tez

I've been mostly lucky in the dental department. I have somewhat recently had cavities due to a severe depression that put me in a stupor when it came to the little things like brushing my teeth for more than 5 seconds a day. After that situation, even a mental breakdown won't keep me from brushing my teeth 3 times daily as much as I can! I happen to like my hygiene. hehe
I hope it doesn't end up being a root canal for ya. That would suck. I've got my fingers crossed you've still got your luck!

@Steph13: Yes, my dentist recommends salt water gargle to toughen up the gums

@Tez: If you need to get your bottom wisdom teeth out, then make sure they X-ray you carefully. There is a jaw nerve that might happen to run relatively close to the roots of the wisdom teeth, and if that nerve gets damaged you could end up with your face partially paralized. Not that it happens "a lot", but it is a sufficient danger that for adults here they send you to a specialist, because a general dentist is considered not to have the experience to trace and avoid the nerve accurately enough.

I had my Informed Consent session several years ago, and they took the images, and I turn out to be one of the lucky ones whose nerve is far away from the roots. But still, the operation requires you be put right under, so I wimped out. And they would need to put me under, as apparently I have a small mouth.

@Cala: every 4 years or so, the gaps between my wisdom teeth and my other teeth get infected. Painful until I get antibiotics. But I handle dental pain of that sort a lot better than most people do -- e.g., I survived the complete process of having a root eaten out by bacteria and the root channel that followed a few weeks later... all on a total of half on a normal-strength asprin tablet.

@stranger_girl: my top wisdom teeth were taken out as a teen to make room for some orthodontic work I was having done. My bottom wisdom teeth are intact, but they are completely impacted -- literally growing at 90 degrees relative to what they should be, so their crown is against the surface of the adjacent teeth. They don't come out any further because they don't have any place to go.