Lots of fillings, long term outcome?

Morck

Hi all,

I seen a few dentists post here so I was hoping for a wee bit of advice.

Long story short, for about 5 years (in my early to mid 20's) I drank a lot of fizzy drinks and ate a lot of sugary foods and had terrible dental hygiene. Eventually (and naturally) I saw small holes in one of my front teeth and went to the dentist. Ended up with about 15 fillings to add to my previous 4 molar fillings from childhood. I also have a good bit of bruxism which really just compounds my problems.

The dentist did a great job I think and filled the front teeth with white fillings back then (4/5 years ago now). I had a few months where every time I went back for my visit I had to get another filling. All in all I have about 18 fillings, widsom teeth all gone and a root canal done. Luckily for the past three years I haven't had anything new that needed doing. Wash throughouly twice a day, rinse with a flouride packed mouthwash twice a day and floss once a day. Sugar is gone from my diet completely for the last five years bar saturday nights with the kids.

anyway, I'm just wondering, with so many fillings: what is my long term future? Am I just plugging holes in an inevitably sinking ship? I asked my dentist if I'd end up needing dentures or something and she said no, that it'd all be fine if I keep doing what I'm doing but I wonder if she's just not wanting to work me up? I have spent a good bit of money and it's literally cleaned me out in the last few years. If I'd the money I'd replace my front four teeth with implants and be done with it, but I don't have the cash.

what are the options for someone like me and the long term prospects as regards my teeth?

Thanks!

CyberJuice

my front teeth were in a similar position, the white fillings would never last very long,couple of years at most,then they would come loose and fall out,then the exposed part of the tooth would start turning dark colour and id go back the dentist, have some more tooth shaved off and a new filling put in.i ended up having the teeth taken out and goin for a denture which is not great but it could be the road youll end up goin down in the future


without pictures or being a dentist though its hard to tell

implants could cost you 2 grand a tooth if your lucky, probably best to save now then in 7 or 8 years you would have the money there and could have 4 implants done if your teeth do end up coming out

Morck

Cheers mate. Were veeneers or crowns not an option for you?

My fillings haven't fallen out (yet!) and my teeth, on the surface, LOOK like there's nothing wrong with them, but with 18 fillings (ranging between tiny, small and large) not alls well below the surface. dreading the future to be honest. aye, good idea re the savings, think I'll have to start doing something like that because despite my dentists optimism I'm not filled with much hope.

Dianthus

There's going to be a certain amount of maintenance involved with the work you've had thus far- repairs, replacements, ect.
The average filling lasts anything from 7-15 years. It's definitely to your advantage that you're watching your diet, have excellent oral hygiene, and haven't required any dental treatment in the last 3 years. (Presumably you wear a splint for bruxism also?)
The average lifespan of the Irish male is ?late 70's/early 80's. You're only in your early 30's, so realistically you can expect another 40 years of requiring teeth of some form to function with; your own or artificial.
Within reason, try to conserve your own teeth for as long as possible. The sequence of events tends to be : medium-large sized filling, replaced by crown/root canal/post& crown, THEN if failure: extraction of tooth& bridge/denture/implant to replace- or leave the space.
If you have children, ensure you're proactive re prevention of dental disease. Regular checkups, fissure seals, sportsguards for contact sports, daily flossing, ect. As you know from experience, they'll reap the benefits longterm.

Morck

Thanks for that informative reply Dianthus! It sounds like the inevitable outcome for me is either crowns/dentures on the majority of my teeth - the best outcome and at worst, loss of the majority of them. A tad depressing that those few years have literally destroyed my dental health.

I am indeed pressing the kids to look after their teeth. They are growing up in Sweden where they have free dental care until the age of 21 and get excellent information in school about dental care. Check ups every 6 months. The missus has an excellent record at the denist so she's a good role model there :-D I'm almost convinced though that diet is more important than hygiene and sugar is banned from the home except for saturdays. Hopefully, they won't copy my mistakes!

CyberJuice

yeah sugar is indeed no good, dont forget that in many fruit juice drinks thre is forms of acid in them that can wear down the enamel on your teeth so its not just coca cola and other soft drinks that are dangerous..

try stick to water if you can..

Morck

CyberJuice wrote: »

yeah sugar is indeed no good, dont forget that in many fruit juice drinks thre is forms of acid in them that can wear down the enamel on your teeth so its not just coca cola and other soft drinks that are dangerous..

try stick to water if you can..

I do thesedays mate - save for the odd can of Coke Zero at the weekends with the kids. Yo do have to live a life too :-D

Aye, fruit was a real killer in my diet too. I did stop with the sweets and fizzy drinks but instead started eating things like grapes, oranges, pineapple, melon like there was no tomorrow. all gone. saturdays I pig out on all those bad things but other than that nothing. learnt the hard & expensive way! when I think of the money I've spent and will spend on my teeth I feel sick!

georgieporgy

Morck wrote: »

I do thesedays mate - save for the odd can of Coke Zero at the weekends with the kids. Yo do have to live a life too :-D

Aye, fruit was a real killer in my diet too. I did stop with the sweets and fizzy drinks but instead started eating things like grapes, oranges, pineapple, melon like there was no tomorrow. all gone. saturdays I pig out on all those bad things but other than that nothing. learnt the hard & expensive way! when I think of the money I've spent and will spend on my teeth I feel sick!

Fruit will not harm your teeth ( though sucking lemons on a regular basis, they do it in New Zealand, does wear away enamel).

Fruit juices on the other hand can be a problem, esp apple juice. Avoid it.