Skip to main content

TIFU by saying no to a game

TIFU by not going to a dentist for 20 years

Honestly, this is more of a "Today I Stopped Fucking UP" but I wanted to make the post anyway, especially if it can inspire some folks to go.

So, I think my last dental cleaning/check-up/whatever you call it was when I was 12 or 13 years old. Dental hygiene wasn't ever firmly enforced on me growing up and as a shithead pre-teen I found out I could get away without doing it with just a few work arounds. Parents didn't find out or really care when they did catch me, and I created a bad habit that followed me MUCH too far into my adult life.

Flash forward to now, in my early 30s. Two teeth that have broken/shattered over the years (unfortunately they both happened when I didn't have dental insurance) that I just face-tanked. The SEARING and MISERABLE pain of exposed nerves that stuck around for years, the self-lancing of multiple abscesses, having the side of my face swell up like a balloon just before a flight - that I ended up popping and draining while in the airplane bathroom 30 minutes in... Not to mention the fact that I was too embarrassed about what I had going on in there to even engage in conversations about teeth in front of my own friends.

My girlfriend of a little over a year (bless her FUCKING heart) finally convinced me to go via gentle pressure, endless support, and helping me get over the "I don't want to know how fucked up it is in there" mentality. I had my first diagnostic and x-ray session last week, and my first cleaning this week. I've got a few places that are more sensitive now, and a handful of fillings and extractions scheduled (those two broken ones are 100% lost causes)... But I can confidently say that I've begun to take back my health, my teeth are on the road to preserving what I've got, and likely, I won't be dying from an abscess turning into a full blood infection.

I'm not proud of how long it took, but I'm proud that I did it. Same goes for my first Primary Care Provider appointments that I had to drag myself to late last year :)

If you haven't been to the dentist in a while... GO. Otherwise you're only hurting yourself... and it. will. HURT. so badly. It's avoidable, fixable, and they will have ALWAYS seen worse.

Also, find yourself someone who isn't going to tear you down or judge you, but will help you address your own faults for the benefit of both of you (if you're into that)

TL;DR: 20 years since I last went to the dentist, was terrified to find out how bad things had gotten. I was finally inspired to go by my (very supportive) girlfriend and it wasn't anywhere near as bad of a scenario as I'd built up in my head. GO TO THE DENTIST.

EDIT: Even before I went, my mouth wasn't visually disgusting beyond some spots - at least not without REALLY trying to look at the broken ones. Just not healthy. The broken teeth weren't FRONT teeth, but further back in the mouth. Not visible, cleaned out often, and not preventative of any mouth-ly activities.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

TIFU By Fumbling My Gym Crush

I've never posted on Reddit before so apologies if anything is off. I (F) had a crush on a man at my gym for months. We would make extended eye contact frequently, workout in proximity, the usual gym things that get over analyzed when you like someone. He's wildly handsome, but I liked his vibe. A lot. It's hard to explain when someone's energy just hits different but his did. One day he started coming in with a woman. The day I saw her with him, he and I actually stared at each other from across the room for a while, and I turned and walked away because obviously gym rules - that's his girlfriend until I'm told otherwise. The eye contact continues and so does the proximity but I've dialed back completely because in my head, he has a girl and I am no home wrecker. Well, recently, on a Sunday, I was having a real shit day. I accidentally hurt my shoulder so my back day was all off, my body wasn't cooperating, the gym was packed - all I wanted to do w...

TIFU by getting called racist for not handing cash to a customer

today I (F18) fucked up by worked a long ahh shift and got put on register. I never hand money in people’s hands as customers have yelled at me for it, and i think it’s germy so I scoot it towards them as a sign of respect. this lady came in and after i did that she goes “Imma need you to do that again and put it in my hand, you did this last time too don’t you know it’s disrespectful” (meanwhile i haven’t worked register in 2 months at said job and didn’t recognize her) so i apologize, and then cuz it’s call off time i go talk to my boss about it and they all agree with me. apparently though she told my keyholder who’s a poc i was being RACIST by not touching her. so i got told i need to do better even though i didn’t do anything. she was insinuating i was a racist. idk if i should quit or what but i fucked up. TL;DR: i’m a dumbass

TIFU by making a joke that landed horribly

I was talking to someone and thought I was being funny, but the second the words left my mouth I knew I had messed up. It was one of those jokes that sounds fine in your head and then just dies completely in real life. Nobody laughed, the mood got awkward instantly, and I could feel my face getting hot because I knew I had just made everything weird for no reason. What made it worse is that I tried to recover from it instead of just shutting up. So then I started talking more, which only made it more obvious that I was panicking. You know that feeling when you can hear yourself getting worse while it’s happening and you still can’t stop? yeah, that was me. I kept trying to act normal, but the whole thing was already gone. After that I just wanted to disappear and pretend it never happened. I’m still thinking about it way more than I should, which somehow makes it even more embarrassing. I really should have just kept my mouth shut for once. TL;DR: I tried to be funny and the joke...