Skip to main content

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 almost so bad by not unlogging from this Reddit account

I use this Reddit account to mod r/hearhimfuck , watch my porn and answer NSFWAMA when I feel like it. I religiously log off completely after every time because I don't want my partner or anyone knowing about this account. It's the holidays and we are all busy so I had a quick session with myself and ran to get a shower and leave for another family Christmas dinner. My phone stayed in my purse the whole evening. By the end there's 6 of us left and we're sitting in the living room, having mellow conversation. Pets are discussed and photos shown. Someone asks about my dogs so I go fetch my phone and sit back on the couch. As soon as I unlock it, there's a full blown ANAL clip playing. Fortunately, the sound was off. I manage to turn the sound all the way down and shut the app without anyone seeing. TLDR; Iwas THIS close from having hardcore porn blasting surrounded by my parents, my partner, an aunt and a two cousins. I can't imagine the aftermath of what could...

TIFU by fucking my coworker

Happened a couple of days ago, but yeah, as the title says... Oops... We've worked together for about a year now; we've always been friendly, but I never really clocked her as a potential romantic option; she's my coworker, she had a boyfriend when we started working together, and to be honest I just thought she was completely out of my league: I'm a schlub and she is gorgeous So when she texts me asking if we want to hang out after work, I genuinely thought nothing untoward would happen; I thought we were just going to chill and watch cartoons; and for a while we were just having a nice platonic hangout. But we got very drunk, and eventually she was giving me the bedroom eyes and saying we should make out. I very emphatically said that was a bad idea, but she kissed me anyway, and at that point I really lost any semblance of self-restraint.. I am not proud of myself, at all. I can tell myself that she came onto me, but ultimately I also comepletly let it happen. No...

TIFU by shopping on Amazon

So I have an Amazon account, and a family. Anyhow, the person I'm seeing likes to do things with me... try new things if you know what I mean 😏 Recently I've ordered a few packages with adult toys, swing, etc. And... clone a willy. It came in yesterday while I was out. While I was out I got a notification that the cloning kit came in. I sent my son a text asking him to bring my Amazon package in. He said he had already. I didn't think much of it. Until last night when I went to go... use it. I asked my son where the package was on my way out the door. He asked "The plant stand or the cloning kit?". Mind you, the boxes DO NOT say what the contents are, nor were they opened. He must have realized what he said because my face is a goddam story book. I just stood there silent and shocked. He pointed towards the closet. This has been going on for ages, but he has NEVER indicated knowing what's in the packages. So now my teenage son knows his mom is a freak. ...