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30 years old- very first dentist visit-long story

E

EJ

Junior member
Joined
May 22, 2017
Messages
1
Hey guys I wanted to share my story in case it helps someone else. I’m 30 years old and up until a few weeks ago I had never been to the dentist. For reasons I’d rather not get into my parents never took me growing up. I can remember being a kid and pretending that I knew what my friends were talking about when they complained about various dental procedures.

By the time I was an adult and responsible for my own dental care I was absolutely terrified to go. For me it wasn’t really a fear of the procedures or what pain they might cause. I couldn’t imagine it could hurt worse than the toothaches I experienced on a regular basis. I was afraid of the judgement I thought I would face over the state of my teeth.

I grind my teeth so they’re short and uneven. I had countless cavities. Several of my teeth were broken down to the gum line or had gaping holes in them. Three of my wisdom teeth had come in. One came in broken, one broke the tooth next to it, and one was sideways. I felt constant pain and pressure because my mouth was so overcrowded. I used to have a small gap between my two front teeth but now they overlap slightly which led to a visible cavity in my front tooth. I always smiled with my mouth closed and was really self conscious about my teeth and my breath.

I came to this forum countless times over the years and while I was encouraged by the stories I read and even made several dentist appointments, I could never get myself through the door.

I’ve had near constant toothaches for the last several years but about a month ago I got one so bad that the pain was indescribable. It was so bad that I couldn’t even pinpoint where exactly the pain was coming from. One night the pain reached its peak and I made an appointment for the next day. And I actually went! I literally didn’t think I could live with the pain for another day.

I won’t lie to you. The appointment was HARD. I was so nervous that I was shaking and could barely speak and was on the verge of tears the whole time. Everyone was really nice and supportive and were nice enough to pretend that it wasn’t crazy that I was 30 years old and had never been to a dentist before. They xrayed my teeth and checked my gums. My teeth were about as bad as I thought. I was going to need several extractions, root canals, and fillings. But my gums weren’t bad!

I talked to the office manager who laid out my treatment plan and I was horrified to learn that it would cost $15,000 to fix my teeth after the measly $750 my insurance would pay. I almost walked out at that point. The dentist came in and told me that if I opted to extract a couple more teeth instead of getting root canals it would bring my total down to $10,000.

I decided to start with the most important stuff. I made an appointment to have NINE teeth (including 3 wisdom teeth) extracted the following Monday (2weeks ago tomorrow) and went back in to get impressions done (OUCH!). I hesitate to share how that appointment went because it was pretty brutal and I don’t want to scare anyone but if anyone is curious I can elaborate. I will say though that the extraction was done and over with in about 30 mins and the pain since has been minimal. They fitted me with my temporary partials right after and sent me on my way. I feel and look a million times better than I did 2 weeks ago. I’ll wear the partials for 6 months before I get a permanent set. I’ve been back twice since for adjustments and to have my front cavity filled. So that brings my lifetime total of dentist visits to 4.

I’ve spent about $4,000 so far. I used their financing plan and the monthly payments aren’t too bad. I have another appointment in a couple weeks (#5!) to see the hygienist for a cleaning and the dentist for a soft reline, and then I’ll be done for a while. I still need some fillings and a root canal but they’ll have to wait probably until February break because I can’t take any more time off of school.

This was a very very long story but I found it comforting to read other people’s stories while I was trying to summon the courage to make an appointment so I hope this helps someone else. Make an appointment! You’ll wish you’d done it sooner! Please let me know if you have any questions.
 
What a lovely inspiring encouraging story, EJ, thank you so much for sharing :)
 
Well done!! How’s it going so far with your new mouth?

I’m just on the first step of a similar journey (I just posted about it). So far it looks like I need 6 teeth removing.
 
Hey guys I wanted to share my story in case it helps someone else. I’m 30 years old and up until a few weeks ago I had never been to the dentist. For reasons I’d rather not get into my parents never took me growing up. I can remember being a kid and pretending that I knew what my friends were talking about when they complained about various dental procedures.

By the time I was an adult and responsible for my own dental care I was absolutely terrified to go. For me it wasn’t really a fear of the procedures or what pain they might cause. I couldn’t imagine it could hurt worse than the toothaches I experienced on a regular basis. I was afraid of the judgement I thought I would face over the state of my teeth.

I grind my teeth so they’re short and uneven. I had countless cavities. Several of my teeth were broken down to the gum line or had gaping holes in them. Three of my wisdom teeth had come in. One came in broken, one broke the tooth next to it, and one was sideways. I felt constant pain and pressure because my mouth was so overcrowded. I used to have a small gap between my two front teeth but now they overlap slightly which led to a visible cavity in my front tooth. I always smiled with my mouth closed and was really self conscious about my teeth and my breath.


I came to this forum countless times over the years and while I was encouraged by the stories I read and even made several dentist appointments, I could never get myself through the door.

I’ve had near constant toothaches for the last several years but about a month ago I got one so bad that the pain was indescribable. It was so bad that I couldn’t even pinpoint where exactly the pain was coming from. One night the pain reached its peak and I made an appointment for the next day. And I actually went! I literally didn’t think I could live with the pain for another day.

I won’t lie to you. The appointment was HARD. I was so nervous that I was shaking and could barely speak and was on the verge of tears the whole time. Everyone was really nice and supportive and were nice enough to pretend that it wasn’t crazy that I was 30 years old and had never been to a dentist before. They xrayed my teeth and checked my gums. My teeth were about as bad as I thought. I was going to need several extractions, root canals, and fillings. But my gums weren’t bad!

I talked to the office manager who laid out my treatment plan and I was horrified to learn that it would cost $15,000 to fix my teeth after the measly $750 my insurance would pay. I almost walked out at that point. The dentist came in and told me that if I opted to extract a couple more teeth instead of getting root canals it would bring my total down to $10,000.

I decided to start with the most important stuff. I made an appointment to have NINE teeth (including 3 wisdom teeth) extracted the following Monday (2weeks ago tomorrow) and went back in to get impressions done (OUCH!). I hesitate to share how that appointment went because it was pretty brutal and I don’t want to scare anyone but if anyone is curious I can elaborate. I will say though that the extraction was done and over with in about 30 mins and the pain since has been minimal. They fitted me with my temporary partials right after and sent me on my way. I feel and look a million times better than I did 2 weeks ago. I’ll wear the partials for 6 months before I get a permanent set. I’ve been back twice since for adjustments and to have my front cavity filled. So that brings my lifetime total of dentist visits to 4.

I’ve spent about $4,000 so far. I used their financing plan and the monthly payments aren’t too bad. I have another appointment in a couple weeks (#5!) to see the hygienist for a cleaning and the dentist for a soft reline, and then I’ll be done for a while. I still need some fillings and a root canal but they’ll have to wait probably until February break because I can’t take any more time off of school.

This was a very very long story but I found it comforting to read other people’s stories while I was trying to summon the courage to make an appointment so I hope this helps someone else. Make an appointment! You’ll wish you’d done it sooner! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Very well done on getting this far and hope all continues to go well for you! Simon XX
 
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