Ashamed of my teeth, another one broke, fed up (pic)

[Sugar]

Hi all. I last posted here over 10 years ago, when I was suffering from agoraphobia and an anxiety disorder which was making it hard for me to see a dentist.

Now I consider myself recovered, I am now a nurse (not dental), no longer scared of injections (I've had a baby so needles were the norm during pregnancy), and I'd say my fear of going to the dentist is lessened - though not completely gone. My stomach still flips a little when I sit in that chair.

Due to a history of drinking cola and acidic drinks, nocturnal tooth grinding plus acid reflux, my teeth are really damaged. 10 years ago I was told that all my teeth show damage and my enamel was thin. Now, they're in pretty bad shape. I have many amalgam fillings. The thin enamel shows the dentin underneath so my teeth look yellow.

About a year and a half ago I had to get some bonding done to the backs of my top incisors, due to bad acid erosion. Got a telling off from the dentist, as usual, for letting it get so bad - I know it's my fault. Advised to only use Pronamel toothpaste and to never rinse it out with water. Fitted for a mouth guard for night time which I hardly wear because I hate how it feels.

Didn't see a dentist throughout my pregnancy because even brushing my teeth made me gag. Wasn't sick much but a lot of gagging and reflux. Made me not want to brush my teeth for very long. I didn't want to risk throwing up on a dentist.

A few days ago I was eating and I felt myself chewing something hard..... Turns out one of my top premolars had cracked off around an existing amalgam filling. There's not much of the tooth left now so I'm guessing I'll need a root canal.

At my last root canal over 10 years ago I was given an intrapulpal injection and it was one of the worst pains I've ever experienced (I needed to be held down), so I'm slightly terrified of getting another root canal now, even though I've since moved and changed dentists. (Normal injections, fine - Intrapulpal, no way!!)

Got an appointment booked for 3 days time and I'm so fed up. Scared of how much more decay my dentist will find - you can spot this in the pic, plus the broken one. I know I'll be scolded again. I am so depressed that because of my own neglect I will have tooth problems my whole life.

Not sure what I wanted to achieve by posting. Think I just wanted to moan. I'm so annoyed with myself for letting my teeth get like this.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi,

On your image (good quality) it is evident that the wall of the tooth broke because the tooth has a very big filling or in other words: thin walls of enamel, and that wall chipped away. This is not a cavity, it has nothing to do with bacteria it is simply a mechanical breakage.
I assume that tooth had a root canal treatment (please correct me if I’m wrong) so there should be no pain from the tooth, only sharp edges.
My guess is that the tooth is reparable, probably with a crown.
Hope this makes you feel better.

 

[Sugar]

Thank you Dr. Daniel for your reply. That tooth hasn't undergone a root canal treatment, just a large filling, so the nerve is still there.
I wasn't getting any pain from it at first, but today it feels pretty sensitive so I've been taking painkillers.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

That tooth hasn't undergone a root canal treatment, just a large filling, so the nerve is still there.

Thank you for correcting my speculation.