• Dental Phobia Support

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How many hours a day do you spend thinking about your teeth

only the hours that I'm awake LOL so about 18 hours a day
 
Only the hours you are awake, you are lucky mine used to give me nightmares :o:o:o :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: :butterfly:

only a matter of time for me. There's been many nights lately where I don't even want to go to bed and when I do, I don't want to close my eyes.

I am currently standing at.... geep!.... a week till the point I should be going in for the 6 month thing. Despite the fact that I know i'm not going to do it, I am being haunted by the memories and regrets I have for this journey.
 
Far too many hours I worry how my teeth look, with fillings (thankfully nobody can see the root canal I had done) how my teeth look embarrassed completely. what other people think.

I get myself worked up before appointments because I am scared of being told off about my teeth and I am embarrassed.

I worried my teeth will fall out, even though I go to the dentist regularly, I don't want dentures (my Dad parents never took him to the dentist and ended up with false teeth at 40? He always has said he wish that his parents took him to the dentist, but with some pushing has gone back to make sure there are no problems with his mouth
I would like to replace the silver fillings where possible with white fillings or crowns (maybe a bit more work doing on them)

Gum disease I go for checkups so as well as the care I can do at home.

Whilst on the subject of teeth, I worry about my health a lot.
 
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I can sympathise with you all. I have very few teeth bottom left back jaw, although having most of my other teeth. Just had my premolar on that same side as well extracted due to a vertical fracture that could not have been saved. I have become obsessed with my teeth. From not really thinking about them, I have become acutely worried about losing anymore teeth. I obsess, am always brushing, flossing and using mouthwash. I look at other people's teeth to see if they too have missing teeth. I endlessly search the Internet. I have only been like this for the past month when my tooth started to be painful. My Dr prescribed Xanax for my constant anxiety but whilst I took a couple for the dental appointments, I do not wish to take them and become hooked.

does this constant anxiety and obsession diminish over time?
 
i don't think about at all unless there is pain. i guess thats why im going through major construction on my teeth. now that im getting dentures, i won't be thinking about my teeth agian;D
 
I sometimes dream about my teeth as well, scared of them falling out, no matter how much dentist tells me she has seen worst I still think mine are the worst she has seen.

I think about my teeth inbetween appointments a lot, but much worst 2 weeks before an appointment.

sometimes I practice not show to much teeth because how my teeth look (but possibly seen a lot of people with worst teeth than me)

I can't stop looking in the mirror, because I want to make sure my teeth look nice and clean (plus I get scared if people can see the work I have done, to keep my teeth)
 
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Too much if I'm home by myself. While being busy at work helps, weekends suck. I've calmed down and have a shorter routine than before, but I was spending over an hour a day cleaning my teeth once I went back to the dentist. Now I feel guilty I'm only spending like 10 minutes on my teeth a day. :(
 
Mainly it a few weeks before each appointment
 
When I found out I haven't been in a while, it was a lot probably when i wasn't busy doing stuff
Lately it was bad thinking probably about every couple of minutes. I have some supplements for anxiety and that did help a lot. When its over I usually don't think about it much because I'm sore lol
 
Hi all.

I think about my teeth and gums almost constantly. I think about it during the day and I think about it during the night in the form of nightmares.

About the only thing that will distract me temporarily is when I'm really busy at work. When we have a slow or down time at work, my mind goes right back to worrying.

JJ
 
I get worse everytime I am due to go to the dentist (a couple of weeks before I go spend hours worrying and thinking) Even though I am use of going to the dentist, I still have the fear and dread of seeing the dentist.
Even though I been told that the dentist have seen worst millions of times before.

It is also guilt about my teeth, with how my teeth look. I know I had work done on my teeth and have probably seen worst teeth than mine who got teeth missing, broken teeth. I am carefully of talking about teeth round a few people as i don't want to embarrassed them.

I dread going to the dentist and due to go again this month for my checkup, so been recently panicing about my teeth and thinking and checking them a lot (but not brushing them more than the recommend amount per day)

Now it is most of the days, worrying about pains, twinges i get, I do every three months but sometimes how she does the scale and polish she does it too hard sometimes. Will asked for tropical stuff next time.

I been going to the dentist for years, have never walked out half way through an appointment, came close once or twice.

Have I been close to pulling out a tooth, or my teeth, once or twice when I had abcesss problems and it took me two days to book an appoinment because I was scared, even ihough I go every three months


This includes my gums and any treatment I had in the past, and whether I need them replacing in the future

I think my teeth sucks and my gums as well.

I am trying my hardest to keep them clean

Far too much I think my problem is I panic a lot, and think my teeth should be perfect without any problems at my age.

I go every three months for checkups, but everytime I near an appointment I worry more. I am due at the dentist this week, was due to go last week but this was rearranged earlier month but could not attend as I was on holiday.

I mainly get scared of being told off, embarassment that my teeth are rubbish worst she has seen etc
 
I suffer from panic attacks and anxiety and very mild ocd. So i pretty much stress, overthink, and panic about pretty much everything. It sucks!
 
I second what MissMercy says. :(

It also doesn't help any when you have to wait a while for your dental appointment when you KNOW you have things you need to take care of and are worried the issues may worsen. :cry:
 
When I have an upcoming appointment I worry about it non-stop!! It's god awful sometimes as it consumes my life. I usually start worrying about a week before the appointment and it continues until the appointment is over. Most other people who don't have dental fear don't understand the cycle we face in our minds.
 
Like almost all of you, i usually think about my teeth when they hurt. When they don't i avoid thinking because i know i did wrong with many many things about them so if a think about it i feel very bad.
Trying to get past this and taking things seriously.
But, we'll see how much it will last.
 
If I don't need any work done, I actually don't really think about my teeth unless I go to grab a food or drink that can have a bad effect on my enamel or teeth (chewy candies, carbonated drinks, sweets, etc) and then I will typically stop and think if I will regret eating/drinking that. This is why I don't typically drink carbonated drinks anymore. Maybe very rarely like once or twice a year I will, but that's about it (and I'll use a straw). Right now, I have a lot of dental issues that are completely out of my control and something I could not have prevented so I think about them a lot especially since I have an appointment tomorrow for a cavity filling and an appointment on Wednesday with a periodontist to look at bone loss in my roots. Recently, I've been completely focused on how I will control my anxiety at the dentist, not necessarily my teeth.
 
It more than a month to my next appointment, I am already panicing, you would think after 33 years of see a dentist you think I would know the score and routine by now. I panic how my teeth look. I am very envious of people who don't have any problems with their teeth and got an easier mouth to keep clean and who have now straight white teeth

Getting worst with thinking, just the thought of the polish, scraper, apperance of my teeth now it sucks, no wonder I dont like smiling, even in photos, I dont mean to ruin photos but with 33 years of experince seeing a dentist, you think i will be cure of worrying, it is age thing, and i think i should have nice teeth at my age.

Nerves are already kicking in for my next appointment. I do try my hardest to keep my teeth clean, and brush and do all I can. These three months appointments can keep my teeth nice. I will need to tell my dentist other things I am scared off.
 
Used to commit my life to it, literally time off work to sit and feel miserable and obsess that I was going to lose all my teeth.

Since counselling and new meds things are starting to look up though, am still obsessive but nowhere near as bad.

Pain can deffo make the obsessions difficult though.
 
Every waking moment for me, from the second I wake up to the moment I fall asleep.
 
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