly good for someone with such bad hygiene habits.

[Massageman]

I'm almost like you- many crowns.

[RandomGirl42]

Oh, up here in these parts we always brush both our teeth!

Not an actual picture of Random or her teeth. She has all her teeth but has had 1 cavity. She eats too much sugar.

[Beckybooboo]

Very good, thanks to my mother. She was a psycho when it came to my teeth but I'm glad she was, because I know people that have bad teeth and know it isn't fun.

[Genie23]

I don't have cavities. So, I'd say they're healthy and also look kinda even. I'm kinda surprised because my parents experienced tooth problems throughout their life. So, I thought I'd have to visit dentist too often, but I got lucky. The only issue I have is my teeth are sensitive. I can't drink cold drinks, eat cold desserts or anything tangy without feeling discomfort.

[Anonymous]

All in all I think pretty good. Of course I'm comparing them to my parents though. And bot my parents smoked and drank coffee.

I didn't take care of my teeth when I was young and I didn't get checkups like I shoulda so buy the time I went to a dentist in my mid twenties I had 9 cavities. Albeit small ones. But since then for the past 25 years I haven't had another cavity. So I like to think my teeth are in pretty good shape. But I guess everything is a person's viewpoint though.

[bunnyboo24]

Mine are good. I had 6 teeth pulled out, braces for 10 years and bleached. 100% would recommend to get your teeth fixed it makes a big difference

[OneViewpoint]

Excellent. Never had braces as a kid. Teeth and gums are both in great shape. I use whitening products and a whitening toothpaste and a Braun Oral B electric toothbrush.

[PeachyPie93]

LOL well my teeth look fine and I don't have any cavities but my gums are in pretty bad shape since I haven't been to see a dentist in 20 years..

[Bricealan]

@AviatorTom I have maintained my dentition over the years, and have several titanium implants to replace lost teeth, and many porcelain crowns.

[queenofcardio]

I have a small gap between my two front teeth. Not bad , overall

[ArrowheadSW]

Teeth are good. After getting all of the stuff fixed after my childhood cavities. LOL

[katiesmuff]

Fortunately I still have good healthy teeth. I have fillings, 1 crown and 2 root canels.

[Red_Arrow]

My teeth are great. The finest dentures money can buy.

[OlderAndWiser]

I am minus one wisdom tooth but otherwise have all the original adult teeth.

[jazzy34]

They're decent. I have a genetic bone condition so my teeth were affected.

[Xawyx-2]

Good enough ;)

[RedInnocent69]

I’ve had a few fillings, but my dentist and all my dental hygienists love me 🥰

I've even been complimented on my salivary glands! At least, I took it as a compliment 😂

[exitseven]

I have all my teeth, My former dentist used to complain that he will never get rich from me.

[Shiprex]

Pretty good but had rct a few years ago and that made 2 teeth be in position but not living.

[AngryCarl2]

The ones I have left are mostly filling, but they work fine for chewing food. I'm British by the way.

[Titanic1912]

My teeth are perfect. 2 years and $5000 for braces and I never had any cavities!

[Kaylea21]

Good to me but then you go to the dentist and they disagree

[Alex-Snow]

So far so good. I have always had good dental care and brush/2X daily and I try to floss often

[Friendlybro79]

46 and only one cavity and never needed braces.

[Californiagirl5]

Very good. I take care o my teeth. It’s part of good health and good hygiene.

[Anonymous]

Pretty reasonable given I haven't seen a dentist's chair in a decade

[MemeSupreme]

they're okay and i take care of them

i just wished i had gotten braces when i was younger

[Jennz6]

Are they your teeth?

[AviatorTom]

@jennz6 No. My teeth stay in my mouth. 😏

[Jennz6]

@AviatorTom
Just kidding

[AviatorTom]

@jennz6 It worked. I laughed... 😃

[Agape93]

Very good.

[Drumlin2001]

Horrendous

[DavyJ]

Average

[msc545]

Terrible!.