13 years without a dental check up

[DaFeen]

And I am completely terrified/anxious....
My time without checkups stems from a a combination of a lack of insurance from work and a horrible experience in my last visit.
I've got one top molar that is mostly destroyed it cracked years ago but I was too scared and poor to get anything done to fix it. I am already assuming that is going to have to be extracted.
Just the other day I chipped a bottom molar, the worst part about that one is I finally worked up the courage and have my first appointment on Thursday.
I am scared and embarrassed by the amount of work that will most likely need to be done, especially since my last visit was a such a trying and painful experience.
I have to fight the urge not to cancel the visit almost everyday....

What sort of bad news should I be expecting?

 

[Hayley]

I didn't go for 11 years and had a hole in a tooth for most of that time. I'm terrified so didn't get it fixed. Eventually, the tooth broke and I was forced to go to the dentist. I was sure that the tooth would need to be extracted since it had been holey () for about 10 of the 11 years. I was also sure that I would need others extracting and root canal work done because I listened to other people's stories.

When I went, I explained to the dentist that I hadn't been for 11 years. In fact, I was so embarrassed that I found myself apologising to him for the wreck he was going to be faced with when I opened my mouth. He was very understanding , he laughed it off and said that it was very common for people not to go to the dentist for years and that I was not to worry about what was past, I was in the chair now and all would be sorted out.

I was surprised to learn that I did not need the broken tooth removing, and it was filled successfully. I also didn't need anything else doing except 2 further fillings and a trip to the hygienist for a clean to get rid of the tartar that had built up and to stop the bone from being affected. Again, successfully treated. It felt weird afterwards, like my teeth were going to fall out because there were gaps where the tartar had been and they felt quite large (the gaps, not my teeth). I was convinced I could feel them wobbling but it was all in my imagination. It didn't take long for the gaps to close up, and now my teeth are ok.

That was about 5 years ago, and since then I have had 2 further fillings and I need 2 impacted wisdom teeth removing but that is all. I consider myself fortunate that there was nothing more that needed doing.

I keep up with my check ups now, and I would recommend going for the regular check ups to keep on top of it and to make sure you are taking good care of your teeth. But it doesn't have to be a horror story just because you didn't go for a long time. If your oral hygiene is good, then you probably won't need as much work as you think.

Good luck with that appointment, and make sure you tell your dentist that you are phobic. They will understand, I'm sure.

H

 

[DaFeen]

Well...
I got back from the checkup, it wasn't as horrible as I had feared. But it wasn't all that great either....
I will need two extractions, one on the tooth that was mangled horribly causing my all my fears about going back to the dentist and one on the molar that recently broke to force me to man up and make an appointment....
Thankfully my dentist was super nice and understanding of my situation and fears. We split up the process into multiple visits so I won't get overwhelmed. Today we just did a really good deep cleaning to remove all the years worth of gunk that had built up on my teeth. She was surprised my teeth and gums were in as good as shape as they were considering how long I had gone without a visit and because bad gums/teeth runs in the family...
My next appointment she will do the fillings on my cavities, and then on to the extractions... which still has me concerned but not as much since meeting my dentist....

 

[queenie]

Well done you for going. That first appointment is always the worst part.

I was over 30 years without a visit(my childhood dentist was a butcher).