I am not alone...

[Roman Totale]

@chipper  I don't know how judgmental Australians are about teeth-status, I could see them going either the British route or the American route, or somewhere in between or different of course. 

I come from a long line of shitty teeth and shitty cut-rate dental work (resulting in very expensive dental work to repair it down the road) on both sides of my familyy, had terrible baby teeth and had all my adult back teeth filled as a teenager (back when I really took care of them!) due to decay, and it has made me paranoid about my teeth. 

Not that it makes me give a fuck (or, rather, do anything about it) when I'm high on opiates and nodding out into my ice cream for hours, or up on stims for days with barely a piece of chewing gum passing my lips, or crashing out drunkenly without brushing my teeth and having smoked two packs of cigarettes over the course of the night...

Is there no sort of socialized dental insurance available?  Or will it not cover "cosmetic" work, like bridges and crowns that aren't necessary to feed yourself?  I think it is one of the major problems in the US healthcare field that dentistry is totally divorced from medical care, and thus totally devoid of any subsidies other than dental schools (which have a huge wait-list) and charity crap for children.

I once busted my ass for weeks, using my more"educated"-sounding voice and argumentation to call every dental clinic in town on behalf of a roommate, trying to find someone to treat his completely abscessed back tooth when he was low on cash, but had income and could pay some amount, to no avail.  In the end, he used his last $100 to bike 5 miles in the midst of a raging New England snowstorm and get it pulled by the one shady dentist in the city open on New Year's Eve.  He'd developed a bad fever, sore throat, and other symptoms that made me afraid he was getting blood poisoning from the bad tooth, to the point where I was ready to share the little cash I had for it.  (And all the symptoms did go away within a few hours of the tooth coming out.)

[We actually did have a decent New Year's party just between the two of us and the cat; our other roommate had been busy all day and was out at a party or club, but everybody knows NYE is amateur night by the standards of real druggers/drinkers, and besides my pal was ill.  The two of us ended up as high and content as could be, what with our non-existent opiate tolerances (at the time...), after downing a bunch of the 5mg Percocets he was able to fill right away for a few bucks, on top of the champagne, beer, and weed that I bought us to celebrate.  We gave the cat a celebration-sized dose of 'nip and he meowed Auld Lang Syne belly-up on the kitchen table, sprawled out in a complete catnip stupor, rolling around in the weed and coating himself in the better part of an eighth, much to our amusement (at the time...).  So it's a good memory I'll always treasure, but the dental element was a disgrace.]

One of the saddest motions I had to write was to get one of my client's surrender date for 30 days of jail after a probation revocation (which had bullshit proof behind it that we fought and should have fucking won anyways) postponed two weeks so she could get all of her teeth taken out and not be in agony for the month (granted, thank you, Judge K. ____).  She was in her late 30s, looking 50, not a stimulant-freak or anything like that to my knowledge, just very poor and stressed. 

[Chip]

I feel a wee bit better now.

you can't tell that I have no back teeth as my smile doesn't show it. the ones left are all in good condition and I am religious in my care of them now.

due to my lack of money (the half of a house doesn't count), income and assets, I qualify for state dental.

the best I can hope for are free dentures.

but I have learnt to nibble like a chipmunk so can get by without dentures for the foreseeable future.

now I have tiny picks to use as i hated flossing.

*sigh*

[thetalkingasshole]

and they called it
junky love

[Delta9Tetra]

Maybe you can leave love notes in poppy seed bulk container, signed your secret PST admirer. Maybe a picnic complete with some tagamet/prilosec and a bottle of white (grapefruit juice). Love is in the air in the bulk spice section.. get it Zoops.

My GF hates seeds even just talking about them irritates her, but she loves dope so we make it work somehow

[shoybs]

as a person who has lost all their back teeth, thanks to a long history of using stimulants, I feel like a loser every time someone mentions that they have all their teeth.

how I wish that I had looked after them properly.

Aww chipper I love you buddy. I'm sure you're still a handsome devil. I'm kinda in the same boat as you, though my teeth are jacked up because I just didn't care for them when I was using dope, and then for another year when i was majorly depressed. Now I get all self conscious whenever anyone mentions "teeth". Oh well, one day in the future when i have dental insurance I'll get them fixed up.

[Chip]

Aww chipper I love you buddy. I'm sure you're still a handsome devil. I'm kinda in the same boat as you, though my teeth are jacked up because I just didn't care for them when I was using dope, and then for another year when i was majorly depressed. Now I get all self conscious whenever anyone mentions "teeth". Oh well, one day in the future when i have dental insurance I'll get them fixed up.

@shoybs, i can't believe i missed this, that's an absolutely lovely thing to say and i totally understand.

... and one day, i may do the same of even try "dental tourism" in a safe but cheap place.

[Raine]

as a person who has lost all their back teeth, thanks to a long history of using stimulants, I feel like a loser every time someone mentions that they have all their teeth.

how I wish that I had looked after them properly.

Aw, Chipper I feel your pain.  Mine are messed up after years of drug use & abuse. It makes me self-conscious. I don't have insurance either and ofc dental work is super expensive.
I've learned to smile in a certain way to hide it but sometimes I forget. 
Plus tooth pain is fucking eviilll!!   

[Specter]

I know there's another "one of me/us" in my area too when the bulk poppy seeds are out the day after being fully stocked.

[6-mam]

as a person who has lost all their back teeth, thanks to a long history of using stimulants, I feel like a loser every time someone mentions that they have all their teeth.

how I wish that I had looked after them properly.

Aw, Chipper I feel your pain.  Mine are messed up after years of drug use & abuse. It makes me self-conscious. I don't have insurance either and ofc dental work is super expensive.
I've learned to smile in a certain way to hide it but sometimes I forget. 
Plus tooth pain is fucking eviilll!!

My teeth are all messed up also, but it's not from drug use. Well having a dry mouth may have helped them along but It's just my genetics. Eventually when I get the money or insurance I'm just going to get veneers probably. I just don't want them super white like I see on TV. I'm put off by unnaturally white teeth, I can't understand this american obsession with unnatural bleached white teeth.

I have a molar that's completely shattered right now. i'm shocked it hasn't gotten infected yet. Plus my front tooth is just a rod now since my crown fell off :/ I don't ever smile anymore so I don't scare people, I'm sure they'll just think I'm a tweeker. I haven't touched meth in 7 years or so.

[StM34081]

Same boat here on both topics.. Lol.  There is def. another tea drinker in my area. Maybe multiples. I have noticed alot of seeds gone from my previous supplier in only a couple days that I wouldnt go there. Also, when I went and bought my brm last night, the first store I went to was all out.. Empty box.. So I drove a couple miles to the other store and they were in stock there even tho they sucked. About the teeth. Mine suck too. Combination of genetics and snorting a metric shit ton of coke and oxycontin years ago. Unfortunately mine are the top fronts so I barely smile or when I do, it's a half smile so I dont show them. I start sweating really bad and get terrible anxiety whenever someone mentions teeth around me or tries to take my picture.. 
I live in Michigan, usa and have medicaid so there is only one dentist that I could go to and it's a horrible place. There isnt even private rooms. You can see whoever is next to you getting work done, and they can see you. They also treat you like complete shit and act grossed out by bad teeth. Its a sad situation. I have never been there. This is what I wS told by multiple people, my wife included.

[Chip]

Half of my teeth are gone. Only the front middle ones remain but you can't tell by looking at me talking or smiling.

The removed ones had formed infections on the bones supporting them so implants aren't an option.

I eat like a chipmunk and I still mourn their loss.

Put it down to neglect, genetics, Methadone and the big one, amphetamines. I never flossed and my teeth had many food traps.

I am now using "picksters" which are like hi-tek tooth picks and I brush frequently but it's too little, too late.

I deeply regret my actions but I can still eat everything but without molars so sometimes they hurt from overuse.

Do not end up like me, irrigate often with and drink fluoridated tap water.

Clean between the teeth and brush after food and frequently.