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You're telling people that if they have a problem with their teeth, to just ignore the problem and it'll go away.  
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It could literally kill them.
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..or you get a tooth infection, develop meningitis and die. I guess the problem still technicaly goes away. >

My partners son is going for surgery this Friday to have the rotten teeth, and part of his jaw removed. It took being an adult and the kid moving home for my partner to find out all the money they paid the ex for dental over the years was never actually used for dental. >

Remove part of his jaw??? This sounds like a bigger problem than skipping cleanings as a kid.. he into drugs by chance..? >

Not into drugs, just has teeth so rotten he's losing them all. The infection was terrible when he finally saw a dentist. He's been on medication for a while now. But the damage is done. I taught him how to brush and floss properly. Living with his other parent was a pretty toxic situation. They did not even cook for the kids (2 out of 3 are no contact with them and now live with my partner), teach basic hygiene, or really any life skills. My partner worked a lot for their childhood, providing for themselves as well as the ex and kids... two households, one income. I am teaching them things like cooking, laundry, sweeping, hygiene, and other things that just seem so basic. My children all do these things on their own, and they are much younger. 
My partner now works normal hours and is very involved with their children. These kids were alienated against my partner, and now they know the truth as adults. It's really heartbreaking. I am trying to help where I can while also letting them figure out their relationship on their own. 
But his poor teeth... my goodness. It's so sad, he's so young to need all this. The other night, he was having trouble, so he came to me for help. I did what I could. He went on about how he's terrified about the surgery. I had already promised to be there and help. He got really quiet, then said to me something about him never really having a motherly figure in his life, and how much he loves me for being their for the family. He went on about how he's scared, but knowing I'll be there is a huge relief. I held back tears for this poor kid. I was speechless (as you can tell from this reply, that's quite the feat). 
So much for being the stereotypical evil stepmother that I always admired in Disney movies. Jokes aside, I can't wait to see him eating without difficulty,  or smiling, or just living without that constant pain. >

If you don't mind, may I ask if you have the capacity to provide any psychological therapy as well? 
I've been through something similar (including osteonecrosis) and when the physical pain is relieved the brain can focus on the significant time spent in that place in bad ways. 
Another issue to consider is the large amount of antibiotics will likely cause problems with gut bacteria, and would be worth following up with the team to hopefully at least be pointed in a sound direction. 
I wish them (and you) all the best. >

They have all kinds of doctors, but I'm not sure if therapy is in the cards. I myself am more of an emotional support friend/ adult figure. I really didn't realize how entwined I am in their lives until recently. I have been helping find doctors and specialists willing to work with them type thing. I'm new to this dating with families thing, so I'm still learning to navigate it all, including my involvement. >

I hear you. Please consider/pass along the suggestion if possible. Having been through it, I have an idea as to what could be on the horizon. 
If after the surgery (probably extractions, bone grafting, debridement, temp dentures) you would like to investigate implants for (snap in, etc) furniture for them, I can point you to a maxillo facial surgeon that saved my life in Mexico (Cancun) to assist in keeping costs down. Send me a pm if so. 👊 >

That's awesome, thank you, I appreciate it. They have the financial end taken care of now. I was able to find a doctor and some government financial assistance to help with what they couldn't cover.  It's been a few months in the works. >

You never had a toothache 
That’s a fresh hell that you wish you could ignore >

And generally its because you ignored a small issue of a $300 cavity, now you have a $1500 root canal and crown 2 years later.  Good job ya idiot! (me I've done this) >

Or just get the whole tooth pulled 
That’d be a bit cheaper >

Longterm you will want to keep as many natural teeth as possible.  Its always preferable to an implant for less complications in life and one of the few things I'd always recommend going into debt for.
If you are struggling financially look for a dental school, they have amazing rates.  Or just bite the bullet get a personal loan from local credit union or even (worst case) put it on a credit card and deal with the bill later.  ... you will thank yourself for decades to come, keeping your teeth is a quality of life issue.
*Also implants work best right after a tooth is pulled, so its not something you want to put off another few years.  just get a root canal and crown whenever you have the option. >

Sounds like something a dentist would say >

Nope.  Someone that was poverty level and then went to the dentist after 7 years.  I lived the math haha; 2 implants and a crown are a lot more expensive than 3 cavities would have been 7 years ago. >

Now that you said it all problems have decided to go away if you ignore them - if you ignore your disease, it will go away along with your life; if you ignore your unhappy wife, she will go away with anther fella; if you ignore your rusty car, it will go away (break down). On the other hand the teeth just don't go away, it will give you hell lotta pain. >

On the way out. But they will go away eventually! >

You ahould never ignore dental problems. You can literally die from several common complications >

technically, if you wait long enough every problem will cease to exist >

You can ignore problems in your marriage too! However half your stuff disappears… >

Teeth are literally the only part of the body without any self-healing abilities. 
An ignored tooth problem will always get worse. Always. >

“Luxury Bones” a friend once called them. Regular health insurance that most people have doesn’t cover dental. ((we are aware they are not bones, but this term has a nice ring to it)) >

Teeth: your skeleton’s way of saying Hello! 
(credit to Invisible Bread) >

Ehhh not a good plan. My mom neglected her teeth as she couldn't afford it, and an infection skipped the whole mouth abscess part of the process and traveled up to her brain through her sinus cavity. 
The infection formed an abscess in her brain instead of her mouth, which caused a stroke.
Probably don't ignore your teeth if you can afford it. >

A broken wisdom tooth was pretty hard to ignore. Got it pulled out monday >

I wouldn't say teeth are exclusive to this. Kids, pets, bills, health, and lots of other things can go away in some form if you neglect them. >

This made me burst out laughing. It's technically true...but you'll likely die of infection first. >

Don't forget babies >

Teeth are one of many problems that if you ignore them, they will get so much worse until they are unsalvageable.
See also: most things. >

If you ignore your house being on fire, eventually it'll stop being on fire. >

Gum disease releases plaque into your blood stream and can cause heart attacks... Infected teeth are no joke. >

Or cause an infection that poisons your blood, or goes right to your brain. >

Until you develop an abscess, then you absolutely will know there's a problem. >

No, you still have a tooth problem when you have no teeth. By your logic, frostbite would also go away if ignored. >

Actually ignoring any problem with the body will result in that thing going away. Teeth aren't special in that regard. >

Death has that effect: It ends the pains of problems of living >

Do you mean the problem will go away or the tooth will go away? Because the problem going away means bigger problems are coming. >

"On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero." >

Not quite. The impacted upper wisdom teeth,  supposedly removed by surgery,  I swear they grew back, or they lied and never took em out. Headache was gone only while on pain meds. Had waited six years of pain to get surgery.  Pft. Did they damage nerves? Did they miss some pieces? Am I rare person that gets two set of uppers and no lowers? Who fkn knows 😅🙃 >

I think a significant other would be another problem that will go away if you ignore them..... >

As somebody who just had to remove some teeth and deal with a master infection, sadly could not ignore it. Probably the most excruciating pain I have ever dealt with. >

The only problem that doesn’t go away if you ignore it is the heat death of the universe. Otherwise, ALL problems go away. >

If you got a wisdom tooth growing at an odd angle, it will not go away. >

Not only can you die from it but it can fuck you up so bad mentally, I lost 1 front tooth crown (never had great teeth) and I had a complete mental breakdown, that was 3 years ago and I still take mental health medications which I found out if I stop taking I go back to feeling really fucked up.    
I feel like dental should be treated like a god damn necessity, if you lose a tooth or just have fucked teeth you should be able to get them fixed permanently for really cheap, an implant that cost like $70 to make shouldn't cost me $3000 >

Well, that's one way to look at it...but we wouldn't recommend it! Taking care of your teeth is important for your overall health and wellbeing. So make sure to brush twice a day and see your dentist regularly! >

They just don't go away, like many problems you either fix it or have it removed and if you do nothing the problem will continue to grow and fester until it multiplies, possibly killing you.
Edit: Also there is NO way anyone could ignore one bad tooth let alone a mouthful. >

Your teeth can kill you in very many ways that would surprise you. Ranging from cardiovascular to brain related diseases. You see that ebbing toothache you have/had that inspired this post? You should probably get it looked at buddy. >

This post skirts around rule 6, and isn't even true.  A tooth abscess can be life threatening. >

Not really. How is my post a "life pro tip"? I'm not telling anyone to do anything. It's literally just a shower thought, you're not supposed to take it so seriously.