
Plex
Junior member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2013
- Messages
- 5
- Location
- Perth, Western Australia
Hi folks, I can't tell you how glad I am I stumbled across this site!
I haven't seen a dentist since I was a small child, as my mother had never had any issues with her teeth and dental care wasn't regarded as very important in our house. I realized I was scared of dentistry in my teen years when I noticed my teeth were becoming very crooked, but found myself petrified of the very idea of seeing a dentist about them.
I struggled with Bulimia for some years, and have been recovered for the last two...but this has pretty much obliterated my teeth! I noticed about a year ago that my lower gums were receding very badly and decided to get some insurance and do something about it. Unfortunately, I kept putting it off until recently when I decided my conscience wouldn't let me take any more time off work for horrible toothaches and migraines caused by stupid impacted wisdom teeth...they seem to be growing sideways
I got really lucky with the dentist I saw, as I just made an appointment with whoever was available and she was so lovely. She is only a year older than me, and very sweet. I explained to her the minute I stepped into her room that I was absolutely terrified, and she was very understanding and made some jokes about being the nicest and most competant dentist in the world
I freaked out a bit when she went ahead and stuck that hook thing in my mouth and pressed a tooth, but she whipped it out straight away and explained that she would just like to press each of my teeth with it if that was ok, so I agreed. I was shaking like a leaf, and I hated the feel and sound of that thing on my teeth!
I need Xrays, but I told her I needed to make another appointment for those so I could recover from the days' panic, and I'll be going in for them next week.
She said she'd give me a more specific list of things needing to be done once I'd had them, but gave me a rundown anyway. I need a scale and clean, need my wisdom teeth out ASAP, most of my teeth require fillings, I need braces and then veneers.
The news that has really gotten to me is that my gum disease is so bad the roots of my lower teeth are almost exposed, and I'm losing bone too, so she says that they will at some point fall out. She showed me how to brush them properly (it seems I haven't been brushing correctly) and she said proper care would slow the process, but that they would still fall out.
I've been crying off and on all evening, I'm so upset to hear this. I know it's my own fault for neglecting my teeth, and i suspected news that bad, but I'm still very sad to hear it. I'm only 22, and I'm really gutted at the idea of losing teeth so early. And all this work is going to cost so much money, even with my insurance...plus the phobia! I can't imagine even having the IV sedation without a valium, numbing cream, and nitrous first!
I'm so glad this website popped up with some googling, it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one with horrible dental fear!
I haven't seen a dentist since I was a small child, as my mother had never had any issues with her teeth and dental care wasn't regarded as very important in our house. I realized I was scared of dentistry in my teen years when I noticed my teeth were becoming very crooked, but found myself petrified of the very idea of seeing a dentist about them.
I struggled with Bulimia for some years, and have been recovered for the last two...but this has pretty much obliterated my teeth! I noticed about a year ago that my lower gums were receding very badly and decided to get some insurance and do something about it. Unfortunately, I kept putting it off until recently when I decided my conscience wouldn't let me take any more time off work for horrible toothaches and migraines caused by stupid impacted wisdom teeth...they seem to be growing sideways

I got really lucky with the dentist I saw, as I just made an appointment with whoever was available and she was so lovely. She is only a year older than me, and very sweet. I explained to her the minute I stepped into her room that I was absolutely terrified, and she was very understanding and made some jokes about being the nicest and most competant dentist in the world

I freaked out a bit when she went ahead and stuck that hook thing in my mouth and pressed a tooth, but she whipped it out straight away and explained that she would just like to press each of my teeth with it if that was ok, so I agreed. I was shaking like a leaf, and I hated the feel and sound of that thing on my teeth!
I need Xrays, but I told her I needed to make another appointment for those so I could recover from the days' panic, and I'll be going in for them next week.
She said she'd give me a more specific list of things needing to be done once I'd had them, but gave me a rundown anyway. I need a scale and clean, need my wisdom teeth out ASAP, most of my teeth require fillings, I need braces and then veneers.
The news that has really gotten to me is that my gum disease is so bad the roots of my lower teeth are almost exposed, and I'm losing bone too, so she says that they will at some point fall out. She showed me how to brush them properly (it seems I haven't been brushing correctly) and she said proper care would slow the process, but that they would still fall out.
I've been crying off and on all evening, I'm so upset to hear this. I know it's my own fault for neglecting my teeth, and i suspected news that bad, but I'm still very sad to hear it. I'm only 22, and I'm really gutted at the idea of losing teeth so early. And all this work is going to cost so much money, even with my insurance...plus the phobia! I can't imagine even having the IV sedation without a valium, numbing cream, and nitrous first!
I'm so glad this website popped up with some googling, it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one with horrible dental fear!