A
anonymous156
Junior member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2014
- Messages
- 2
(I apologize in advance for this being a long post. This is the first time I've ever talked publicly about any of this. I, unfortunately, have a lot to get out.)
Hi everyone, my name is Tyler. I'm 26 years old and from Tennessee. I joined this forum today in hopes that I can get on track to finally fix my teeth and get back the self-esteem I've lost over the last few years. Over the past few months I've done a lot of googling on different fears I've had about going to the dentist, and I always find myself reading links on this forum. I've finally decided to post my own story and hopefully begin a journal here. I've made the conscious decision to finally get my teeth fixed and I'm looking for any support and advice I can get. I hope in the process I can be yet another person on this forum that can give others the courage to get the help they need.
First of all, I have to admit that I never would have imagined myself in this position. I think that's what makes this the hardest for me. I'm a decent looking person, fairly smart, funny, and easy to get along with. Yet, the moment someone sees my teeth, I feel like it outweighs every positive trait about myself. Ten years ago, if I imagined someone with teeth like mine, I would have thought of an elderly person, a drug addict, or a crazy person. Not someone like me. I'm constantly afraid of people seeing my teeth. It's became second nature to talk without showing them. I rarely look people in the face when I talk. Despite how good I've gotten at hiding my problem, I'm in near constant fear that someone caught a glimpse of my teeth when my guard was down. I feel judged, and fear that they think I'm gross. It's had a negative impact on every social situation I've had
My damage is not as extensive as some people on here, but it's still pretty bad. First, none of of my wisdom teeth have been taken out. The top left one is completely sideways and never broke the gum line, but the other three are exposed. The bottom two came in sideways, and have rotted away down to the gum line about a year and a half ago. The top right wisdom tooth came in perfectly fine, but the back half of it has rotted and gives me pain on occasion.
The extreme decay from my wisdom teeth went on next to my molars. My back left molar is completely gone. It's down to the gum line, only the root of the tooth remains. Most of my pain nowadays comes from the back right of my mouth. The majority of my back right molar has also decayed away, as well as the next tooth in front of it. I also have a small bump deep below my gum line that I can only assume is an abscess. It's been there at least six months and hasn't changed in size. That covers most of the "big" damage. From there, nearly every tooth on the bottom has cavities of varying sizes on the gum line.
My top teeth are in slightly better condition, only a small chip on one tooth to the middle-left and a few more cavities at the gum line. However, at front and center, there is a cavity between my two front teeth that has been quickly widening. For the longest time I didn't worry TOO much about the problems in the back of my mouth because they weren't easily visible, but having a problem front and center has increased my anxiety about the issue tenfold.
One of the issues I'm most worried about though is I'm fairly certain I have periodontal disease. Of course I haven't been diagnosed by a dentist or a doctor with it, but from reading online I have the symptoms. Receding gums, lots of bleeding (when I wake up in the morning, I almost always spit out blood), and constant bad breath (I go through a pack of Stride a day just to hide it). I'm extremely worried this will complicate my time at the dentist.
The only thing that isn't too terrible is that my teeth aren't THAT discolored. They're a far stretch away from pearly white, but if someone catches a glimpse they're also not blinded by yellow. That's the one thing I'm thankful for. Also, my teeth are pretty straight. The bottom front it a little crooked (I was a thumb sucker) but outside of that my teeth are positioned well.
I wish I knew why I've taken such bad care of my teeth, but I simply don't know. After I got past the age where my mother would hound me about it, I just simply stopped brushing. It started off by just a super quick brush every morning, to maybe just a quick brush two or three times a week, to only doing it before important stuff (dates, job interviews, weddings), to simply not doing it ever. Just typing that out makes me upset with myself. For a good few years I didn't notice any problems, but once the problems started they poured in.
When I was about 21 my mom took me to the dentist (my last time before that was when I was 16), and they told me they had a lot of work to do. They told me they wanted to fix my teeth before they took the wisdom teeth out. In the course of three long sessions they fixed my top teeth pretty well (which explains why they're in better condition). Between those visits I still kept lousy care of my teeth. I just simply wasn't worried about it, I have no other way to explain it. When I came in for them to start working on my bottom teeth, I was still feeling a lot of pain even after three shots. The dentist said my gums were bleeding a lot as well and they told me to come back in a few weeks after regularly brushing and using the mouthwash they prescribed me. I never went back.
It's been over five years since then, and in that time I've kept just as bad care of my teeth. I've reversed a lot of the hard work they did on my top teeth, and my bottom teeth have only gotten that much worse. I know that it'll take quite a few visits (and a trip to the oral surgeon) to fully fix everything, but I'm finally ready. It's only been one day, but I know I'm going to change this now. I want my confidence back, I want to not be ashamed of smiling, and I want to be out of pain.
Please share any support or similar stories you have, but I'm also looking to answers to a few questions:
1) I'm signed up for the best medical and dental plans my work has to offer. It costs me about a hundred dollars a month. Our insurance is Blue Cross Blue Shield. It was explained to me that if I spend over a thousand dollars out of pocket on a procedure, my insurance will cover the rest. I'm not too familiar with these types of things, and it simply sounds too good to be true, so if anyone has any insight on just how exactly dental insurance works, I'd deeply appreciate it. I'm also very curious about how much this could end up costing me, so I'd be very grateful for even a rough estimate.
2) I've read a lot of wisdom tooth extraction, but I've had a hard time finding any information about getting wisdom teeth removed that are as far gone as mine. I know I'll have to go to an oral surgeon for this because they'll have to cut into my gums just to get to what remains. Does anyone have any information on this sort of situation? Will it be more complicated than a typical wisdom tooth extraction?
3) I'm not too terribly worried about pain, but after my last visit with the problems they were having with my bottom teeth, I'm a little on edge. The dentist told me there are more nerves in the lower teeth, or something like that. I've been researching "pain free" dentists, but I'd like to know exactly what that entails. In all honesty I'd prefer to just be completely put under while they do everything. Is that a viable option? Would insurance cover that?
4) I'm absolutely terrified they're going to suggest dentures. Despite the bad condition of my teeth, they're at least not completely falling out. I know it's a little late to care about something like this, but I really don't want to be in my 20's and wearing dentures. Does anyone know how extensive damage has to be before they suggest something as extreme as that?
5) Dietary changes? A big reason this has happened to me is because I eat nothing but junk. What foods and drinks should I go for? Stay away from? I want to fix all aspects of this problem, not just my teeth.
6) And finally, in the off chance that anyone who reads this is from the Memphis area, are there any dentists that you'd suggest? Any to stay away from? I want to line up my first appointment sometime in April, so I've got a lot of time to shop around. In the meantime I'm going to start getting myself in the right habits.
Thanks again for reading, and I look forward to giving you all more updates in the coming days!
Hi everyone, my name is Tyler. I'm 26 years old and from Tennessee. I joined this forum today in hopes that I can get on track to finally fix my teeth and get back the self-esteem I've lost over the last few years. Over the past few months I've done a lot of googling on different fears I've had about going to the dentist, and I always find myself reading links on this forum. I've finally decided to post my own story and hopefully begin a journal here. I've made the conscious decision to finally get my teeth fixed and I'm looking for any support and advice I can get. I hope in the process I can be yet another person on this forum that can give others the courage to get the help they need.
First of all, I have to admit that I never would have imagined myself in this position. I think that's what makes this the hardest for me. I'm a decent looking person, fairly smart, funny, and easy to get along with. Yet, the moment someone sees my teeth, I feel like it outweighs every positive trait about myself. Ten years ago, if I imagined someone with teeth like mine, I would have thought of an elderly person, a drug addict, or a crazy person. Not someone like me. I'm constantly afraid of people seeing my teeth. It's became second nature to talk without showing them. I rarely look people in the face when I talk. Despite how good I've gotten at hiding my problem, I'm in near constant fear that someone caught a glimpse of my teeth when my guard was down. I feel judged, and fear that they think I'm gross. It's had a negative impact on every social situation I've had
My damage is not as extensive as some people on here, but it's still pretty bad. First, none of of my wisdom teeth have been taken out. The top left one is completely sideways and never broke the gum line, but the other three are exposed. The bottom two came in sideways, and have rotted away down to the gum line about a year and a half ago. The top right wisdom tooth came in perfectly fine, but the back half of it has rotted and gives me pain on occasion.
The extreme decay from my wisdom teeth went on next to my molars. My back left molar is completely gone. It's down to the gum line, only the root of the tooth remains. Most of my pain nowadays comes from the back right of my mouth. The majority of my back right molar has also decayed away, as well as the next tooth in front of it. I also have a small bump deep below my gum line that I can only assume is an abscess. It's been there at least six months and hasn't changed in size. That covers most of the "big" damage. From there, nearly every tooth on the bottom has cavities of varying sizes on the gum line.
My top teeth are in slightly better condition, only a small chip on one tooth to the middle-left and a few more cavities at the gum line. However, at front and center, there is a cavity between my two front teeth that has been quickly widening. For the longest time I didn't worry TOO much about the problems in the back of my mouth because they weren't easily visible, but having a problem front and center has increased my anxiety about the issue tenfold.
One of the issues I'm most worried about though is I'm fairly certain I have periodontal disease. Of course I haven't been diagnosed by a dentist or a doctor with it, but from reading online I have the symptoms. Receding gums, lots of bleeding (when I wake up in the morning, I almost always spit out blood), and constant bad breath (I go through a pack of Stride a day just to hide it). I'm extremely worried this will complicate my time at the dentist.
The only thing that isn't too terrible is that my teeth aren't THAT discolored. They're a far stretch away from pearly white, but if someone catches a glimpse they're also not blinded by yellow. That's the one thing I'm thankful for. Also, my teeth are pretty straight. The bottom front it a little crooked (I was a thumb sucker) but outside of that my teeth are positioned well.
I wish I knew why I've taken such bad care of my teeth, but I simply don't know. After I got past the age where my mother would hound me about it, I just simply stopped brushing. It started off by just a super quick brush every morning, to maybe just a quick brush two or three times a week, to only doing it before important stuff (dates, job interviews, weddings), to simply not doing it ever. Just typing that out makes me upset with myself. For a good few years I didn't notice any problems, but once the problems started they poured in.
When I was about 21 my mom took me to the dentist (my last time before that was when I was 16), and they told me they had a lot of work to do. They told me they wanted to fix my teeth before they took the wisdom teeth out. In the course of three long sessions they fixed my top teeth pretty well (which explains why they're in better condition). Between those visits I still kept lousy care of my teeth. I just simply wasn't worried about it, I have no other way to explain it. When I came in for them to start working on my bottom teeth, I was still feeling a lot of pain even after three shots. The dentist said my gums were bleeding a lot as well and they told me to come back in a few weeks after regularly brushing and using the mouthwash they prescribed me. I never went back.
It's been over five years since then, and in that time I've kept just as bad care of my teeth. I've reversed a lot of the hard work they did on my top teeth, and my bottom teeth have only gotten that much worse. I know that it'll take quite a few visits (and a trip to the oral surgeon) to fully fix everything, but I'm finally ready. It's only been one day, but I know I'm going to change this now. I want my confidence back, I want to not be ashamed of smiling, and I want to be out of pain.
Please share any support or similar stories you have, but I'm also looking to answers to a few questions:
1) I'm signed up for the best medical and dental plans my work has to offer. It costs me about a hundred dollars a month. Our insurance is Blue Cross Blue Shield. It was explained to me that if I spend over a thousand dollars out of pocket on a procedure, my insurance will cover the rest. I'm not too familiar with these types of things, and it simply sounds too good to be true, so if anyone has any insight on just how exactly dental insurance works, I'd deeply appreciate it. I'm also very curious about how much this could end up costing me, so I'd be very grateful for even a rough estimate.
2) I've read a lot of wisdom tooth extraction, but I've had a hard time finding any information about getting wisdom teeth removed that are as far gone as mine. I know I'll have to go to an oral surgeon for this because they'll have to cut into my gums just to get to what remains. Does anyone have any information on this sort of situation? Will it be more complicated than a typical wisdom tooth extraction?
3) I'm not too terribly worried about pain, but after my last visit with the problems they were having with my bottom teeth, I'm a little on edge. The dentist told me there are more nerves in the lower teeth, or something like that. I've been researching "pain free" dentists, but I'd like to know exactly what that entails. In all honesty I'd prefer to just be completely put under while they do everything. Is that a viable option? Would insurance cover that?
4) I'm absolutely terrified they're going to suggest dentures. Despite the bad condition of my teeth, they're at least not completely falling out. I know it's a little late to care about something like this, but I really don't want to be in my 20's and wearing dentures. Does anyone know how extensive damage has to be before they suggest something as extreme as that?
5) Dietary changes? A big reason this has happened to me is because I eat nothing but junk. What foods and drinks should I go for? Stay away from? I want to fix all aspects of this problem, not just my teeth.
6) And finally, in the off chance that anyone who reads this is from the Memphis area, are there any dentists that you'd suggest? Any to stay away from? I want to line up my first appointment sometime in April, so I've got a lot of time to shop around. In the meantime I'm going to start getting myself in the right habits.
Thanks again for reading, and I look forward to giving you all more updates in the coming days!