If you are truly struggling and need actual dental care, try searching for a local dental school near you. Many will take patients for cheap or free, with the caveat that a dental student will be performing the treatment.
Otherwise, brush at least twice a day and floss. Do not re-use strands of floss, like with those convenient plastic picks. You’ll just be transferring bacteria to each crevice after it’s been used.
Get a water pick (whatever it’s called) - I heard those are great but I don’t have one myself.
Also, in my area, most dentists will allow you to pay over time (like a year+…).
And there are FREE programs like this:
Niagara’s Mobile Dental Clinic
Ask around - you may be surprised.
Every dentist I’ve had disliked water piks. I had one for a while. Had.
Any particular reason why?
Not the above poster but I’ve had dentists share the same sentiment and mostly I’ve heard it’s because the majority of their patients who use it, use it as a replacement for more thorough dental care–they don’t floss and/or brush because they think they’re getting clean enough with the pik. The dentist who told me this basically said, “It’s fine as a supplement after you brush and after you floss, to flush out any lingering debris from those two activities, but it’s really just not worth the time or money.”
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As someone from the Netherlands, where cavities get checked twice a year and filled for a few euros a month, this is actually wild to read.
Do people here overpay insurance that much? Or is this just a business in some other countries? Or is it something else entirely?
My yearly dental works always cost a fortune, but my teeth are great now, since:
- I got an electric brush and floss sticks;
- I now drink coffee without sugar (you’ll get used to it pretty quickly);
- I almost completely stopped drinking sugary drinks (mostly bubbly water now, boycotting evil companies and being poor help).
One super easy thing to help a little is swish some water in your mouth after you east/drink. If you’re gonna drink something sugary or acidic, do it quickly, don’t sip it.
i find toothpaste and mouthwash miserable, and this is the advice i got from my dentist as well. Plus getting fluoride pills to suck on to make up for not getting flouride from the toothpaste.
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Brush and floss just like your dentist tells you. Also use a real mouthwash, like Listerine.
If you do exactly what your dentist tells you, you should be coming in every 6 months for a checkup…
And your point?
Fine. Don’t brush and floss every day. Don’t visit the dentist often. It’s your call. It’s your teeth.
Between genetics and laziness, most people need a cleaning every 6 months.
If you don’t think you do, then don’t. Last I checked the dentist isn’t your mom or dad.
That’s wildly out of the financial means of a lot of us.
Sorry, but it just gets more expensive to care for them later. Aim for at least a yearly cleaning/exam so that they can catch issues before they become serious. Twice a year is better.
And find a dentist that is conservative about fillings. My dentist almost never recommends procedures unless there is actual decay, and I trust them to not push work on me that I don’t need.
Bingo.
Pay now, or pay a LOT more later (with a lot more pain, and maybe major issues).
I’ve been there.
I had thousands of dollars of dental work done when I had no insurance and made $15/hr. Talked to the dentist, we worked out a plan to get the crucial stuff done. He didn’t want me leaving without a plan to take care things, despite OP’s implication about dentists being money grubbers.
My father owned a small business, people would sometimes complain he was “cheating them”. His answer - there’s more work than I can do in a day, I don’t need to fuck anyone to make a buck.
OK?
OP was bitching about dentist telling him what to do. Why are you moving the goalposts?
if you find yourself saying that someone asking for advice or help is “bitching” about something, just do everyone (including yourself) a favour and ignore the post and go on with your day.
Brush, floss, no sugar
You forgot genetics.
Sadly genetics are not things you can do to maintain your teeth. You have them or you don’t have them. But regardless of your base genetics, regular flossing, regular brushing, and no sugar in your diet will give you the best dental hygiene you can hope for
There isn’t really anything “extra” you can do at home that you aren’t already supposed to be doing to maintain those mouth bones.
They’re not bones.
It’s a turn of phrase, but I appreciate the pedantry.
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Not sure if AI hallucination, or regular hallucination.
Nice one. Now rerun the same prompt and add “how can I use buffalo cum to regrow teeth”. Let’s see how good and obedient your model really is.
