Hey Ben,
What a unique question!
After hearing your glowing reports about electric toothbrushes and water picks, I think I'm going to have to break down and get those, argh. Dentists and hygienists had always praised my brushing and flossing efforts so I always thought I could keep skating by on the cheap, but alas.
I grew up in an era in which all toothpaste commercials were instilling The Fear of Tartar. Almost every dental commercial at that time seemed to feature "helpful" diagrams of yellow-streaked teeth and the Almighty Instruments of Abrasion used to scrape it away.
Unfortunately, my natural teeth looked exactly like the ones in those yellow-streaked charts, and one popular boy in school ever so helpfully announced to me in front of all the other kids, "You know, if you would just BRUSH YOUR TEETH, you'd get rid of those tartar stains!"
It wouldn't have mattered to him that the dentist said my teeth were naturally discolored because either my birth mother had taken certain medications while carrying me, or it may have been from an illness as a child (I remember being deathly sick with scarlet fever as a kid, but I'm not sure if that's what caused it.)
I don't think I ever told my parents about the comments I got, but somehow the dentist at the time talked them into getting my front teeth bonded, which gave them all a uniform color. Years later, the bonding was replaced with porcelain crowns (I like to say that my front teeth contain more porcelain than your Grandmother's best china, or a bathroom commode.) Yes, they are fake, fake, fake.
But if it's any consolation, they're the only cosmetic "alterations" I've had done.
At the time, even the whitest shade wasn't white enough (even the lightest shade still looked yellow on me because of my skin tone,) so I forget exactly what they had to do but they were able to make my "new" teeth a white enough color for me. Modern articles I've read say that porcelain veneers last about 10 years, but mine are 20 years old and for some reason, people still notice them (and think they're my real teeth.)
I wish I could go back and find the boy who told me to brush my teeth and give him a big smile.
I tried bleaching trays for my other teeth (which actually ARE yellow), but the bleach burned my gums and made me sick (I'm very sensitive to bleach as it is, let alone ingesting small portions of it,) that stopped after about the second night.
Fortunately, I could get away with just having work on my front 6 teeth, as the others don't show all that much when I smile. I'm afraid my time may have run out though, as the dentist said I have a few that are needing repairs (but I'm going to put off replacing them for as long as possible.)
For anyone thinking about getting porcelain veneers, I would suggest finding an office that has theirs made in a lab. Good old modern technology -- now days, I hear that many offices are 3-D printing their veneers so you can get them the same day, but a relative of mine got a 3-D printed veneer that fell off the same week. They just don't make fake teeth like they used to.
Maybe it was just a fluke, but if I have to get replacements, I will definitely choose the slower but seemingly sturdier lab-made option.
What a unique question!
After hearing your glowing reports about electric toothbrushes and water picks, I think I'm going to have to break down and get those, argh. Dentists and hygienists had always praised my brushing and flossing efforts so I always thought I could keep skating by on the cheap, but alas.
I grew up in an era in which all toothpaste commercials were instilling The Fear of Tartar. Almost every dental commercial at that time seemed to feature "helpful" diagrams of yellow-streaked teeth and the Almighty Instruments of Abrasion used to scrape it away.
Unfortunately, my natural teeth looked exactly like the ones in those yellow-streaked charts, and one popular boy in school ever so helpfully announced to me in front of all the other kids, "You know, if you would just BRUSH YOUR TEETH, you'd get rid of those tartar stains!"
It wouldn't have mattered to him that the dentist said my teeth were naturally discolored because either my birth mother had taken certain medications while carrying me, or it may have been from an illness as a child (I remember being deathly sick with scarlet fever as a kid, but I'm not sure if that's what caused it.)
I don't think I ever told my parents about the comments I got, but somehow the dentist at the time talked them into getting my front teeth bonded, which gave them all a uniform color. Years later, the bonding was replaced with porcelain crowns (I like to say that my front teeth contain more porcelain than your Grandmother's best china, or a bathroom commode.) Yes, they are fake, fake, fake.
But if it's any consolation, they're the only cosmetic "alterations" I've had done. At the time, even the whitest shade wasn't white enough (even the lightest shade still looked yellow on me because of my skin tone,) so I forget exactly what they had to do but they were able to make my "new" teeth a white enough color for me. Modern articles I've read say that porcelain veneers last about 10 years, but mine are 20 years old and for some reason, people still notice them (and think they're my real teeth.)
I wish I could go back and find the boy who told me to brush my teeth and give him a big smile.
I tried bleaching trays for my other teeth (which actually ARE yellow), but the bleach burned my gums and made me sick (I'm very sensitive to bleach as it is, let alone ingesting small portions of it,) that stopped after about the second night.
Fortunately, I could get away with just having work on my front 6 teeth, as the others don't show all that much when I smile. I'm afraid my time may have run out though, as the dentist said I have a few that are needing repairs (but I'm going to put off replacing them for as long as possible.)
For anyone thinking about getting porcelain veneers, I would suggest finding an office that has theirs made in a lab. Good old modern technology -- now days, I hear that many offices are 3-D printing their veneers so you can get them the same day, but a relative of mine got a 3-D printed veneer that fell off the same week. They just don't make fake teeth like they used to.
Maybe it was just a fluke, but if I have to get replacements, I will definitely choose the slower but seemingly sturdier lab-made option.
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