NEED TO VENT! Feeling so sad, depressed

[jessbear]

worthless and upset. Why did I let my teeth get so bad!!! I'm so mad at myself!!! I'm 36 weeks pregnant and I'm due on Oct 10th and for the last 10 months I haven't been working. I feel like I'll never have the chance to work and save up for dental work even If I wanted too I'm soooo mad that when I did have a chance to save up money, I didn't!!! Everyday I live with regrets and I'm so ashamed All I want to do it be happy!!!! As much as I'm excited to be a mom and to meet my little boy... I feel like because of the condition of my teeth, no income that I'll fail at being the best mom I can be tooo all I wanna do it cry and hide under a rock forever. I can't emphasize enough about how awful I feel everyday!!! My dental story is below if you haven't read it in previous posts.

I'm new here and so happy I found this site! I don't even know where to start to just bare with me, it might be a bit long, but all I am asking is for some support and encouragement. Feels good to know that I am not the only one!

I've been terrified of the dentists since I was little! I'm 23 now and it all really started when I was 17 my jaw locked. I don't know what caused it because I was just laying there talking normally when bam there goes my jaw! Never really thought anything of it cause it never really gave me problems, but over the last couple years it has locked twice and is always popping and clicking. No real pain but most days I wish I could just rip it off! it drives me nuts!! I know it's TMJ and I do catch myself clenching my jaw at night too.

I think every single tooth in my mouth has a filling, or some sort of work done on it. When I was 18 years old. Both of my top 2nd molars had chipped. I went to the dentists but he told me i had to have them extracted! I was obviously misinformed and could have had them fixed if I had went to another dentist. but he scared the living day lights out of me and I think that's when my phobia really kicked in. Couple months after that my filling came out of left 1st bottom molar(I believe that's what they are) and then my 1st molar on the right chipped. So for two years I was terrified of going to the dentists because of how terrible of shape they were in. I felt soo embarrassed and ashamed, I hated myself

I finally got the courage to go in 2008, I went in for a few appointments until one stupid night I chipped my two front teeth! My God did my world ever fall apart that night! I can't afford to have veneers or crowns put on so all I have is bonding... so everyday I live in fear that I'll relive that terrible night again and again! So after this happening I was even more embarrassed to have my teeth looked at and hopefully fixed. Months and months later after that terrible night I finally got the courage to go again. I was lucky enough to save my bottom right 1st molar. They had to do a root canal and put on a crown, they were barely able to save it, maybe I'll have 5 yrs with it if I'm lucky... another thing I am terrified about I also had to get my left bottom 1st molar extracted

So with that all said and done. I can't afford to get a implant for the tooth I had extracted. Especially now that I am 6 months pregnant, there is no way I can afford to put 3000 on a single tooth. I was recently at the dentist to have a cleaning and they want to extract my top 2nd molars when the baby is born. Sometimes I feel that having my top molars badly chipped is effecting the way I talk too and when I have them extracted it's only going to make my speech ever worse. God I am dreading it because I don't know if I can afford partials for it, but I'm praying to god that I'll be able to use my wisdom teeth that haven't come in yet to replace them. If anyone has any stories like that please share

Since I was 18 i've been living in fear that I'll have no teeth left by the time I'm 30. I live with soo much regret because these extractions could have been avoided if I would have just went in and had them fixed, especially with a dentist I trusted. I feel so depressed everyday, and worthless. I'm soo scared to tell my boyfriend whom I live with about this, and some days I feel like it tears us apart I feel like he should be with someone who is perfect, and happy. I feel so embarrassed and inadequate. I'm constantly comparing myself to others and I hate it. I think everyone's better then me, I have terrible low self-esteem. Having terrible teeth and TMJ, I feel like my life is worth nothing most days and I can barely get out of bed.

 

[45andAfraid]

Hi there....

Look, dental work can be quite expensive and can be the reason why some of us never go. Others, like me, fear the dentist, fear gagging, fear a LOT of different things.

I let my teeth go for 21 years. I'm 45 and I need to have all mine out and I'm scared to death of impressions, scared to death of dentures, scared out of my wits of gagging and throwing up! But those few minutes and few days of suffering cannot replace the rest of my years that'll save me from pain and total humiliation.

I'm a secluded person, I'm VERY unsocial, I don't talk to people simply because of my teeth. I'm humiliated, embarrassed and like you, KICK the living CRAP out of myself for not taking care of them.

Why live in the past and regret.... it's time to move forward and DO something about it. Don't think that your "teeth" will judge how you parent your child.

Keep coming here and talking and working things out. The first step is to make an appt with a dentist and have a consultation done. Then come back here, tell us about it. That's what we're here for. That's what a majority of us are here for... support! Not to be ridiculed or shamed.