A few days away from my first appointed in 8 years. Very worried.

[Terrifed86]

So I was brushing my teeth last week and suddenly a bit of what I thought was a tooth came off behind my front, bottom, four teeth.

Looking at it I can't actually see anywhere where it's chipped or otherwise broken off. I think it might be calculus that's come off? There is some on the back of those front, bottom, four teeth and now there is a gap in the build-up with some gum showing but no obvious disintegration of the tooth. If any has come off then it's come off so cleanly that the tooth seems straight or come from under the gum of something. Is that possible?

The tooth itself now feels very weird though. Like it's loose or it's moved but there is nothing obvious when I look at it. I don't know if losing the build up has caused more of the bottom part of the tooth to be exposed so it feels weird?

Also is it normal for front two of the bottom four teeth to be slightly ahead of the other two teeth which tuck in behind? I think that's why the build up occurred in the first place because it's easy to miss?

I am very worried how bad my teeth might be and the dentist having a go....

 

[Terrifed86]

Also is it possible for your teeth to be in a really bad way but not feel any pain? A few of my teeth feel a bit uneven when I run my tongue across them. There are slight black lines on my wisdom teeth but the entire tooth itself is still white and has broken away. Not really any gaps between my teeth but I am pretty sure I have gum disease.

 

[elizv]

Could it be a filling that came loose? I have a chipped tooth from an injury when I was young. It falls out and they just replace it. It's easy.

The black stuff probably means you need a cleaning.

Keep us posted! Who knows maybe it will be better than you think. That happened to me once and all I needed was a filling. I was so relieved.

 

[Terrifed86]

Could it be a filling that came loose? I have a chipped tooth from an injury when I was young. It falls out and they just replace it. It's easy.

The black stuff probably means you need a cleaning.

Keep us posted! Who knows maybe it will be better than you think. That happened to me once and all I needed was a filling. I was so relieved.

It wasn't a filling but I think it was calculus broken off? I dunno. If it was the tooth it's come off very cleanly....

I hope it's just a cleaning and a filling....Pretty sure all my wisdom teeth are weird though.

I am now very worried that, since I haven't gone in so long, I might have advanced gum disease that I can't see....

 

[MissJoy]

It's possible that some calculus came off. I had a lot of buildup behind my front teeth too. A few times pieces would chip off when I flossed. After a bit chips off, the area felt different against my tongue. Like a gap even though I have no gaps. It's surprising the difference in feel even when it's just a tiny piece.

Goodluck with your visit and wishing you the best. Keep us posted!

 

[Terrifed86]

Thanks and yes it does feel weird!

Does anyone know if it's possible to have serious problems with several teeth but not really have symptoms? I.E None of my teeth hurt. My gums have little to mild recession. Nothing feels as if it's falling apart. There are some black stains on my molars, largely the wisdom teeth.

I am worried that an x-ray will show it's much worse under the gums than it is above.

 

[Enarete]

Dear Terrified,

having a first appointment as a nervous patient and then, shortly before experiencing something unusual going on with your teeth, that's very scary. I understand that you are very confused and worried right now, imagining all the worst scenarios.

First of all: the most people who visit a dentist after many years, are absolutely sure that their teeth are in a very bad state and that some really serious treatment will be needed. When you take a look at the posts here, you will see that this mostly isn't the case.

Even if there is a problem with a tooth, a dentist can get it fixed in a much simpler way with much less stress than you could imagine. Just count that everything your inner voices are telling you, is much much worse than it really is.

This is better say than done, I know, but try not to worry too much. What about to have a look around here and read the success stories of the happy members who got through their first visits already?

I really hope you have a good practice with a lovely dental team that knows how to treat nervous patients and a dentist who knows how to put you at ease and make the visit as comfortable as possible.

All the best for your upcoming visit and keep us updated.

Thanks and yes it does feel weird!

Does anyone know if it's possible to have serious problems with several teeth but not really have symptoms? I.E None of my teeth hurt. My gums have little to mild recession. Nothing feels as if it's falling apart. There are some black stains on my molars, largely the wisdom teeth.

I am worried that an x-ray will show it's much worse under the gums than it is above.

 

[Terrifed86]

Dear Terrified,

having a first appointment as a nervous patient and then, shortly before experiencing something unusual going on with your teeth, that's very scary. I understand that you are very confused and worried right now, imagining all the worst scenarios.

First of all: the most people who visit a dentist after many years, are absolutely sure that their teeth are in a very bad state and that some really serious treatment will be needed. When you take a look at the posts here, you will see that this mostly isn't the case.

Even if there is a problem with a tooth, a dentist can get it fixed in a much simpler way with much less stress than you could imagine. Just count that everything your inner voices are telling you, is much much worse than it really is.

This is better say than done, I know, but try not to worry too much. What about to have a look around here and read the success stories of the happy members who got through their first visits already?

I really hope you have a good practice with a lovely dental team that knows how to treat nervous patients and a dentist who knows how to put you at ease and make the visit as comfortable as possible.

All the best for your upcoming visit and keep us updated.

Thanks,

I never thought I would be this worried about it. I am not scared of dentists really, it isn't the thought of the metal instruments and stuff that's getting to me, it's the fear of what they might find.

I hope I am on of those people who do not need major work done. I am trying to tell myself that there is no pain and it's not as if a tooth is falling apart. But I guess I just have to wait and see.

 

[Enarete]

You mentioned wondering if there could be some serious problem with your teeth and now being afraid of what they might find.

Could you explain this one a little bit? What exactly would you consider a serious problem? What is your mind telling they mind find?

 

[Terrifed86]

You mentioned wondering if there could be some serious problem with your teeth and now being afraid of what they might find.

Could you explain this one a little bit? What exactly would you consider a serious problem? What is your mind telling they mind find?

I've seen stories of people who thought their teeth were ok, maybe in need of a clean and a few fillings, but under the gum have serious gum disease and need many teeth removed?

I know I have some bleeding when brushing my teeth and might need a few fillings (i have small black dots, like a pencil mark of a spot on some teeth). Although I don't have any large amounts of recession (that I can see) and no pain I am worried that there will be something serious like that.

BTW I am 31.

 

[Enarete]

I've seen stories of people who thought their teeth were ok, maybe in need of a clean and a few fillings, but under the gum have serious gum disease and need many teeth removed?

I know I have some bleeding when brushing my teeth and might need a few fillings (i have small black dots, like a pencil mark of a spot on some teeth). Although I don't have any large amounts of recession (that I can see) and no pain I am worried that there will be something serious like that.

BTW I am 31.

Now I understand. You have seen this videos and cannot get the pictures out of your head.

You won’t need several extractions. Absolutely not. There are a lot of members here with a lot of different things that need to be treated, but I have never seen a post from anyone who would need extractions out of sudden without having any problems.

On the contrary - there are plenty of people who were absolutely sure they would lose teeth and were very surprised that it wasn‘t true.

Do not believe everything your fear tells you, because it is a liar. You will be fine and very relieved after your visit and you will be surprised that it was much easier than you thought.

Do you have a practice you feel comfortable at?

 

[Terrifed86]

Now I understand. You have seen this videos and cannot get the pictures out of your head.

You won’t need several extractions. Absolutely not. There are a lot of members here with a lot of different things that need to be treated, but I have never seen a post from anyone who would need extractions out of sudden without having any problems.

On the contrary - there are plenty of people who were absolutely sure they would lose teeth and were very surprised that it wasn‘t true.

Do not believe everything your fear tells you, because it is a liar. You will be fine and very relieved after your visit and you will be surprised that it was much easier than you thought.

Do you have a practice you feel comfortable at?

I am going to a new one. The last one, where I had a crown put in, was 8 years ago but they just did that rather than check the rest of the teeth. Since then I have been better at brushing so no more crowns but I suspect I would need fillings at the very least.

Thanks for the reassurance. I know my fear isn't rational but you can imagine all sorts of things when the outcome is unknown and anxiety isn't a rational emotion. It helps to find more concrete examples of expectation.

I am hoping a realistic expectation is a deep clean (certain), fillings (probably, let's face it) and that's it. Although Wisdom Teeth seems to have signs of decay even if the structure is still there. Hope they don't need extracting.

Thanks

 

[Terrifed86]

Two fillings and a clean.

I am surprised. The dentist looked at each tooth in turn and didn't seem bothered by them. It was almost too positive.

 

[Enarete]

Hey, that's a beautiful thing to hear! A huge well done! Great!

A new evidence of the fact that the most people need much much less treatment than they thought, that's great news

Happy to hear it went well for you. Do you feel comfortable with this practice? Will you keep them for the regular check-ups?

Two fillings and a clean.

I am surprised. The dentist looked at each tooth in turn and didn't seem bothered by them. It was almost too positive.

 

[Terrifed86]

Hey, that's a beautiful thing to hear! A huge well done! Great!

A new evidence of the fact that the most people need much much less treatment than they thought, that's great news

Happy to hear it went well for you. Do you feel comfortable with this practice? Will you keep them for the regular check-ups?

Thanks! Yeah the practice seemed fine. It was more my anxiety over going at all, with the timespan inbetween, than the dentist procedure itself.

I have started to worry that they might have missed something so worried was I vs how little they seem concerned but I think that's just my natural inclination to worry so trying to ignore that.

 

[Terrifed86]

Me again.

I had the clean and it was fine. I was clearly very anxious even with my brain saying otherwise as my tongue kept getting in the way and the hygienist was saying stuff to calm me down even though my brain didn't think I was that anxious!

Anyway my focus has now turned to the two fillings next week.

I missed something out from my last post. The dentist did say 'two fillings' but on one of the teeth she said: 'it's a filling, it might need a root canal either then or in the future'. I didn't process this right at the time because I was pretty happy that was the extent of the 'damage' however now I am getting a bit concerned.

Is it common for the dentist to say a filling 'might' need a root canal? If so doesn't this mean a crown? I've already got a crown next to the tooth that's the problem and whilst it's fine it's kinda depressing to have two crowns next to each other at 31. Entirely my fault but still.