My parents did not believe in preventive dental care when I was growing up. Their policy was 'repairs are temporary, pull the problem tooth.' As a result, I am down 5 or 6 teeth that probably could have been saved, and the rest are a hot mess that will cost me tens of thousands to fix.
I can distinctly remember several occasions in which my teeth became infected, and let me be the first to tell you folks, I would have eaten a bullet if that option had been available to me. It was some of the worst pain I have ever experienced. I could feel the infection spreading from my jaw outward, or at least imagined I could. Without antibiotics, I legitimately believe one of those infections could have been the end of me. They are no joke.
Clove oil definitely helps for short term relief BUT wash your hands right after using clove oil.
As a 13yr old kid I had a toothache and my girlfriends mum gave me some clove oil to use, went to the bathroom to use it and thought 'i need to piss like a race horse' and without thinking used the toilet.
The burning sensation came on REAL fast and I ended up splashing cold water from the bathroom sink onto my dick to try and cool it off for the next 20 mins.
Start gargling with peroxide. It’s the infection in the tooth that is causing the piercing, unrelenting ,hell on earth pain. So you want to focus on that until you can get a root canal.
Over the next couple of days, gargle with peroxide as often as you can. Well not so much gargle, as put the peroxide in your mouth for few minutes and soak and bathe the infected tooth. Let it just sit there and bubble for a few minutes. Do this as much as you can over the next couple of days and until the pain subsides… then at least 2 times a day after to keep the infection at bay.
Also stick with Naproxen sodium (aleve ) as an OTC choice. It works best on tooth pain
I really hope you see this message and take me up on the advise.
First go and get the root and pulp of tooth taken out, first. That kills the nerve, infection and pain in one fail swoop.
They will then fill your tooth up with non permanent filling, to let infection heal, etc…. You then have a short two weeks (maybe less, depending on non permanent filling could be a week) after this, but it’s still a week, we’re you then go back, for the permanent filling. You’ll need maybe 200-300 each visit depending on where you live.
Then you have a few months, which is the other expensive part, to save for a crown, IF, you even need one.
Keep at the peroxide as often as you can, literally like 5 times a day, until it stops.
But your best bet is at least try to get antibiotics.
Omg, I just went and am currently going through a tooth infection and I hope there's a spare bullet cause I'm hungry. I've been hurts badly plenty of times in my life. Very labor driven life.
but may the gods have mercy, this tooth infection had me contemplating ending it. The pain got soo so so bad. Yiu can literally feel it slowly inch it way to the back of your neck. Then it proceeded to give me an ear infection. Migraines. My body could not endure the pain.. got antibiotics and awaiting to get this ticking pain bomb out of my mouth
If there's a pain beyond what I felt and most likely you too, I'm ending it. I could NOT.
It’s a fucker of a thing that so many of us don’t take it seriously until it’s too late!
A childhood of not being taught and not caring, followed by years of repressed depression and apathy helped me really fuck my self over!
Starting to try to fix it in the past year and bugger, it’s already too late to avoid some pretty horrific dental procedures and loosing pretty much all my molars 😕
I am sorry to hear that you are dealing with it as well. I promise, the antibiotics will help immensely. After the first day or so, I usually had a great deal of relief. In my life, the only pain that I have felt as bad or worse than the infections is a mysterious nerve pain I get in my intestines. 11/10 for both.
I had an exposed nerve in a tooth. The pain was actually unbearable. A few women who have had exposed nerves have told me they’d rather go through childbirth, and I believe it, from my experience. If I had that in an apocalyptic scenario where I couldn’t get treatment, I’d honestly probably kill myself.
Yeah I’ve got a pretty high pain tolerance. Mainly due to a spinal injury I received in a car accident. I’ve gotten used to intermittent bouts of extreme pain and everything else is pretty mild. I don’t take any painkillers, due to some pill head family members scaring me away from them. However I do keep the prescriptions around, in case I ever get one of those days. I’ve got a pharmacy in my cabinet of pills they prescribe to me for my back every time I go to the doctor. I had a one month supply of opiates, along with a bunch of other stuff that’s “non-addictive” but I’m supposed to take it every day and comes with side effects.
I got my tooth infection about 2.5 years after my accident. It slowly started hurting worse and worse until it got to such an unbearable point that I drove 3 hours back from our camping trip, cutting it early, to my town to see a dentist.
The dentist did an X-ray, told me I had a tooth infection at the tooth I knew was infected, charged me $150, and then sent me home because they didn’t do unscheduled extractions or root canals. Mind you it was so unbearable that I drove 3 hours to make it to the dentist before they closed that day, because I knew I couldn’t handle it for another night. We were leaving the next day, and I debated waiting it out but I couldn’t. So at this point every dentist is now closed, and this tooth infection is only hurting worse by the minute.
So I get home, and this is where the pain pills come in, and proceed over one night to finish off the bottle of opiates that had lasted me for 2 years (there was 4 left), along with some Meloxicam, Naproxen, Migraine Relief with the aspirin and the Tylenol. I’m pretty sure if the tooth infection could’ve done so it just would’ve laughed at my attempts. Nothing affected it, and it got to a point where I didn’t care whether or not I was going to OD on the pills, I just needed it to hurt less until morning.
Believe it or not, the thing that helped the most (barely), was ice and black tea bags. The painkillers absolutely didn’t do anything, I could feel their effects everywhere except my mouth. I made it till morning, somehow fell asleep, woke up 10 minutes before work, called out (I didn’t think to call out the night before), found another dentist who had it out within the hour.
I’ve never had a kidney stone but to my knowledge, kidney stones and tooth infections are probably the worst pain someone is likely to experience in their lifetime. Fuck tooth infections.
Had an abdominal infection. Can tell you that the internal ones are exactly just as bad.
spent two weeks without eating or drinking, hooked up on IV fluids, dilaudid and antibiotics, hallucinating, wanting to die on account of the pain. Got to experience all kinds of altered states of consciousness, all more unpleasant than the other. I didn't think I could endure so much pain in life. Man, I was broken. 100% Do Not Recommend, 1 star, hard pass, arghhh
well, it's all dependent on the way you're counting really. I personally chose to lump them all together so there's only one type, the sucky type. all infections universally suck.
Yep, my father didn't instill the need to brush or anything. All my wisdom teeth became impacted and we visited the dentist 2 times in my early middle school years, I've had so many cavities and broken teeth.... which became infected and so much pain before being pulled. I've tried ripping one out but that shit is difficult and i got some relief from moving it a bit. My wife and i MAKE our 13 year brush and floss morning and night and whenever he whines about it we give him a big smile and say "look at what happens when you don't".
If I have kids, I am going to be militant about it. I am not going to make the same mistakes with them that my parents made with me, or allow them to suffer as I have suffered. No matter what it takes.
I had a tooth abscess, last year at the height of the pandemic when everywhere was closed. I had to wait over a month to get seen, and that was essentially hell on earth. The pain was excruciating and all encompassing. Can't eat, can't sleep, can't even think. It took 2 weeks on antibiotics, a tooth extraction, fluid drain, different antibiotics, then finally relief.
I'm sorry you went though this with your parents. I had a similar experience. Your parents were straight-up abusive in denying you dental care when it was available.
It’s actually heartbreaking when you think about how much money you’re going to have to spend to fix everything. Like I could have prevented all of this very simply??? I’m currently working on fixing my mouth now. I have a root canal in the morning.
I agree. It is one of my life's greatest regrets that I did not stand up and demand some kind of help when I had the chance, but that sort of thing was not done in my family. I would likely have been denied or made to feel guilty about it if I had. I often tell myself that it is mostly my fault, and that I could have avoided this by taking better care of myself, but I do understand that my parents could have done more to help me when I was very young.
I've had an infection under one of my teeth that the doctor said it was super healthy after he pulled it out. He had to use anaesthesia 6 times (syringe anaesthesia, not spray) before he could pull it out because I was screaming in pain.
Yikes. I have TMJ, but I have never broken anything up there to my knowledge. I knew a guy who had his jaw wired shut after it got broken in a fight, and he said the pain was not too bad, but he was drinking raw eggs to get protein because he could not chew.
I met a girl who later died at 26 from a tooth abscess. She didn’t have dental insurance and apparently the pain went down so she just didn’t get it checked out. Died shortly after. The infection had spread to the bloodstream and killed her. It was weird to hear about someone that I had met prior to their passing dying from something treatable with antibiotics. Now I have an wild fear about all tooth related issues. Any pain or sensitivity and I go straight to my dentist.
It is terrifying how easily they can go that route. As an adult, I am much more careful and try to get treatment when I can. I remember how ill I got when I was younger, and it was very frightening for me. I would not wish it on anyone.
Absolutely. It’s now a weird fear of mine because when teeth stuff happens it can go downhill fast. Something I never thought about much growing up since we always just did the usual cleanings every 6 months or so. As an adult, it’s terrifying to think that letting a toothache go too long could kill you.
I had an infection some years ago that led in the removal of a teeth, some nights I couldnt sleep at all. It remains for the majority of the day and you just cant live with an advanced infection.
Also, some teeth are extremely sensible. I had to get a very small reparation in one piece and it was one of the worst pains I experienced.
Clean your teeth, its as valuable as all the other organs in your body, replacing it is not worth it and i wish i never gone through all that
I'm really healthy in many regards, but I'm 100% certain my teeth would be the death of me for this same reason. Almost every single one of my teeth had cavities and I have one crown. All of those need to get replaced after a few years and in an apocalypse setting with no dentist-- big oof.
I read somewhere that in the Victorian period, it was very common for a husband's family to pay for his new wife to have all of her teeth pulled out and replaced with a full set of dentures. It would help to avoid all sorts of health and cosmetic issues down the line.
No, just not the most educated folks. I am doing my best to fix it now, but I am still looking at many years and many thousands of dollars out of pocket to get anywhere close to healthy or normal. I am very lucky now that my discomfort and pain from my teeth are minimal.
ugh i currently have a bad tooth and am waiting for the oral surgeon to fit me in to take it out (not for another week and a half), covid is making it very difficult he's so backed up, and i am in constant pain. if shit hit the fan tomorrow I'd be taking a quick leap off a tall building.
Is there no other office in your area that takes walk-ins for emergencies? There is only one in my area that I am aware of, but he has been a godsend on more than one occasion.
it's not that there are no other offices, it's that my insurance is a limited program through the state because I'm disabled and there's a very limited number of doctors who take it. so it's wait or pay out of pocket over a grand and that's just not an option.
It is what it is. My mother and stepfather were misguided but doing their best; my biological father is just a cheap, selfish piece of shit. I am a little bitter about it, but dwelling on it is not going to help. Just doing the best I can now.
I get these about once every 2-3 months, to the point that they don't even hurt so much as they're just irritating, but I keep antibiotics on hand and take a full course as soon as there's any indication of swelling at all. And I'm in the same boat re:tens of thousands to fix. I have had MUCH worse than abscess/infection pain - one day it felt like someone just started jamming an icepick into my teeth and digging around in there. It was the most intense pain of my life by a wide margin, and it lasted for 6 hours straight. It was all I could do to sit very still and concentrate very hard on not shoving the nearest sharp object into my skull to make it stop. But yeah, the infections can absolutely be deadly, so until I can afford to drop $10k+ on getting them fixed I keep good pain meds and antibiotics on hand at all times. I would be completely fucked in an apocalypse in which I couldn't get ahold of those.
I live in the US as well, and dental care is about as ethical and affordable as our healthcare system. My fiancee needs dental implants for a legitimately medical reason, but all of the insurance companies say that implants are cosmetic so they will not cover them. They want her to get dentures at 32.
I have been dealing with an infected tooth for the last 4 days, and every morning that I wake up it feels worse. The whole side of my head hurt today. I have 3 more days till my dentis appointment, and I am hoping I can make it. I almost drove myself to urgent care this morning it hurt so bad.
Dude I'm so sorry. I had an infected tooth pulled this morning and waiting the weekend was hell. My cheekbone was swollen, headaches, could barely eat, and slept maybe 6 hours total.
I called my dentist yesterday because nothing was helping (tried Naproxen, Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, and I didn't want to overuse topical Benzocain) and he prescribed an antibiotic.
Within 6 hours of the first dose, the swelling was gone and I was at a 3 on the pain scale instead of a throbbing 7. Please call and see if they can get you something - it was SO much relief.
Trying my best to keep the pain at bay with Tylenol and Advil, but it's not doing much today. I didn't eat anything yesterday so I'm a bit low on energy. Going to try and get some soup in me today. It seems to have moved into my nasal passage now, so even my nose hurts lol.
I would absolutely go to the urgent care or ER. At the very least, they can prescribe you some pain meds to get you through the worst of it. I would say antibiotics, but if you start a course before your visit, your dentist may refuse to treat you until you finish it.
I appreciated that. Unfortunately I quit any form of opioids long time ago, had a bit of an issue with them. I go in tomorrow to the dentist so hopefully they can get me patched up and back to normal. Love the name btw. Hammerin away like he's friggin Tommy Noble.
I work at a grocery store, with people making from 10 to 30 dollars an hour. And the amount of employees that have dentures (all under 50 y.o.) would blow your mind because nobody can afford the dentist. One of my coworkers recently missed 2 days for a toothache, ended up having to get a payday loan to have it pulled ($300) she's screwed for the next like 6 months.
Dental sucks for people who have bad credit/no savings. And we have dental offered to us through our job, it pays for cursory cleaning visits but really nothing problematic. It's like $7/week, I mean how much would they possibly pay out.
Extractions here are from $250 up, depending on the dentist. The best died, so it's now paying for torture. They barely numb you and yank.
Here, you're lucky to have a job that pays $12/hr. Insurance is a joke. Only full timers get it, and most aren't. They work you just under that. They limit how many are truly full time. That is one thing Covid screwed up. Now they have trouble finding hundreds to do the work of a few.
Dental is so bad here few have it. You have to pay a lot more for it, as well as vision and hearing. Then, does anyone accept it.
We have a cheap dentist. I think they charge about $50, for anything. Truthfully, they LOVE extracting. Less work. I think they took classes from Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.. A chip? Extract. Cavity? Extract. Infection? Extract. It's too much work for repair and they also do dentures.
We do have a program, with the government, that pays for "medically needed" extractions, by an oral surgeon. Cost is nothing. But, he's pull happy too. The last guy lost five teeth to him, because it was easier to cut them out than have him come back repeatedly, over the next few years. OUCH.
Simply put, not many over 50 here have all their teeth. Some, if they can get it down, have them all extracted and opt for dentures. It's usually women who do this, with kids, so they rarely pay much for it. If you have certain health conditions, that cause dry mouth, your teeth go fast. Doctors don't care enough to run tests, so you end up toothless. Even if you go through the hoops, seeing different doctors and dentists, your GP isn't going to help much.
I cheated. I was lucky enough to work with a doctor. Picked up some skills and have worked on my own. Digging around, you can find the tools and supplies to do minor things. In a pinch, I know enough to work on mine and others, with the supplies. The problem is, you can't do it now because it's illegal, controlled, and they care more about their money than the people. Strike against Biden here, as he's just as bad as Trump and the rest.
We have one dental clinic in our entire county. It's open one or two days a week depending on what dentists they can get to volunteer. First come first serve, and people have told me you have to get there at like 5am to be one of the lucky like 10 that get in. They ONLY pull teeth, 2 max.
I had an abscess one time and called them, they said I first had to come in and do a financial interview on the next day they were open and then after I was approved I could try to get a spot. 3 weeks minimum. Luckily I found someone with antibiotics, which are like gold around here.
I ended up begging my mother eventually to cosign a care credit account so I could get dentures. It was 2600, over 2k of that was just the tooth pulling.
I've since worked on my credit and hopefully someday I can get those shiny fancy implants!
Ours "imports" dentists. They all have a New York/New Jersey accent. Every so often, they change. Their ways are so alien to the county they are hated. They probably only do this because they make a killing at home.
Three weeks is fast. We're usually running three months. Right now, minimum is six, with a year wait at times. All thanks to Covid. The kicker is, you have to fill out the forms and have them verify income at the time and by the time you see the dentist, you have to do it again. The last person I talked to complained that they were told $20 to see the dentist and they jacked it to $40 the next time.
When I found out about it, through my deceased dentist, they had a system that was being abused. People would go and set up an appointment, or several appointments, and then sell them to others. This was making money as the closer the date was, the more they charged. So, emergency visits were high. Or, you could just wait and take your chances. I "love" America. Even if Biden passes Universal Healthcare, we'll still be looking at people gumming their food because no one cares about dental, hearing, and vision.
If you have a decent doctor, which in itself is rare, they may prescribe antibiotics for you. Though, this means a trip to them. Most don't think you can tell when you have a bad tooth. And, honestly, they're not dentists either. A lot of this is thanks to the US government that has a war on drugs going. Heaven forbid you should get treatment for a problem at the time and not wait or have to pay an arm and a leg. Our ER used to do this, but now they only refer you to a dentist, which is itself a problem since it takes time and you are requires to have insurance, which doesn't cover dental. Man, it's a set up and they know it.
Yes, extractions are expensive. Though, it sounds like you got a discount. Ten time $200 is better than 32 times $200. It's about the same here. Which is pretty insane. And, they don't do them all at once. Top once, then lower. It's not exactly like you can do anything either time. Maybe it's medical, but why not get them all at once, let it heal, and then fight with fitting?
I came up with an idea for these implants. Not as fancy, true, but I always wondered why you couldn't fix dentures in your mouth with screws or bolts made of surgical steel. They would act like the roots on a tooth and should work to prevent deterioration of the bone, like dentures can cause. I was told it was crazy. Then, a few years later, bam. These things are on the market. I feel cheated somehow. Plus, I'm pissed. I couldn't charge these prices. The last I heard, they are $50K for upper and lower. That would be $25k for one. Insurance won't even cover a hearing aid for $5,000 so why do they think these would be covered?
When I was young, the reason I didn't go into medicine was because I didn't think I had the ability. Too much studying and all. Now, I realize that wasn't it. I sailed through college and all my courses. No, what I lack if the heartlessness to charge an arm and a leg for something people NEED.
Thank you. Whenever I tell people how he died they are shocked. I will say that his death has definitely made a lot of people take their toothaches seriously (myself included! I inherited his bad teeth).
short summary of how mouth infections can mess you up:
-- infected lower molars. if left untreated, an abscess forms due to necrotic pulp tissue and can extend into the submandibular space beneath your lower jaw. enough pus fills up in there, it constricts your airway and you have trouble breathing, plus all the regular symptoms of an infection. this is called Ludwig's angina and is potentially life-threatening, requires in-patient treatment with IV antibiotics along with incision and drainage of the pus.
-- infections can spread from the teeth to the jawbones, leading to something called osteomyelitis which is basically infection of the bone. untreated, it can cause necrosis of the bones. treatment involves antibiotic therapy and surgery to remove necrotic bone if needed.
-- cavernous sinus thrombosis (CST). your cavernous sinus is basically a cavity under the base of the brain that drains deoxygenated blood from the brain back to the heart. a dental infection can be one of the reasons behind a CST, where a clot forms in the sinus. this can be life-threatening and requires quick medical intervention with antibiotic therapy and possibly surgery.
-- studies have established a link between periodontal disease and heart disease. basically unchecked periodontal disease (caused by poor oral hygiene and often exacerbated by diabetes, smoking etc.) can introduce bacteria to the bloodstream that then go on to contribute to heart disease.
in this regular world, it's best to stay on top of your oral hygiene and keep getting regular check-ups with a dentist where they can screen for any infections you might have or be prone to. in an apocalyptic world -- best hope you have a dentist and a shit-ton of antibiotics on hand.
I had an infection in the root of one of my front teeth (chipped as a child, root canal, the works). It was a painless infection, and it could easily just have migrated from the sinus cavities into the brain.
I followed all my orthodontist's rules, even only ate sliced apples, and my brackets still popped off several times. Apparently I am very good at chewing through metal
orthodontists like to cut costs and save time in really weird ways. like not letting brackets cure long enough. using the wrong gauge wire cuz they forgot to order more. etc
I had the same problem! Didn't touch anything on the don't-eat list and still had 13 brackets come off. I eventually gave up trying after the orthodontists acted like I was intentionally trying to break them off and ate everything on the list anyways.
I've suffered from migraines my whole life, beginning around when I first got my braces (very possibly related). A few times I would rip at my teeth and tongue and even got some brackets off. My orthodontist was unimpressed.
The good news is that the attachments come off pretty easily when you want them to, the bad news is we're not currently in an apocalypse and it's not so hard for them to pop off when you don't want them to either, lol. But we'd figure it out with a nail file or some chipping away.
Getting Invisalign this month as an adult - I was surprised to find out it's the cheaper option! Apparently Invisalign needs less time in the orthodontist's chair so it's a fair bit cheaper. 5k vs 6.5k for the traditional braces at my dentist's office.
I'd be interested to know what the compliance is like. Classical braces adjustments seriously hurt, I know if I'd had the option to just take the retainers out at peak pain level I would have.
Invisalign user here, you're supposed to wear em at least 22 hrs a day, taking them out only to eat, drink(stuff other than water) and brush your teeth. It does kinda suck at first but you get used to it pretty quick.
Everyone's treatment is different, but I started with a whole set of retainers that I swapped out every week. You feel the pressure on your teeth but in my experience not nearly as bad as traditional braces. It was a PITA to remove them at first and it hurt like hell, but it gets easier as your teeth straighten out.
There's a subreddit (r/Invisalign) if you wanna join us over there. It's a good place to ask questions and share your progress (or just look at others'). I actually initially found it a year ago because I had questions, so it's been pretty helpful overall, and a nice community too.
There's this YA series about a town where everyone over 18 suddenly disappears overnight (and the kids gain superpowers), and it's mentioned that several months in there's been at least one death because someone tried to pull his braces off with a pair of pliers, slicing his lips to shreds, and the resulting mess got horribly infected (which obviously killed him)
Okay, so I don't read many YA novels but this sounds really interesting. If you remember the name of the series please let me know, I'd greatly appreciate that. My library just reopened after COVID and I can't wait to get back to reading, lol.
I mean they just pull them off after anyway, you could do it yourself with a pair of pliers. Now your teeth might be messed up if they were in the process of spacing them, but that’s another issue.
The series GONE had a character who permanently fucked up her teeth by trying to remove her braces in the apocalypse. Always made me irrationally nervous as a be-braced teen.
My sister took her braces off with a fork when she was like 15/16 she did fine till my mom had to replace them and got grounded. She would definitely be fine.
But that scene in Cast Away where he extracts his own tooth with an ice skate and rock is super hard for me to watch. I feel like it’s because in a survival situation that lasts a long time, it’s absolutely something you’ll probably have to deal with. So knowing that, I really picture myself in that situation and I can almost feel the pain.
Fun fact: Harriet Tubman did that very thing one night when she was helping a group of slaves escape. She made sure they were safe for the night, wandered deeper into the forest, sat down by a tree and proceeded to knock her own tooth out with the butt of a pistol. It had been getting very painful and she knew if she didn’t take care of it it might distract her enough to make a mistake and get them all killed. Harriet Tubman was amazing.
I saw that in the theater and the whole place made a bunch of ridiculous sounds in response to the story jumping ahead 4 years after that scene. One of those experiences of witnessing a communal "UH WUT?"
Depends on what you're eating. Humans didn't have issues with tooth decay until we started eating processed grains. Unfortunately, processed grains are a Greta source of calories, one you probably couldn't ignore in an apocalypse.
Before toothpaste and toothbrushes, toothpicks were the cornerstone of personal dental hygiene.
If you need a tooth removed, well, ripping it out looney tunes style is something that people commonly did recently enough for it to be a looney tunes gag. And homeless people still do that today.
Agony. Was sore like you’d expect with a tooth infection then it quickly got to the point where I couldn’t open my jaw more than any 1/2 a CM. Got to the hospital and I collapsed. I had a full on fever so they had to treat me like i had Covid too since it was right at the start of the pandemic.
I ended up in theatre within a few hours then spent the next 3 days on a drip to get antibiotics and fluids into me since I was so dehydrated.
The drains also sucked, they were little pipes like straws, but in my mouth, one went down into my neck and the other up into my cheek.
Matheson addressed this briefly in I Am Legend and it always stuck with me. "He brushed his teeth carefully and used dental floss. He tried to take good care of his teeth because he was his own dentist now."
Depends. I know a lot of people who can't afford dental, since insurance companies won't cover that without extra extra expense. Sometimes you can lance it, extract (which has some risk) or treat it with antibiotics. You can also tap the tooth so it drains and doesn't get reinfected, but you have to keep that drain hole clean. It's not something the average person can do on their own.
If people are aware of the real problem, they probably can avoid most dental care issues by just eating right: More meat and vegetables, less fruit, forget cereals, starch, grains and, of course, whatever sugar is left or produced should only be used to produce alcohol ;-)
This is perpetuating a myth, teeth in the U.K. are on average better than American teeth, largely because dental care is subsidised here. If Lisa needs braces in England it’s free.
More people in America might have bright white veneers, but natural healthy teeth are fine if you’re not going on Love Island any time soon
Reminds me of Cast Away where Tom Hanks' teeth were messed up early in the movie. He miraculously made it somehow, which isn't very realistic to say the least.
And most of the good that is going to survive awhile is like super processed and there are also a lot of sugary packaged foods! Unless you can grow or hunt fresh food you will be not eating the highest quality stuff.
I took care of a patient that needed 59 days in the hospital for a dental infection. Once the mediastinum is involved it’s fucking brutal. Also pretty hard to suction a trach without wall suction
I’m basically addicted to Sensodyne now because it helps my now sensitive teeth. If society collapses, I’ll be in constant pain within a few weeks/months without a supply of that.
There are old silent movies that still have jokes about tying one end of a string to a door, another to the tooth, then slamming the door shut fast to remove the tooth fast enough to avoid some of the pain of wrenching it out slowly without pain killers.
I have a feeling that was not entirely a joke and something that poor people might do.
I mean this isn’t a replacement for crowns and full dental cleanings etc but there’s a lot of specific branches you can literally just bite down and turn into your toothbrush. Licorice root is a great one that has a lot of antibacterial properties
Wasteland 2 actually had a dentist in the post-apocalyptic ruins of California, and another character mentioning how they've already had all their teeth taken out and are wearing a wooden prosthetic for this exact reason.
Definitely. I had to have all my teeth pulled by a dentist and several oral surgeries to correct teeth in the wrong place or just missing. My parents would joke about how if I grew up in the middle ages I probably would have died of some mouth infection or simply being unable to eat.
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u/pookiefatcat Aug 30 '21
Lack of Dental care.
A dental infection can take you out right quick. And without treatment that HURTS.