Are routine dentist visits a hustle?

I think it’s preventive maintainence, just like your car. You do not want to wait until you have an abscess, or your tranny goes.

I’m currently participating in the experiment of putting off going to the dentist. It might be two years now, I’m not sure. I’m also fairly immune from cavities, but I’ve noticed very mild pain and/or discomfort creeping in periodically or additional sensitivity to air and cold liquids.

Maybe twice a year for someone like you or me is too much, I don’t know. (An obvious argument that it’s working is your lack of cavities. And mine so far.) Is an it an inevitable pay me now or pay me later situation? Do you want to find out? There’s some correlation, too, between your dental health and plaque buildup and your overall health and arterial plaque buildup, but you’ll have to quote someone else on that.

Not for my boys, I have a fortune invested in their teeth and by god they better take care of them. They go for cleanings every six months like they are supposed to.

The dentist keep tabs on much more than dental cavities. I have a severe case of gum disease, and it exacerbates my diabetes. Working together, my doctor and the dentist may help me keep healthy.

No, not at all. It’s just about cavities, as @yarnlady pointed out. If you want to keep your teeth I would advise you to go in for regular check ups. There are a lot of things that can go on with your teeth and mouth beyond cavities and a lot of the bad stuff happens below the surface and you may not feel it until it’s too late to save a tooth.

They seem more expensive than they oughtta be, but getting teeth cleaned is terrific and necessary maintenance that one can’t do well oneself. People should get their teeth cleaned [scaled] twice a year— and animals, yes, animals, should get their teeth cleaned/scaled once a year if one can afford it. My cats’ health insurance plans [VetSmart/Banfield] always included the teeth as the high option annual choice, but I would pop for it only about every 2 or 3 years.

I haven’t been to a dentist in 7 years (crazy, I know…) and I have my first cavity now. I am also lucky to have inherited very healthy, naturally straight teeth. I haven’t gone to a dentist because I am uninsured, and it’s quite outrageous to pay for a dental visit out of pocket. But I think it is definitely best to go at least semi-regularly. (By the way, on the contrary, my husband is not nearly as lucky in that department. Needless to say, out of pocket dental costs always end up going to him, since he tends to need it more than I do.)

My dentist told me that the quality of the enamel of your teeth is inherited. I have one daughter who takes in calcium eats well, drinks only water, brushes and flosses as she should, and has a mouthful of cavities. The other has horrible dental habits, smokes and just got her first cavity.

As @YARNLADY, the cleanings and check-ups are about more than just your teeth; the dentist found my sister-in-law’s oral cancer. (She had not smoked in 10 years prior to diagnosis, and it eventually killed her.)

If you snore, your enamel can weaken because of it.

As for the cost of cleanings, there are several good dental discount plans out there that help reduce the cost of routine cleanings and fillings for a low annual premium. One I looked ended up paying almost as well as my insurance, but for $120 a year.

It’s definitely not just the cavities; gum disease is also a big problem. Plus, there’s some evidence that the bacteria which cause gum disease are also linked to heart attacks and stroke.

You lucky bastard and your perfect teeth. I definitely have to go every 6 months. I didn’t go for a long time and paid for it with lots of pain and money. Next month I get my wisdom teeth out. Now I have to go frequently to keep an eye on my cavity prone teeth. I brush, floss and do a fluoride rinse every day (several times). Yet, I’m prone to cavities. as @PandoraBoxx said, properties of your teeth are inherited and also a result of the nutrition you had as a baby and child. My dentist said I have “soft teeth.” Ugh. Doesn’t that just make your skin crawl? Oh well, off to the dentist!

I feel for you @ubersiren. My ex husband had “soft teeth”. Eventually, he had every tooth in his mouth replaced by a crown. You can’t believe the cost of that!
I am cavity prone also, probably from no fluoride as a child.
Gum disease is a big worry and also doesn’t show itself until it has latched on, so yes, going to the dentist every 6 months as a preventive measure is something I would recommend.

As others have said, it is important to go for regular dental check-ups because dentists examine you for many things that you cannot necessarily see or be aware of, and it’s not just your teeth, it’s your mouth and jaw in general.

My mother died, aged 47 years old, of a very rare but very aggressive cancer of the mouth. This began in her gums, and was picked up (too late, sadly), by her dentist. Less than a year after the cancer was detected, she was dead, after having had a large portion of her lower jaw bone and face removed. She took care of her teeth, never had any obvious problems with them, and could have easily thought that she didn’t to see the dentist because of her good dental health.

I would therefore urge people to keep up with regular dental examinations, and get past the believe that dentists are just there to check for cavities. Whilst these sorts of illnesses can be horrific, cancers like this are very unusual, and if you are going to develop cancer, going to the dentist may not prevent this. However, it will mean that any abnormalities are detected early, giving you the best prognosis.

No, they make total sense. And people should have to pay extra for their health insurance or future treatments if they don’t go every 6 months.

@Ltryptophan people like you make me sick! loll…About every tooth in my head has been capped. I hate going to the denist. Probably because of my denist when i was growing up. About the meanest “old goat” i’ve ever met.

Anyway, don’t any reason to waste your money…lucky you!

I hadn’t been to the dentist for at least 7–8 years :o I take pretty good care of my teeth so I thought I didn’t fret about it. I eventually made the decision to go a few months back – I needed a filling, that’s all. Everything was in good shape. Mind you, now that I’ve gone, I don’t see the pint in going every six months myself. If your teeth are in good shape, then be glad and save the cash :)

Until recently it had been 12 years since I had been to the dentist! I had to go because my last pregnancy destroyed my teeth but it ended up I needed 3 fillings and an extraction. I got my teeth cleaned and my dentist says I just need to go for a check up in a years time.
I think in order to keep your teeth for a little longer visiting the dentist is a good idea…even if you feel you have great teeth get a check up and keep them great!

I’d be willing to follow a twice a year regimen if my dentist didn’t make me wait 15 -20 minutes past my appointment time, if it weren’t so uncomfortable and if they didn’t insist on talking to me like I was a 5 year old about proper dental hygiene.

Going to the Dentist is fun.

I enjoy it, very relaxing.

@ChazMaz geezzz…not me…too many bad memories of Dr. Abernathy when i was kid…a mean old goat, he was!

@BoBo1946 – I know what you mean. I had one of those too.

@BoBo1946 My bad memory was Dr. Veazey. The old coot finally died of alcoholism.

@chyna and @ChazMaz old Dr. Ab once filled a tooth without deadening the dang thing….

@BoBo1946 Ouch!

@chyna :))))

What @ChazMaz isn’t telling you is that he also likes gristle, paper cuts, people talking in the theater and kids’ tantrums at the market.

All the above is true. Except talking in the theater. :-)

I go to the dentist every 6–8 months or so, but I do avoid the xrays every year. I get them every 2–3 years. I will be willing to get xrays every year as I get older.

You should definitely get a cleaning regularly. My family goes once a year, it’s good to just get a thorough cleaning. The dentist removes plaque and tartar from between your teeth that would have just continued building up. You feel the difference when you leave the dentist, like your teeth are spotless :D

well, as a dentist, I would tell you, that if you are a healthy young person, with good habits, you probably don’t need to go . You don’t generally develop dental problems in adulthood unless you change your habits. I know that’s not going to sound right, but if your’e uninsured, hey! have your gp check your tongue and lymph nodes when you go there. I am retired, I have never had any work on my teeth don’t need any. I recently went because I could, it was all about the upsell. no thanks. In my learned opinion, I’d say, save your money.

@ChazMaz My mom loves going to the dentist. She finds it relaxing too. I have a girlfriend who goes every six months like clockwork and her dentist, who never really wanted to be a dentist, did it more to satisfy her parents, has made a dental spa. You can get your teeth cleaned a facial and a message at her office.

@trailsillustrated Thanks for your response.

@JLeslie my guess would be that the poster lived in the midwest or perhaps texas maybe, when the tooth buds were forming. These areas have good water or flouridated water, in my experience, I saw many old old people from areas like that, with good hygiene, that never needed any dental care beyond routine screening.

I think everyone should go once a year; six month intervals may be wasteful for someone like you with great teeth.

I have teeth like @ubersiren I go to the dentist every six months..even if I don’t have dental insurance (which stinks, but it’s a necessity for me) I usually have 4 cavities a year, no matter how well I take care of my teeth :( So, I don’t mind the check ups and the cleanings.

@ChazMaz and @JLeslie I love going to the dentist too. I’ve had the same dentist for almost twenty years and I adore him. And the same dental hygienist. I love her even more than my dentist. We were separated at birth, it seems. The office actually has to schedule my routine check ups and cleanings for the last appointment of the day because Marylynn and I talk so much that if my appointment isn’t the last one of the day it throws the whole schedule off.

Years ago, I got dental insurance that paid for pre-existing conditions! I got 8 crowns on molars for $200 each. 2 are gold, so they dont bother me yet. Yet. I enjoy flossing, too so I Rarely go to a dentist. Each time I went for a cleaning I was told I didn’t need it.

I can’t imagine not getting my teeth scaled and my mouth checked out twice a year. When dental disease occurs it only gets harder and harder to treat as time goes by. Prevention and early detection of disease is always a good strategy.

I’ve been traumatized by so many jerks dentists, that I tend to put things off. I never know how I’m going to react. Especially with a new dentist, I can fall apart even for a premiminary exam.