How many cavities have you had in your lifetime so far?

before what?

Cavities? Lots. And two root canals. I'm much better about my dental care now. Thanks, finally decent health insurance.

60 and never had a cavity. It's not dietthat causes them so much as a particular bacteria. I have a lot of tartar build up and my dentist said I have more of that bacteria than the stuff that causes cavities.

60 and I had my first cavity about five years ago. My dentist said I'm part of the 'fluoride' generation (as is he) and that has helped our generation avoid cavities, unlike our older generations.

I've had several cavities and two root canals. I just had an old silver filling drilled out and a temporary crown put in because there's a hairline crack in that tooth. I have to get the permanent crown put on in a few weeks. At least now they don't do the nasty molds/impressions-they now use a digital camera to photograph the teeth and make the porcelain crown. Weak teeth runs in my family on my dad's side unfortunately. So genetics play a part, no matter how diligent I am with regards to brushing, flossing, dentist visits, etc. It sucks.

40 and 0.

59 with two cavities. My teeth look dingy and drab because of the shape of my mouth, but they’re very healthy and I am really careful with them. I don’t want to have to pay for and maintain caps and crowns unless that’s unavoidable.

My cousin did not like the shape of his smile , so he got the name of a cosmetic dentist from a local celebrity whose teeth were fully capped in fluorescent white porcelain. He then had his top teeth ground down to tiny pegs, and over the course of several visits had temporary and then permanent caps fitted. This was 2001.

By 2020 the entire top row of caps needed replacing, and the cost of removing the originals and restoring the tiny peg teeth that anchored them was over $50,000 cash. His bottom teeth have shifted and they look bright yellow against the top row of caps. He will need the caps replaced at shorter intervals throughout his live, each time a more expensive and delicate process.

Except for accidents and trauma, I’d never consider being fitted with giant capped teeth. I think that appeal has lessened with stories of Turkey Teeth coming from the UK (Turkey Teeth meaning inexpensive veneers installed in Turkey to save money). I’d hate to have to pay and then pay again to maintain and restore capped teeth. My dentist told me that full caps are very much like permanent dentures. Not for me unless I cannot avoid it.

Those blinding white teeth are hideous.

How old are you, OP? Adults get root canals and gum disease. Cavities are way down on the list.

Why so many personal questions op? You nosey motherfucker you.

R8 They really are. And the microbiologist in me wonders what kind of decay happens along the gum line and under this foreign material in your mouth.

My colleague in NY, a handsome but very vain Australian, bleaches his teeth continually, and they look very white, but strangely translucent. He told me that he uses a lot of minoxidil to keep his hair, super strong retinol from Mexico to keep his skin looking youthful, and white strips most evenings while he watches tv.

He looks ok, but his breath smells like an open grave. On some days, it smells like the gas that would escape from a badly infected tooth during a root canal. I think the enzymes and microbes in his mouth are out of balance from the constant bleaching.

Yet he is by most accounts really handsome and very focused on his looks. More power to him. He seems happy and loves posting photos of himself on vacations all the time.

I had four or five cavities as a kid. My last dentist visit was just last year but my first in thirty years as I hadn't been since I was fifteen. other than the need for a scaling and possible future removal of my wisdom teeth my mouth was in pretty good shape.

As a kid, I never had any cavities while my siblings all had them. As an adult, I got my first one in my 30's and have now had 7. Had two teeth pulled after root canals and all that jazz and had implants put in. A few crowns. I'm in my mid 50's and am always complimented by the hygienist on my teeth care. My father had terrible teeth and I refuse to neglect mine like he did. He eventually had them all pulled and got dentures which he refused to use because they hurt.

2 in 40 years… the silver lining of acid reflux.

My town's water supplier didn’t start fluoridation until I was ten. I’d had maybe ten cavities filled in my permanent teeth, some teeth with more than one. By 40, those teeth needed crowns and one needed extraction and an implant. So none of my teeth now have fillings.

My daughter is fourteen and never had one cavity. Fluoridation is key.

I'm almost 52 and have never had a cavity...I've never had a sweet tooth even as a kid

No cavities, all my wisdom teeth and never had orthodontics. I’m “special”.

62 and never had a cavity.

I do, however, have gum problems and have had to tissue grafted from the roof of my mouth to multiple spots with receding gums in the front of my mouth. Had to have that done one time in my early 20s and then another time in my early 50s.

A lot. 61, and I grew up in a flouride free area unfortunately

Like R15 says, Fluoridation is key.

Stealth fluoride thread.

Client wanted to move her appointment because she had a crown fall out. I didn’t even think that was possible!

Now I realize without proper care, the root will continue to erode and loosen underneath any apparatus attached to the teeth. I have a bridge and use the little pipe cleaners to clean between and under the gum line where it touches.

I also think cavities have to do with certain food that sticks to your teeth and leaves trace amounts or harbors lots of bacteria that creates tartar, like chewy candy, chocolate and dried cranberry.

Yesterday I bit down on a mint lifesaver and felt every bit of pain from the crown transfer into the root and will never do this again.

Aging sucks.

41 and a member of the zero-cavity club here

Many. Nothing ever too serious, usually what they call a "superficial cavity" here.

But now my fourth wisdom tooth is starting to erupt and it will cause havoc with the molars next to it. I think it will be inevitable to have all four of them extracted. 😔

The two upper ones have completely erupted so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. The lower ones, well.. one is only halfway and the other one has now started to poke through...

Sigh!

I've had three fillings and I'm 41. Two are in my wisdom teeth, so if I have those out, I'll go down to one filling!

It may be diet R11 (think keto) or the bleaching may be causing dry mouth issues which if not treated can accelerate tooth loss.

I am 54/male. I have never had a cavity in my whole life. I grew up in Auckland, New Zealand where we had fluoride in the water and dental nurses and dentists attend our schools and then when you went to high school we all visited the dentist every 6 months for free. I had a really swanky dentist in Newmarket who used to laugh when I came to see him because there was never anything to do. I was always out of there in 10 minutes. He thought it was hilarious. What a weird dentists he was. I have never forgotten him. The dental program finished when you were 16 or 18 - I can't remember which. Then you were on your own.

R26 I think some of it's luck, as I know some people who see the dentist regularly and do look after their teeth, but have still needed to have work done.

Similarly, my brother went years without seeing a dentist and didn't really care about his teeth, then when his wife finally pushed him into going, all he needed was one filling.

10

28

I'm 71 and have had a bunch. No fluoridation when I was a kid -- fluoride toothpastes were just becoming prevalent (Crest-now with FLUORISTAN!) I don't know how many root canals and crowns I've had--a lot. And just last month I had to have a tooth extracted for the first time since I had my wisdom teeth out when I was in my thirties.

I hadn't been to the dentist for a while due to COVID and on my most recent trip they discovered a whole bunch of new cavities --two of which are going to require removal of crowns and replacement with new ones. Even with dental insurances it's gonna cost over $1K. At least I can afford it. But I'm not looking forward to the numbing, drilling, yanking, temporary crowns, etc.

I grew up on well water with no fluoride, ate tons of junk food and only brushed my teeth once or twice a week. It's amazing I didn't have a cavity until about 24. My dad is the same way, almost 70, never goes to the dentist or has any teeth problems. He says he rinses his mouth out with peroxide.

I'm 40 and have had 0 cavities.

Calculus does form on my teeth very quickly, though.

I was once told by a dental hygienist that I produce a lot of saliva, which actually helps protect against cavities, since it washes away food particles.

I had a friend who was a serious opioid addict for several years. He lost a lot of his teeth; I assume it was from the opioid-induced dry mouth that in turn led to cavities.

I had about a dozen cavities when I was a kid growing up in a community where they thought fluoride in the water was a communist conspiracy. About the time I had braces as a teenager they finally started adding fluoride to the water and since then I have had no cavities. My issue now is that the repairs by the quack dentist I went to as a child (part of the reason why my braces came on so late) have failed and I've had to get crowns on two teeth and will need another two in the next few years.

It's one of those things about my childhood over which I just shake my head wondering what my father was thinking about. This dentist really was a quack; his fingers tasted weird (they didn't use gloves in those days... at least he didn't), had a bad toupee and horrible breath (so bad I remember it 50+ years latter),I didn't have a visit between 3 and 12 that didn't result in some work, but he would negotiate the price with my father making him think he got a good deal. Of course it was just the dentist being smart enough to start high and negotiate down to the price we would have gotten anywhere, a fact that my father had to swallow when my pediatrician read my mother the riot act over my teeth and told her to find a new dentist.

Three to my baby teeth, one major in an adult molar that my impacted wisdom tooth compromised (root canal and crown rather than filling). I also had a micro-cavity that they were going to do a small resin filling for, but apparently it re-mineralized and didn't need work after all.

[quote]I had about a dozen cavities when I was a kid growing up in a community where they thought fluoride in the water was a communist conspiracy.

Those people were the anti-vaxxers of their time.

I had my first cavity when I was 24. I had annual check-ups starting as a kid and never had a cavity until I was out of college.

Since then it has cost me thousands of dollars out of pocket beyond the comprehensive dental insurance coverage my former employer generously subsidizes, even in retirement.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Nine thousand and twenty-seven (according to my dentist).