T
toothsome
Junior member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2018
- Messages
- 11
Hi all,
I cannot remember the last time I went to the dentist. My mother stopped taking us sometime when I was in middle school I think? I honestly can't remember. I did have an orthodontist for a while in high school, but can't remember whether there were dental visits mixed in with that as well. My oral hygiene has been terrible for most of that time, mostly due to depression and then just bad habit. Mostly I just didn't think about going to the dentist, would consider a niggling fear in the back of my mind, and just push it away.
Recently however, my work has required me to be in frequent contact with dentists and dental offices. This has awakened an anxiety in me that I didn't realize I had. In a way, it's probably good, because it prompted me to schedule my first dental visit in over a decade...but now it is only 20 days away and I just terrified. Literally all I think about all day long is my teeth. I can see several cavities in my mouth, and a hard white bump on my gums, and I am constantly running through scenarios that become worse and worse with each passing day. I am terrified that they are going to tell me that I need to pull basically all of my teeth, or that I need many root canals, etc. My main fears are the cost associated with it, but also the embarrassment, like if my dentist will chastise me or something. I think that is the main reason I continued the avoidance from my childhood.
I know ultimately this will be a better situation once I deal with it, and truthfully, since I began working with these dentists my oral hygiene has improved drastically and I know going to the dentist will be good for me. I am just so scared that it is going to cost me more than I can afford, that they might tell me there are very expensive procedures that I must do immediately, and that my teeth are just a terrible mess, especially considering that even from what I can see on my own I count at least 8 cavities.
In the meantime, I am having terrible dreams about my teeth, falling asleep worrying about them... it is affecting my work and my relationship with my spouse because of my fixation. I spend so much time at work looking up cavity symptoms, cost of procedures, etc. And I am constantly in a terrible mood because of all the brooding. I think I will probably feel a little better once I get it over with, and wanted to get an earlier appointment, but the place I called was all booked up for February. I just need to figure out how to cope for the next few weeks before my appointment...
Thanks for reading a kind of long and anxious post!
I cannot remember the last time I went to the dentist. My mother stopped taking us sometime when I was in middle school I think? I honestly can't remember. I did have an orthodontist for a while in high school, but can't remember whether there were dental visits mixed in with that as well. My oral hygiene has been terrible for most of that time, mostly due to depression and then just bad habit. Mostly I just didn't think about going to the dentist, would consider a niggling fear in the back of my mind, and just push it away.
Recently however, my work has required me to be in frequent contact with dentists and dental offices. This has awakened an anxiety in me that I didn't realize I had. In a way, it's probably good, because it prompted me to schedule my first dental visit in over a decade...but now it is only 20 days away and I just terrified. Literally all I think about all day long is my teeth. I can see several cavities in my mouth, and a hard white bump on my gums, and I am constantly running through scenarios that become worse and worse with each passing day. I am terrified that they are going to tell me that I need to pull basically all of my teeth, or that I need many root canals, etc. My main fears are the cost associated with it, but also the embarrassment, like if my dentist will chastise me or something. I think that is the main reason I continued the avoidance from my childhood.
I know ultimately this will be a better situation once I deal with it, and truthfully, since I began working with these dentists my oral hygiene has improved drastically and I know going to the dentist will be good for me. I am just so scared that it is going to cost me more than I can afford, that they might tell me there are very expensive procedures that I must do immediately, and that my teeth are just a terrible mess, especially considering that even from what I can see on my own I count at least 8 cavities.
In the meantime, I am having terrible dreams about my teeth, falling asleep worrying about them... it is affecting my work and my relationship with my spouse because of my fixation. I spend so much time at work looking up cavity symptoms, cost of procedures, etc. And I am constantly in a terrible mood because of all the brooding. I think I will probably feel a little better once I get it over with, and wanted to get an earlier appointment, but the place I called was all booked up for February. I just need to figure out how to cope for the next few weeks before my appointment...
Thanks for reading a kind of long and anxious post!