19 years old and depressed about my teeth

[Shewhodraws]

My parents never really bothered teaching me about dental health, and for 14 years I didn’t really brush or take care of my teeth.

I ended up having a root canal at 14 and a crown fitted, the crown was causing issues and they had to extract it and place an implant three days ago.

I need 4 fillings for cavities in my molars and I’m so depressed about this. My parents have had full implants in their 50s and I don’t want to end up the same. I take really good care of my teeth now but it all seems hopeless.

I became really guilty about eating anything more than what I absolutely need, I’m sleeping all the time and don’t want to look myself in the mirror. I’m so upset and disappointed in myself even though I know it’s not 100% my fault. How can I overcome this?

 

[Enarete]

Hi Shewhodraws

first of all: well done on starting to look after your teeth and sorting your situation! it seems to me that you have the option to either see this as a start to dental health and evidence that you won’t end up like your parents, because you take care of your teeth and see a dentist regularly now, or that you can dwell on the past and beat yourself up for things that are not your fault.
It is not unusual for people to feel a sense of grief and regret over the damage that cannot be taken back and those feelings need their space too. They should pass over time as you will keep on seeing a dentist regularly and make the experience of needing no further work.

Your parents having implants in their 50s doesn’t mean you will have the same destiny. Dentistry at the time when your parents were young wasn’t anywhere near where it is now and many people didn’t know how to take care of their teeth properly.

Right now you need just 4 fillings... that sounds like all other teeth are healthy. I definitely had more than 4 fillings at the age of 19 and guess what? That was it. No further work needed anymore and everything is stable now.

When it comes to eating, tooth decay is not about amounts of food but about what and how often you eat it. The article here may give you some insight into what tooth decay really is about and how to prevent it from happening.

All the best wishes and again, well done on getting on track with dental care

 

[Shewhodraws]

Hi Shewhodraws

first of all: well done on starting to look after your teeth and sorting your situation! it seems to me that you have the option to either see this as a start to dental health and evidence that you won’t end up like your parents, because you take care of your teeth and see a dentist regularly now, or that you can dwell on the past and beat yourself up for things that are not your fault.
It is not unusual for people to feel a sense of grief and regret over the damage that cannot be taken back and those feelings need their space too. They should pass over time as you will keep on seeing a dentist regularly and make the experience of needing no further work.

Your parents having implants in their 50s doesn’t mean you will have the same destiny. Dentistry at the time when your parents were young wasn’t anywhere near where it is now and many people didn’t know how to take care of their teeth properly.

Right now you need just 4 fillings... that sounds like all other teeth are healthy. I definitely had more than 4 fillings at the age of 19 and guess what? That was it. No further work needed anymore and everything is stable now.

When it comes to eating, tooth decay is not about amounts of food but about what and how often you eat it. The article here may give you some insight into what tooth decay really is about and how to prevent it from happening.

All the best wishes and again, well done on getting on track with dental care

thank you so much for you reply and support ? sometimes I can get a bit too much into my head and not see the good side of things. Here’s to hoping I won’t need anything more dramatic than fillings

 

[kellyrosie88]

My parents never really bothered teaching me about dental health, and for 14 years I didn’t really brush or take care of my teeth.

I ended up having a root canal at 14 and a crown fitted, the crown was causing issues and they had to extract it and place an implant three days ago.

I need 4 fillings for cavities in my molars and I’m so depressed about this. My parents have had full implants in their 50s and I don’t want to end up the same. I take really good care of my teeth now but it all seems hopeless.

I became really guilty about eating anything more than what I absolutely need, I’m sleeping all the time and don’t want to look myself in the mirror. I’m so upset and disappointed in myself even though I know it’s not 100% my fault. How can I overcome this?

Hello i hope you don't mind me asking but i am in the same situation as you and need an implant how was the procedure? im petrified on the dentist so im really scared

 

[Shewhodraws]

Hello i hope you don't mind me asking but i am in the same situation as you and need an implant how was the procedure? im petrified on the dentist so im really scared

Hi! The procedure went perfectly, it was totally painless during the operation (local anesthetic) and my dentist gave me some voltaren shots to manage the pain in the following week and pain was pretty much unnoticeable. I was given some strong antibiotics to hinder infection. My gums swelled up near the implant but recovered completely in two weeks. The tooth is in the back of my mouth so appearance wasn’t a problem, and I get fitted for my crown in May and have been having follow ups every once and a while ( also had to do fillings in the opposite side of my mouth).
Once I made my peace with this I felt very fortunate to be able to afford such a procedure. I hope it goes well for you! It’s nothing to be scared of.

Just be sure to distract yourself before and after, don’t fret over it! The disappearance of a tooth is a bit unsettling (hence my post) and might trigger some negative feelings, hang in there I PROMISE it is worth it.

 

[kellyrosie88]

Hi! The procedure went perfectly, it was totally painless during the operation (local anesthetic) and my dentist gave me some voltaren shots to manage the pain in the following week and pain was pretty much unnoticeable. I was given some strong antibiotics to hinder infection. My gums swelled up near the implant but recovered completely in two weeks. The tooth is in the back of my mouth so appearance wasn’t a problem, and I get fitted for my crown in May and have been having follow ups every once and a while ( also had to do fillings in the opposite side of my mouth).
Once I made my peace with this I felt very fortunate to be able to afford such a procedure. I hope it goes well for you! It’s nothing to be scared of.

thank you so much! yes mines the first molar on the left and a root canal failed so need to have the molar extracted and dental implant on top, im in the UK so i think i'll just get local anaesthetic injections but hopefully this will be ok x

 

[Ash1991]

Hey. Well done for going to the dentist to start with. I went last week for the first time in years and I'm absolutely petrified of the dentist. I've already got two teeth missing on the lower left at the back and need another 2 removing on upper right, possibly one on the lower right. I'm worried about not being able to eat my favourite food. I cant bare the thought of having implants as drilling in to bone is so hard for me to get my head around (im an engineer and drill in to metal every day haha). My first two appointments are with hygienist and I'm hoping these go well as the next appointment after is for a small filling. I need various other fillings but my dentist is trying to "break me in" slowly with treatment. Ive gone on for years now with tooth pain and trying to baby them, I've decided enough is enough and really want to get them sorted this year. I'm only 29 but by the looks of it, my front teeth are fine, albeit a bit of staining, just my back teeth are in a poor state.