My journey from the beginning right up to now and beyond

From a very young age I had dental problems. From birth I was born with a root from a tooth protruding through my upper game right in between the two middle teeth. To add to this my teeth ended up in a pretty bad way from very strong medication I had to take due to stomach acid issues in childhood and this led to having them all pulled under gas at around the age of 7.

After this and once my teeth had grown back I didn't have a dental issue till around the age of 14 when I suffered from very bad depression and anxiety which I kept hidden from everyone till I was about 20 along with the slow degeneration of my teeth and the pain which somehow although unbearable I dealt with

Around age 25 my depression and anxiety reached a level in which I was prescribed very strong meds to help me with dealing with said difficulties. Now at this point my teeth were at a point I physically hates them and woke up daily with bits of fragmented tooth in my mouth along with pain so indescribable. It was at this point I was a hermit and never left the house and the thought of doing so just terrified me. This went on for 4 years and at age 29 I found a wonderful book by the name of the chimp paradox which gave me light and the tools to aid me in changing my life and overcome the anxiety depression and social anxiety to were I can now do everything most people do social wise etc but there was always one thing I was conscious about and that was the mess in my mouth

At this point now I'd describe my mouth as a war zone with very little teeth left but more roots and old fragments of were teeth should be but are now only partial remains. About a month ago I plucked up the courage to pick up that phone and make a dentist appointment. I'd be lying if I said that on the day of the initial appointment I wasn't terrified because I was. As soon as I met the dentist and sat in the dreaded chair explaining my anxieties etc I settled down quickly as the dentist himself was understanding and really took notice of everything.

So here I am now with all my upper teeth to be removed as well as my bottom set apart from 4 at the front which will be filled and all being replaced by dentures and to be frankly honest whilst nervous I cannot wait to get started on that road to being able to smile again with great confidence

Next Wednesday morning I go for my denture moulds appointment and the Thursday after is extraction date in which my dentist will extract all my upper right teeth and then at the next appointment all the upper left plus middle and so on. I know on the day I'll be nervous naturally but inside I know from being able to overcome all the emotional pain and toothache etc I've fought over the years then I can sure as hell beat this and the long-term goal of my perfect smile and confidence is within reach =)

I'll use this journal to update you all along the way and hopefully someone might find inspiration to start on there journey to conquering there fears because believe me if I can then you can as well

Just an update. Having phoned my dentist it seems I've got confused and am in fact having 21 extractions with 80% of them being roots which sounds right to me having counted my teeth over and over again lol

All starts Wednesday when I go for my moulds. A few fillings and at the same time the extraction process begins all in a 30 minute appointment

Bring it on! =D

So I'm 2 days away from the start of achieving my new smile and on Wednesday I'll be having my denture molds taken, fillings in my front bottom teeth and the start of the 21 extractions.

I'd be lying to both myself and you if I said the anxiety was not here but unsurprisingly it is. I know I can and I will beat this anxiety and go through with this as it's something that is now at the point of no return and needs sorting.

Thank you for your post Dave, I will be thinking of you and will be waiting to hear how everything goes. Your journey inspires and gives me hope that I too will have the courage to find a dentist. As somebody who also has Social Anxiety, I will look for the book you recommended. My mouth embarasses me greatly and I worry about finding a dentist who will be caring and understanding. Good luck Dave.

The time is currently 7:55am and today is the day of my dental molds, fillings and start of extracting 21 dead teeth.

Surprisingly I'm not as anxious as I thought I would be and it's more a feeling of wanting to get things started and being further down that road to being able to smile again with great confidence

My appointment is at 10:15am so I'll update you all later today with how it went