• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Constant worrying about teeth

J

jjjjg

Junior member
Joined
Aug 21, 2014
Messages
2
HI all

I am having a hard time. About ten-fifteen years ago I had to have a lot of fillings etc, and it made me a bit insane for a while. Brushing for ten minutes at a time, pre and post brushing mouth wash, flossing twice a day. I would run my tongue over my teeth constantly, go and brush my teeth in the middle of parties if it was 12 hours since the last time I brushed, even put mirrors in my mouth to see the back of my teeth (I don't recommend it). I gave up soft drinks and chocolate, and if i was ever tempted I would just imagine the acids eating away at my teeth until the temptation passed.

Noone told me that excessive flossing and brushing could cause gum disease. At some point my gums swelled and moved upwards maybe 2mm, practically overnight.

I never told anyone, even though it was really obvious to me. I just calmed down a bit, and managed to get out of the madness by getting an electric toothbrush and setting certain rules for myself (only allowed to run tongue over teeth once after brushing, then tongue had to stay in one spot, only flossing once a day etc etc).

Things got better. For years I had dentists and oral hygienists who were very happy with me, and i only ever needed fillings replaced or small new ones. I relaxed a bit, perhaps too much. After moving countries I waited a year and a half (instead of my usual six months) to see a new dentist, and I wasn't flossing every single day before I went, but most days, probably more than 9/10. Then I had the periodontal probe for the first time and was told I had really deep pockets (3-6 mm) and from the X rays I had bone loss and I needed scaling.

I was freaked out. I think I cried. Actually I then went and found some old X rays from 2006 and there was barely any progression since then. But I went ahead and had the (very expensive and painful) treatment, thinking it would fix things. Then I needed a root canal, because of an old filling, and I was still ok. But then I saw the oral hygienist again

She was horrible. She was really violent with the floss, and I bled a lot (I never bleed when flossing at home). She also managed to spray my face with a bunch of stuff, so I just lay there feeling totally brutalised. And then she was lecturing me. I floss every day I said. I use an electric toothbrush. Carefully, lifting the brush between teeth, holding it at an angle, not pressing too hard. I use the mouthwash I was told to (and then untold to, and then told to again, because the oral hygienist and dentist apparently disagree). She said I should switch to ultrafloss, floss deeper, use a different brushhead, use interdental brushes every day.

This was all hard because it was in a foreign language. It also seemed really unfair. I had been doing everything I was told. And then, it scared me. It was excessive brushing and flossing that triggered massive gum recession in the first place. I look ok now but if the same thing happened again my teeth would look terrible with big gaps between them and exposed dentine.

I think I am going crazy again. I'm nervous every night when I have to brush my teeth. I'm nervous when I wake up in the morning. I can't relax when I go out at night because it means a huge delay and also having to brush my teeth when tired. I am terrified of harming my gums. I am terrified of not brushing my teeth. I have phantom toothache and ... gumache... if that's a thing? It's basically never far from my mind and I hate it. They are still red. I have no idea what else I could do. I eat lots of vitamin C in the form of fresh fruit and veg, I don't smoke and I barely drink alcohol.

I did go back and speak to the dentist, and tried to explain what I went through ~ 10 years ago. She is much nicer than the oral hygienist and said she would speak to her, and she also said things weren't that bad and that I should continue with my normal routine and come for the regular cleanings. But I am constantly worried about it. I feel liek noone understands and I am embarrassed to tell people. I am afraid of entering that mental quicksand I already spent years climbing out of again.

Most dental phobia I read about is to do with dentist visits or specific procedures. I actually feel better in the dentist chair. Is anyone else dealing with this constant stress? Any advice? Obviously that's not helping the gums :(
 
Hey!
Yep I've been there! (still there) I'm not afraid of the dentist at all, I'm afraid of my teeth if that makes sense? A trip to the dentist actually reassures me.
I have constant 'phantom' pains/twinges that scare the life out of me on a near constant basis. This too is my second time round of extreme all encompassing dental anxiety after a stint 10 years ago when I thought I had a wobbly tooth. I also let it slip and this time round I DO have periodontal disease (which I've just had sorted out) have pretty bad recession on the back teeth because of it, but left with a OCD about my stupid teeth again.
I'm still going through it, but how I try and get ontop of the stress is imagining the worst case scenario. Sounds strange but actually helped me come to terms with what could happen and how I COULD deal with it. Secondly, distraction! I noticed my teeth stress would get way out of hand, imagining only gravity was holding them in, when I was alone (I work at home, long periods alone) so do something to occupy the mind... Thirdly, I would spend a while telling my brain, i am not going to do this today! (Ok so it doesn't always work) but I try to tell myself, this is MY life and I don't want it to be full of freaking out about my teeth constantly! Totally know what you mean about the quicksand...I don't know if any of that's helpful to you, but it's part of my coping strategies anyway.
We got through today, we can get through tomorrow too!!
 
Ah, I am so glad I'm not the only one! I try to reassure myself with the worst case scenarios too ... gum grafts or even implants would not be the worse thing in the universe. Teeth are such a small thing to have wrong with you anyway. I know that (for instance) losing weight would make a much bigger difference to how I look or how people perceive me. And most people aren't looking carefully at everyone's teeth and gums the way I am.

Sometimes I think my brain is just anxious and likes to focus its anxieties in one place, like teeth. I have started meditation again to try to help. And I need to get back into exercising, but have had some knee problems that have made me stop for a while. Distractions definitely the best thing. Thanks for your message, good luck keeping your mind to yourself!!
 
Its a funny one isn't it. I dont know why my brain decided to latch onto teeth as its way of driving me crazy, it could have picked so many other ways...
And yes you're totally right. There are much worse things than losing your teeth, i know this, and i tell myself that over and over but still with the over abundance of adrenaline any time i can 'feel' my teeth! Im convinced they are just about to fall out, the dentist and periodontist assure me they are not. its hard trying to juggle what they say with what my brain says, i just have to muddle through it. I spent 2 years in therapy about this, i never did find the answer to make it go away, i guess we all just have to support each other and know we are totally not alone... distraction distraction distraction, thats what im going with! We've obviously got a lot of mental energy, i feel that needs to get excersized out in a useful way rather than torturing our brains. Physical excersize can also be a path to that, I love a good cycle to clear out the cobwebs and give me some feel good endorphines.
 
I'm going through this as well.. I'm not able to concentrate on things because i'm keep obsessing over my teeth and if something is stuck on them, or if new cavities are going to develop. Its really eating me alive. I can't sleep at night because my mind is racing and I keep thinking about my teeth. Also sometimes I can feel my teeth (is that weird?) I think that is the result of constantly thinking about my teeth. I just want to get over it.
 
Back
Top