*not a senior but I come in peace *

I am so sorry. I think you're right. I am almost 35 and have never really had bright white teeth or pink gums. It does make me feel better when I see dentists who don't have perfectly aligned & level 10 zoom whitened teeth, though.

I had to have a front (!) tooth extracted last week. I was ashamed to face this because with all of today's advancements it is almost unheard of for someone even in their 30s to have teeth pulled. I know people my own age who still have had no cavities. This tooth had been crowned, but due to my lack of personal care bacteria got underneath the margin and created one massive infection over time. I woke up 2 weeks ago with excruciating pain, no warnings beforehand that something was up. They did an X-Ray the same day and told me that the infection had gone all the way into the nerve and possibly past the root so a root canal would've been useless. I was out on antibiotics in the meantime and last Tuesday it was yanked. I have a temporary bridge over it.