Have I any hope?

[WatsonNimrod]

Hello there, been lurking around here for a while and now looking for advice.

I have been embarrased by my teeth since childhood. I had a very strange experience at the orthadontist with very unkind words being said when I wouldnt wear my brace regularly. I have had anxiety issues from a young age and personality disorder. Now in my mid 40's these issues are not as prevelent as they once were and I am starting to try to rebuild the damage thats been done to various parts of my body.

I would also add at this point I have only just regularly started brushing my teeth.

I have hardly any back teeth, I have an upper front tooth missing and goodness knows what else. I have self medicated dental pain for many years as I was in denial I had an issue. The fear of pain has also been a huge thing in my life.

Where do I start? My jaw pretudes and I have always felt its ugly, I have never smiled in all of my adult life (if that makes sense) is it too late to get my teeth straightened?

Any advice would be greatly recieved

 

[Enarete]

Hi WatsonNimrod,

lovely to read that you decided to come in after some lurking. Sorry to read you haven't smiled in your adult life and very well done on deciding to change that. Very well done on starting to brushing regularly, give yourself a pat on the back for that.

I am sure there is hope for you and it's never too late to start a dental journey. Modern dentistry offers so many options and possibilities and your new kind caring dentist will be happy to discuss those with you. Generally, the first priority will be to help you get rid of the pain and from then you can take care of any other issues that worry you. To start with that you will need a lovely dentist who enjoys working with nervous patients so the best first step should be to start looking around to find one.

You might already have taken a look around at some of the stuff on where to start and our common fear section, where the fear of pain is also covered. Te best thing is to google a bit and see whether there is any practice in your area that you feel might be good with nervous patients. We also have a recommendation section as well, if I saw it right, there even is one recommendation for your area.

All the best wishes and keep us posted and may you move forward soon to be able to smile and feel confident about your smile

 

[BCPR90]

Hi WatsonNimrod,

I am currently in a very similar situation to yourself. As a teen I suffered with bulimia, I became pregnant at 18 and had hyperemesis (extreme vomiting) to a point I nearly died of kidney failure. My teeth are wrecked. At the age of 21, I went to a specialist dentist who after checking my teeth, sat back and said "I'm trying to work out how someone of your age has such poor teeth". It's threw me. I wanted to be sick. I ran out and haven't been back since (this was in 2010).
I have since suffered with pain which I have also self medicated (I'm in the medical profession, I know what I'm doing but. Not happy about it). I got married in 2015 and didn't open mouth smile because I was ashamed.

I have let this destroy my chances at my dreams. I have been offered interviews to do my nurse to midwife conversion (midwife is my dream job) but I turned it down because I was worried about judgement of my teeth and thought my almost closed mouth mumbling would be off putting.

Anyway, we're you to the present day. I gave birth to my baby boy last December and have 6 months left of my maternity exception for free dental care. My husband pointed out now is the time to do it. Like seriously. The next day I searched for an NHS dentist. I couldn't find one. My heart sank. The next day I researched and found a dental practice with 5 stars that had just declared it had NHS places. I jumped and registered that day. I genuinely feel so happy that I have this chance. Since then I've been reading these sites and have realised people don't judge. They want to help. I'm an A&E nurse and if a patient came to me with a chronic lung condition, smoking history of 40 a days for years, but wanted to change and improve their life, I would be incredible proud and want to help.

The honest truth is, you will need some work, I will need a lot of work, but the dentist is there to help. They went on to complete higher education to help fix people's teeth. I wouldn't honestly like to think that a lot of dentists will only commend someone who is seeking help and treatment for something they have struggled with. My initial assessment will be in the next week. I'm nervous, but I'm trying to change that into excitement. What will be will be. If I need dentures then so be it.

The best thing I can say is walk into a dental practice and register. Your heart will go mad, like mine did. But that first step is massive. I feel so proud for doing so.

Sorry for the long post but I feel like my situation mirrored your own.

Best of luck x