Disgraceful

I'm shocked to find a company in Australia trying to rip people off by so much! :-(

Waterpiks are wonderful for cleaning between your teeth and even more wonderful when you have braces. When I first got braces, there weren't any waterpiks being sold in Australia, and a friend in England gave me one as a gift ... an awesome gift. It was the cordless waterpik Model WP360 and cost about $31 Aussie dollars! This rotten company ... Natdent Pty Ltd are advertising themselves as ... Waterpik Australia - retailer of Waterpik™ brand Oral Irrigators ... and sell this exact same model for $225 Aussie plus $11 postage. I hope that no one in Australia purchases from this company, as this is just sooooooooooooooo wrong!

Recently I purchased a type of waterpik ... battery run, from ebay, from a company called Ozinnovation. This is slightly different to the waterpik, but the battery does give some advantages ... and the cost $35.00.

If you want a waterpik type oral irrigator ... please be careful who you buy it from, as sometimes it's much cheaper to buy from overseas, than to allow yourself to be treated as a fool, by a rip off company!

Hygienist Appointment - 1 March 2006

I had my first hygienist appointment ... and it went really well.

My hygienist said I was her best ortho patient ... and man did my head swell. She said she wished all her ortho patients had to pay for their own treatment, as she reckons théy'd look after their oral hygiene a lot better if they did.

After a check and a quick clean I had the fluoride treatment. It was a minty gel and while I was sitting up, she applied it with cottonbuds to the surfaces of my teeth. It was left for one minute and then she suctioned it off and said not to eat or drink for 30 minutes. Felt good, tasted and smelled excellent!

I asked about using Colgate toothpaste with baking soda and peroxide ... and she said it's a good toothpaste ... no problem that she's heard of and that toothpaste does not whiten teeth on its own.

I asked if I should be doing anything else ... she said no! I asked when I should come back to see her ... and she said after seeing my dentist in six months time! Wow ... head still swelling!

I went to pay ... and was told the price had been discounted by a quarter due to so little work being required ... head still swelling!

I managed to squeeze out the Dental Clinic door ... it took a bit of effort ... but I made it ... head still swelling!

I got out to the carpark and had a look at the size of my cars door ... I was really concerned how I was going to fit my still swelling head in there ... it really is good to hear such positive comments from professionals!

I'm thrilled that the extra effort I've been putting in each night with my OTT cleaning regime has been worth it!

PS My hygienist laughed when I told her that the reason I'm OTT with my oral hygiene is I'm scared of being told off by an ortho that's younger than me!

Dentist Visit - 8 February 2006

I had my first dental check up since getting braces ... and I was told I'm very good ... wow ... I was just so excited! It's been about eight months since I'd last seen my dentist and I was hoping it would be a non event!

My dentist asked about what it was like having braces, how I coped with the cleaning etc and added that the few adults he's seen with braces have had excellent oral hygiene ... geepers so that means no slacking now! Told him the only thing that bugs me is eating/cleaning ... he laughed when I said that I wasn't giving it up ... especially the chocolate!

When he'd finished my check up, he said I had to make an appointment with the hygienist for a clean and that my ortho ... had requested I have a fluoride treatment once every six months. Ok ... I was so impressed that he was reading a letter from my ortho and that communication between different/related professions in different places was working ... I left without asking what this is ...

Now of course I'm wanting to know.

I'm thrilled about the communication though ... love it professionals work together!

Pocket another $155 depleted!

Good appointment ... well that's if you can have a good dental appointment. Best of all it was painless ... incredible, coz those needles usually hurt unbelievably, but Dr Clegg put something that looked a horrible brown colour, on my skin first ... and I never felt a thing.

Really strange though ... I was at the hair dresser getting purple streaks ... and realised my upper left lip was still numb ... five hours later! Incredible! But the best news is ... finally, when I could feel everything again, there was absolutely no pain whatsoever ... totally amazing!

Also I must put in a plug for composite fillings ... apart from looking better due to them being tooth coloured, they require less drilling of your tooth, and you can chew on it straight away ... great stuff!

Tooth under Attack

Hit the panic button!

Geepers there I was enjoying chewing a toffee and chocolate lolly ... I'm such a chocolate addict that I just can't help myself. Anyway think I had three or more in a row. As I said ... I LOVE chocolate!

Next thing my mouth is in a panic ... the tongue has found the back of something that feels foreign and worse still I can't work out what it is.

To the bathroom fast ... to find ... half a cuspid is no longer where it should have been ... and I didn't even notice anything hard in that last lolly. Damn ... panic ... ortho in seven days ... feel and looks like half a cuspid is missing ... man I didn't need this to happen!

Ring the dentist ... who by the way had said his goodbyes a few weeks back and said see ya in 12 months ... famous last words ah! The receptionist says no appointments until a fortnight. So I explain I've gotta go to the ortho next Wednesday ... and she says there's a good chance they can squeeze me in tomorrow! Oh boy is I pleased about that ... strange really, coz don't remember ever being pleased about going to the dentist before ... but just know I need to get this fixed! I can't not make my ortho appointment ... have done that before, and suspect that's why things are where they're at today! I gotta be brave!

Hygienist Appointment

Well I'm ticking off my appointments prior to B Day. Still have to get another filling replaced (next week) and more x-rays from an Oral and Maxillofacial Imaging Centre before B Day ... but things are falling into place ... although it does seem a bit slow at the moment ... doubt I'll feel that when August arrives!

Geepers just had a RUSH of anxiety and self consiousness ... phew ... not so cool!

I've not been to a hygienist before, but it was straight forward and the best news, she was very complimentary of my gums and teeth. I had one small amount of ... calculus ... not sure if that's the correct spelling ... but it's something white looking behind a lower tooth ... is in a frustrating place ... where another tooth is angled etc, but she was very happy with my cleaning process and told me to continue just as I am ... Oh how warm and fuzzy did that make me feel!

Why does it cost so much to go to the Dentist?

Have just returned from a visit to a local dentist ... my first one here in South Australia, so had to have a full check and x-rays.

I lost a large filling out of a back molar a couple of weeks back, so knew that had to be replaced, and it all went well ... no pain and I was out of the chair in less than 20 minutes.

Then to reception to make an appointment for another filling (another replacement ... although much smaller than the one just done) and to see the hygienist for a clean before B Day.

Then she told me the cost for today $165.00 ... oh dear ... that was a shock! And guess who doesn't have medical insurance ... so my bank account is looking a bit sadder after that event.

The good news is that there were no other probs with my teeth and Dr Clegg congratulated me on my oral hygiene. He noted I had some bone loss but said I'd obviously got 'stuck in to sort it all out'. I came clean and told him I'd had a big scare after returning from Fiji and was told by a dentist I had periodontal disease and needed a full scale and other stuff ... where they clean up under the gums of all teeth. But since then I've been following a schedule every night of flossing and brushing a lot more carefully and longer ... and it must have paid off coz he said my gums looked great! Oh boy ... that made me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Tooth Ache - Tuesday 14 July 2005

Have had a terrible ache in bottom left molar ... most of the filling has fallen out. Finally phoned a dentist ... but couldn't get an appointment till 22 June. Suggested I come down for a quick check at lunch time today, to make sure there's no infection.

The check started ok, then the dentist said he wasn't happy with my bite, my this and my that and recommended an immediate visit to an orthodontist. He phoned an orthodontist in Adelaide and I got an appointment for the following day. All a bit scary.

He then said I didn't have an infection and to return on 22 June ... but to make sure I kept the appointment in Adelaide tomorrow.