Definitely need work done, been putting it off for years.

[Brokenteeth]

Ok, so basically, I have pretty bad teeth. I have one that was already taken out (top back on the right), and 3 severely broken other back teeth. On my left side, there's about half the tooth left at the top, and the opposing half left on the bottom, but both are quite jagged. On the right, my back wisdom tooth that remains has a large (and I mean LARGE) crack in it, that (for reference to size) I can fit my fingernail in.
I had a filling where the tooth with the crack was... but it came out about 2 years ago. I also have a filling in another tooth, that has a small piece broken off, which exposes a hole in the tooth.

So... I have pretty jacked up teeth; and it's my own fault. I never brushed them properly as a kid, and less and less as an adult. The idea of brushing has always made my skin crawl a bit... and seeing as every visit to the dentist til I was 19 I was told "you have perfect teeth". I just took them for granted.
Now, I'm scared to even brush my teeth - one of my teeth has broken in several stages, one of which being whilst I was actually brushing... It just fell right out of my mouth and down the plughole... I have to say, it freaked me out a bit.


I've always had a fear of the dentist, but it's been especially bad since I actually had to have work done.
I think I was just unfortunate, my regular dentist had moved on, and I was transferred to one I had never met before... and she showed no sympathy when my back tooth broke... she was close to insulting the way she spoke to me, and even though she talked about the broken tooth, she didnt even explain what she was going to do before she had the needles in my mouth.... on the opposite side. It turned out I also needed 3 fillings on my left side, but she didn't tell me this til she had the drill in her hand.
Now, I realise that for dentists, all this is a common thing. It's something they do every day. But for the average person, who's never had to have anything done in their life - it's scary stuff to suddenly have drills in your mouth without a clue what's going on.
Everything about that visit was horrible... and to make matters worse, I was told I'd need to come in next week again so she could work on the other side.

I managed to summon the courage to make the appointment and go back, even though it was a horrible experience - and when I went back, I raised the issue that she had started work without telling me what was happening; which, even though I put it as politely as I could - offended her. She rather curtly told me that she "ALWAYS discusses things with her patients first and I must be remembering it wrong".
I asked that nevertheless, she tell me what was happening this time - because the last time really freaked me out... and that this isn't a normal thing for me, so if I put my hand up can she please stop?
She responded by basically laughing at me and said "well EVERYONE's scared of the dentist you know, and I AM a professional"
I felt like shouting "That's not the point!!!" but I just let it ride... I was pretty annoyed that she'd just undermined what I felt to be a serious issue... but I just wanted to get out of there...

So, a very uncomfortable visit later - I was walking home, spitting blood and generally feeling sorry for myself. My tooth healed ok... but I started getting pains in my cheek after a week or so.... So, I had to go back.
Turns out - SOMEHOW - my cheek got cut, and is now infected.
"Sometimes this happens" she says...

Now, I'm not suggesting that she purposefully cut me... but, what I will say is that I feel like she was being far too offhand about the whole proceedure. This was a serious issue to me that has shaped my outlook since, and she treated me as if I were first a practice dummy, and then an idiot... and on top of that she didn't even do a good job!!


One of the fillings she gave me broke within 4 months (the one that has a small hole in it now) - and the other lasted about 3 years before it fell out randomly - and now is a real mess....
and even though my teeth are completely messed up - I'm still petrified to go through all that again. I know I'm going to need fillings in several teeth, as well as the ones at the back probably completely removed... In general my teeth feel kinda weak - not a day goes by where I don't have to pick what I eat carefully because I'm scared of them breaking further.

Basically, I'm scared of everything to do with my teeth... I'm scared of going to the dentist after my previous experience, I'm scared of brushing them in case they break and fall out, I'm scared of eating things because I don't want them to break any more...
But most of all, I'm scared of having no teeth left at all.

So... I need to make that call and make an appointment... but, just the thought of sitting in the waiting room makes me feel sick... I want to get a dentist that will be sympathetic to my issues and offer something to help me relax - but because I'd be going through the NHS - I don't know how to make sure I can get that treatment...
If anyone has any advice, it'd be appreciated... the tooth with the crack is getting worse by the day...
Also, thanks for providing me a forum and platform to vent all this...


tl;dr - I have severely broken teeth, they're getting worse, dentists scare me, help please. Cheers.

BT

 

[brit]

Hi brokenteeth
I really hoped someone else would reply to you before me as I am not really a fan of the typical NHS dentistry experience as reported on this website.
For sure there is an NHS dentist somewhere who wouldn't have treated you like she did but the good experienced ones are just so hard to find (it tends to be a training ground for the newly qualified on the whole). Someone who has had a bad experience is much better off going private for extra TLC and them giving a damn about your being impressed with the service.
Is there any way you can make dental care a financial priority so you can at least get properly fixed up and then go back to NHS for maintenance if you wish?
Broken down teeth can usually be fixed with crowns but a rushed NHS dentist may just want to extract them and give you a partial denture.
What is covered is basic compared to what modern dentistry can actually do for you - yet this seems to be some kind of well-kept State Secret and people feel guilty about opting out.