C
cb1437
Junior member
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2017
- Messages
- 2
Hi guys
So I haven't been to the dentist in roughly five years. The last time was just before I turned 18, when I got it for free on the NHS. Since then I haven't been able to afford dental treatment, particularly since I lived in a fairly expensive part of my city and there weren't any local NHS dentists, and private treatment was way out of my price range! Now I've moved to a small village and there's an NHS dentist in the next town over which is taking new patients, so I can finally afford to go to the dentist. I also had braces as a teenager, which was a thoroughly miserable experience which didn't even fully fix the issues with my mouth, as I still have (I think) a cross bite so I bite pretty unevenly. To top it all off, the one thing I remember from my last dental appointment is him taking x-rays and telling me that I still have some of my baby teeth, since the adult teeth have never developed.
Now though, I'm too scared to go to the dentist because I feel like they're going to judge me for not taking better care of my teeth. I think due to it not being drilled into me at a young age, and me having recent mental health issues, my dental hygiene has fallen by the wayside. Even now I'm just trying to get myself into the habit of brushing twice daily, as I'd previously just mostly brush my teeth before I left the house in the morning. I have a lot of visible tartar, particularly on my lower front teeth and on the occlusal surfaces, I have stuff that I can't tell whether it's staining or cavities. Either way, if it is cavities then that's just adding to the anxiety. Even the idea of getting a mouth full of silver fillings (because this weird colouring is on pretty much every molar and pre-molar) is making me really anxious. I'm already really self-conscious about my smile, have been ever since I had braces and I feel like the silver fillings are really conspicuous. Like, if I have them then people will see them and judge me for not having taken better care of my teeth.
Thing is I know I really need to go, as my gums are quite painful and bleed/hurt when I brush them, and my understanding is that getting rid of that underlying gum disease when there's still tartar on your teeth can be difficult. I've also had a bit of pain recently when chewing in my upper right molars. And I do want to get rid of the tartar on my front teeth because it looks awful. But I just can't bring myself to make an appointment?
Any help/advice/stories of similar experiences would be much appreciated
So I haven't been to the dentist in roughly five years. The last time was just before I turned 18, when I got it for free on the NHS. Since then I haven't been able to afford dental treatment, particularly since I lived in a fairly expensive part of my city and there weren't any local NHS dentists, and private treatment was way out of my price range! Now I've moved to a small village and there's an NHS dentist in the next town over which is taking new patients, so I can finally afford to go to the dentist. I also had braces as a teenager, which was a thoroughly miserable experience which didn't even fully fix the issues with my mouth, as I still have (I think) a cross bite so I bite pretty unevenly. To top it all off, the one thing I remember from my last dental appointment is him taking x-rays and telling me that I still have some of my baby teeth, since the adult teeth have never developed.
Now though, I'm too scared to go to the dentist because I feel like they're going to judge me for not taking better care of my teeth. I think due to it not being drilled into me at a young age, and me having recent mental health issues, my dental hygiene has fallen by the wayside. Even now I'm just trying to get myself into the habit of brushing twice daily, as I'd previously just mostly brush my teeth before I left the house in the morning. I have a lot of visible tartar, particularly on my lower front teeth and on the occlusal surfaces, I have stuff that I can't tell whether it's staining or cavities. Either way, if it is cavities then that's just adding to the anxiety. Even the idea of getting a mouth full of silver fillings (because this weird colouring is on pretty much every molar and pre-molar) is making me really anxious. I'm already really self-conscious about my smile, have been ever since I had braces and I feel like the silver fillings are really conspicuous. Like, if I have them then people will see them and judge me for not having taken better care of my teeth.
Thing is I know I really need to go, as my gums are quite painful and bleed/hurt when I brush them, and my understanding is that getting rid of that underlying gum disease when there's still tartar on your teeth can be difficult. I've also had a bit of pain recently when chewing in my upper right molars. And I do want to get rid of the tartar on my front teeth because it looks awful. But I just can't bring myself to make an appointment?
Any help/advice/stories of similar experiences would be much appreciated