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Going to get this sorted!

H

heebeejeebee

Junior member
Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Messages
3
I guess I will try to record here how I go in my journey of trying to heal my periodontitis.

I have been procrastinating about going to the dentist and getting a large overgrowth of tartar cleaned off my four lower front teeth to the point where the gums have now receded and the roots are well and truly fully exposed. (procrastinating more through a feeling of shame than anything fear - how foolish!)

No doubt there is significant bone loss and the teeth will be lost. At the same time I have quite a bit of gum regression around all of my other teeth. I have no bleeding of gums or bad breath although I have had this in the past - but since I began rinsing my mouth with salt and water, bicarbonate soda and/or hydrogen peroxide, this has stopped. My gums mostly appear a nice pink colour so I am hopeful that the disease may have been arrested somewhat.

I have made an appointment for tomorrow with a a local dentist and so of course, like so many here, I have spent the last week on Google and Youtube. While this has been terrifying at times, it has also been informative and helped me to face up to what is ahead.
Also it lead me here and I am grateful for that :)

I have decided to ask the dentist to refer me to a periodontist and I have researched and selected a few that appear to be OK. My hope is that tomorrow I can get my teeth cleaned of the tartar (and they don't fall out in the process!), X-rays taken and then take them with me to the periodontist.

Each periodontist clinic on my list is a little different from the other and offers slightly different services. I should be able to find out and compare different treatment plans and costs. One clinic does not offer gum tissue regeneration, one does, and the third one is the only surgery in my city that offers LANAP. Does this seem like a decent plan?

I am in Australia by the way and no doubt the costs are going to be astronomical even though I am in a health fund.

Sleepless night ahead for me but I really just want to start this process so I don't have the discomfort and the anxiety anymore.
 
Just 2 and a half hours to go. I surprisingly slept OK last night - I think I am just exhausted from the lead up. Couldn't help myself from more internet searching!

Have discovered that LANAP doesn't help regenerate horizontal bone loss in the jaw - and this is the most common bone loss from gum disease. Not sure if I would bother with the LANAP people now and will probably just focus on the mainstream periodontists.

I am feeling very low though and am beginning to prepare myself for the probability of full mouth extraction.:cry:

I have even resorted to Googling lists of famous people with dentures!!

In the long run though, even if I have to have full dentures, it isn't the end of the world and will be a positive step for my overall health. Living with a disease is not fun.
 
Just back from the dentist :)
I managed to time my arrival so I just had time to fill out the new patient form before I was called in to the surgery - that kept the nerves at bay a little!

My dentist talked to me at first and I explained what was happening with my gums and my fears about losing the front lower teeth if the tartar was cleaned off - she didn't think that was likely!

She took X-rays and then immediately showed them to me on the monitor. Seems as if the only major bone loss is the front four teeth and no surprises that they will likely be lost.:cry:

After that she charted my teeth - no filings needed and pockets measured at 2's and 3's (i didn't question her on that but I was truly expecting higher numbers)

The appointment was only for 45 minutes and she only had time toclean the bottom teeth. I have go back to have my upper teeth cleaned. After that she will refer me on to a local periodontist - she says he lectures at the university and I can choose not to go with him if I wish.

I couldn't get another appointment with her until early January so I can now relax a bit and enjoy Christmas - no more searching the internet!!
 
Thanks for sharing your story with us, how is everything now? How was Christmas? I am in the middle of treatment and found I had to really put worrying thoughts out of my head over Christmas.
 
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