haven’t been to dentist in around ten years and now wisdom teeth seem to be coming in

[Marshmallow]

hi everyone !! i’m 19 years old and i haven’t been to the dentist in probably around ten years last time i was supposed to go i had a panic attack and my mum canceelled it, since then no one has tried to get me another appointment. as a kid this was obviously a huge relief but now i regret it because my teeth are really crooked and probably need a good bit of work done on them which scares me a lot. i don’t think they’re in the worst condition they could be but i wish they were better because i’m super self conscious about them i’ve always brushed my teeth at least twice a day since whenever my last appointment was, but i was never taught the importance of flossing so it’s only something i started doing in the last year or so.

i’ve been saying to myself i will make an appointment constantly but always just end up putting it off again and again, and i even mentioned it to my mum a couple times which took a lot but she’s very forgetful, but now i think my wisdom teeth are starting to come in. i noticed it a couple weeks or so ago maybe?? i’m not even sure it might have been longer but i felt something with my tongue behind my upper left molar, i didn’t really pay much attention to it, when i tried to look in the mirror with a light i couldn’t really see anything but yesterday i looked again, and it’s in an awkward place but i could see what seems to be a bit of tooth, so naturally i’m a bit anxious now because i don’t know what to do.

there’s no pain, it doesn’t hurt at all and i don’t even remember it coming through. i probably brushed it off as a cut on my gum or something because surely it wasn’t painless? there’s nothing behind any of my other molars just that one.

i have autism and i think being at the dentist always made me feel vulnerable and out of control, it overwhelmed me a lot and was just an unpleasant and uncomfortable experience so if put me off going. im scared now because i have no idea what’s goingnon in my mouth. i have no idea what’s normal and what’s not, whether i may have something serious going on and the news that might come with going. i’m scared of needles, so the idea of needing a needle stuck in my gums horrifies me, and i’m especially scared of having an inconsiderate dentist who is rude and unkind. of course i would still look at reviews of the place, but i feel like i have bad luck sometimes with things like this

also i’m worried about the cost. i do not have insurance and i’m currently unemployed, i’m trying to get my driving licence asap so i can find a job, but it would mean my parents would have to pay for everything, and i doubt it would be cheap at all so i would feel really guilty. as well as that, o don’t know if i would even be able to get in anywhere. i’m in the uk and i’ve heard most practices are not taking on new patients except children, unless you go private which is even more costs

i’m a big at a loss and idk what to do anymore i just wish i just went as a kid when i should’ve done and now i wouldn’t have to face these consequences but i was silly

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi,

First let me share with you a video I made which might be helpful:
Fear of authoritarian dentists

Since you have no discomfort, there is no need to take action urgently, right?
50 years ago the trend was to have all wisdom teeth extracted. This is no longer the case. Wisdom teeth shouldn’t be automatically extracted, there need to be a reason such as erupting in a bad angle or a cavity.
I recommend making a panoramic image and asking for a digital copy, which you can send to more dentists (such as in this forum) to ask for their opinion.

 

[NervousUSA]

@Marshmallow It is not necessarily any urgent or bad thing for wisdom teeth to come in. Some peoples wisdom teeth never cause a problem. Even if they have a problem, it would not neccessarily be anything that would come up any time soon after the teeth came in. I had impacted, badly angled wisdom teeth and they didn't cause an issue till I was over 40. Do a search for "NHS wisdom tooth removal" and you will see that the NHS says you only need a dentist for your wisdom teeth if you are in pain, and they only need to be removed if they have certain problems. Crooked teeth are generally harmless too, only in very serious cases do they cause problems. Here are the american standards for when crooked teeth would be considered a medical problem https://www2.aaoinfo.org/aao-leads-effort-standardize-medically-necessary-orthodontic-care-criteria/ I don't know what the UK ones are, but you can see that these standards describe pretty extreme situations. Having crooked teeth is likely not a reason you would need any work done. I would try to get in to a dentist, and get in a situation to do that financially, these are great ideas, but don't feel that you necessarily need lots of work done, or your wisdom teeth or crooked teeth mean that you need lots of work done.