Meant to update earlier, but it's been a crazy past few days! Sunday night of all nights I somehow got food poisoning and I still wasn't feeling so great Monday morning and I didn't want to throw up at the dentist's, so I had to call and reschedule. Luckily, they were very understanding and actually had another appointment open for the next day!
So Tuesday after work, I went! When I got there, the reception area had a massage chair, which was pretty useful to help calm my anxiety down a bit. Then the receptionist gave me a tour of the practice and gave me a new patient "goodie bag", which was a tote bag, water bottle, and lip balm that had the practice's name on it.
The warm welcome definitely helped me calm down so that I wasn't freaking out when I met the hygienist. Definitely felt a bit nervous actually sitting in the chair at first. The hygienist just chatted with me first and was friendly, while I listed my dental history and concerns. Then she said that she would just check things out and do x-rays before deciding whether to do a cleaning.
X rays....so my mouth is on the smaller side so I've always found x rays pretty uncomfortable and this time was no exception, but the hygienist was good at talking me through it. I did have one minor freak out though, when I had to bite and hold the x ray thing in the front and it broke off some of the built up calculus behind my front bottom teeth, but I calmed down once I realized it wasn't actual tooth.
So after the x rays and the visual exam, she said I definitely have periodontal disease (which I had been preparing myself for to hear) and that she thought it would better to see the dentist instead of her trying to do a standard cleaning that might cause me pain.
The dentist came and he was probably even nicer than the hygienist if that was possible. Neither of them shamed me, they let me know that there was serious issues going on, but they also knew I chose to be there and to start this journey and they treated me as such. So I am really grateful for that. The dentist looking at the x rays and then examining my mouth was probably the most stressful part. Because even though I prepared myself about the periodontal disease and calculus and all the build up that he would say I have, my biggest fear was that he would say my teeth aren't salvageable and I would need to get a full set of dentures.
But to my great relief, he didn't say that! In fact, I don't need extractions--not a single one! I have a handful (like 4 or 5) cavities that will need fillings (but not root canals!). There's plaque, tartar, etc on the teeth that will need to be removed with a deep cleaning, but nothing crazy like holes or cracks in my teeth or totally dead teeth. The periodontal disease is pretty significant, but he said bone loss is minimal and that with getting treatment now at my age (I'm only 26), he believes there will be a lot of improvement and the gums can be resilient. I honestly could have almost cried happy tears at how optimistic (but realistic that it'll be a journey) he sounded.
So going forward, the next step is to consult with the practice's periodontist and focus on getting my gums healthier, so I have that appointment set up for next Tuesday! At some point, they will also want to schedule deep cleanings by quadrant, but they want to wait for the periodontist consult first.
The only stressful part now is that this practice doesn't take my insurance, but with proper budgeting, applying for Care Credit, using my tax refund, and taking things one procedure at a time, I think I will be able to do it. And honestly, I think going somewhere I'm comfortable is worth spending the $$$ vs being stuck at a pre-selected dental insurance approved dentist I'm not comfortable with.
Anyway, big thanks to this site as support and giving me the push to make this happen. I don't really talk to my friends/family about my dental issues, so it's nice to have somewhere to talk.
