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Hi. I’m 16 years old and I’ve never went to the dentist.

  • Thread starter 16andbadteethandgums
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16andbadteethandgums

16andbadteethandgums

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Basically I’m turning 17 in a few days, so that title may not be accurate. I’m getting an appointment sometime in October or November. I’m really scared about what the dentist would say when I go.

I was pretty bad at taking care of my teeth until about 4 months ago. Now I brush for 3 minutes twice a day and floss everyday and only eat 3 meals and drink water. My gums bled when I began but they became OK after a while and stopped swelling. Now they‘re bleeding again, I don’t know why.

Onto my teeth. They actually look fine, if a little stained and dirty. No holes I can see. But there’s this white-black thing on them. It makes flossing hard and sometimes flecks of it break off. There’s a lot on my front lower teeth and back upper teeth. The biggest chunk that fell off was about the size of half a grain of rice.

My gums also were OK but they began bleeding again a week ago and I don’t know why, because I still brush and floss the exact same way. My mouth also became very dry at the same time and my tongue swelled up. I think I’m not brushing properly.

I’m really really scared of what the dentist would think of me. I grew up reading books and watching cartoons about characters freaking out about fillings and root canals and deep cleanings and the huge drill. I’m really scared that the dentist would go, “Oh my God, you’re only 17 and you already need a deep clean. You already need a root canal. You have the teeth of a 50 year old. Why are your gums bleeding even if you told me you brush and floss?” All my friends are going to the dentist every 6 months and did so ever since they were like 2 years old. I feel so ashamed of myself for not asking my parents to bring me too. Now the dentist will scorn me.
 
Last edited:
Hi 16andbadteethandgums :welcome:,

sorry to read about your worries. I hope Gordon was able to reassure you about your gums in your other post. Hope your gums get ok soon, in my experience, flossing twice a day very carefully in that area and keeping it clean helps the gums to calm down within 2-3 days.

I was very sorry to read that you felt responsible for not asking your parents to bring you to the dentist, as opposed to your friends who go every 6 months. This should actually work other way around - parents are responsible for children's dental health and for them to attend regularly. In the case of many of us this wasn't the case and it certainly makes the start into the world of dental health harder, but it is not your fault and you didn't do anything wrong. On the contrary, it is great that you started to look after your teeth on your own and that you are planning to see a dentist. If you have any choice of which dentist to see, please take someone who you feel may treat you kindly. No dentist should blame you or make you feel bad about your teeth. You deserve support and good care on your journey. Having a good chat and explaining your fears at the beginning of your visit may be a good idea too.

If you are not sure whether you are brushing properly, you can see some advice here.

All the best wishes, keep us posted and a "Happy Birthday" once it arrives ;)
 
Hi 16andbadteethandgums :welcome:,

sorry to read about your worries. I hope Gordon was able to reassure you about your gums in your other post. Hope your gums get ok soon, in my experience, flossing twice a day very carefully in that area and keeping it clean helps the gums to calm down within 2-3 days.

I was very sorry to read that you felt responsible for not asking your parents to bring you to the dentist, as opposed to your friends who go every 6 months. This should actually work other way around - parents are responsible for children's dental health and for them to attend regularly. In the case of many of us this wasn't the case and it certainly makes the start into the world of dental health harder, but it is not your fault and you didn't do anything wrong. On the contrary, it is great that you started to look after your teeth on your own and that you are planning to see a dentist. If you have any choice of which dentist to see, please take someone who you feel may treat you kindly. No dentist should blame you or make you feel bad about your teeth. You deserve support and good care on your journey. Having a good chat and explaining your fears at the beginning of your visit may be a good idea too.

If you are not sure whether you are brushing properly, you can see some advice here.

All the best wishes, keep us posted and a "Happy Birthday" once it arrives ;)
Thank you so much for wishing me a happy birthday. I will keep you posted on my condition. This forum is helping me a lot with my dental phobia.
 
OK, so I decided to make this reply as a little ’update’ of sorts to anyone who comes by this; I meant to do a fully-fledged post but there’ve been some pressing issues that need a good tending-to at the moment. I did visit a dentist, and aside from a lot of calculus (which was picked off) I didn’t have any pressing dental disease... no cavities, and just a little irriration from the aforementioned plaque. That was a good surprise because, for the longest time, I thought that at the least I had some periodontitis/bone loss since the calculus had wrapped itself around some teeth completely, and that I had cavities because the grooves of the molars had stains... I suppose not. I do need a nightgaurd, though.

The actual experience was a little mixed, I’m still a little apprehensive so I guess this phobia issue didn’t exactly resolve itself by visiting a dentist. I should into a bit more detail but I’m not quite in the mood at the moment. I guess I would write about it later. In the meantime, see you soon and good-night.
 
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