• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

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Off I go...

I keep thinking about braces lately. I just want straight teeth. One of my front upper teeth sticks out quite a lot, and I keep thinking it would be nice to have my teeth straightened, so one they look nicer, and two, I don't get food stuck behind it nearly every time I eat.

One thing I would love, if it was an option, is Invisalign. But I'm worried that it won't be an option for me if my teeth are too much for Invisalign to sort out. Most of my teeth are straight, it's just one or two of my front teeth sticks out a bit.

I keep looking at the before and after pictures on the websites of a few places I want to get an opinion from. Two of them offer virtual consultations and I want to do one but I'm anxious. Argh. I've also seen that my dentist is offering consultations for Invisalign (I don't know if virtual or in person) and I could email to ask for advice.

I still want to save up a good size deposit to pay for treatment but there wouldn't be any harm in having a consultation, would there? Argh ?

No harm at all! If it means anything, I wish I would have done this years ago. Invisalign wasn’t even on my radar when I went in because of my bite, crowding, and high canine teeth, but I’ve learned the technology has advanced so much. I’ve also learned that if one ortho says no, the next could say yes. Everyone thinks Invisalign will yield the same results regardless but your results are dependent on your provider. He/she designs the plans. Invisalign comes up with a baseline and it’s up to the provider to tweak and change it.

I would also encourage making consults with orthodontists over dentists. Dentists take a course to become Invisalign certified but orthos have years (sometimes decades) of experience aligning teeth and perfecting the bite.

One thing that helped me was trying to figure out exactly what scared me. Then working through why that scared me and what I could do to make it better. One of the first things I told my ortho was that I was embarrassed and didn’t want him to judge me. He said “why would I do that?” And I was instantly at ease. I’d take an ortho appointment over a dentists one any day. It’s pure excitement over nerves, especially progress appointments!

Good luck and keep us posted. I have nothing bad to say.
 
Thanks guys, sorry for the late reply ?

The main one I'm considering is a proper orthodontist, but the trouble is, in the nearest 20 miles to me, there's only two options for a proper orthodontist. I would then have to travel 25 miles or even 30 miles to have another opinion. I know it would be best to see a proper orthodontist but I'm limited for options.

I've been trying to take a photo of myself smiling big (like asked) for one virtual consultation, and I can't get a steady picture (can't ask anyone to take a picture of me), and it's really knocking my confidence seeing how hideous I look. One side of my face is bigger than the other. My face looks horrible and my teeth look bad. Like they're slanted and one sticks out and I feel so hideous. I try my best not to let them get me down but it's hard sometimes.

I feel annoyed at my mum sometimes because if she took me to a dentist regularly, I probably would have gotten braces for free as a teenager and I wouldn't have to pay thousands of pounds as an adult. It also feels like I'll have to wait until I eventually manage to move out to get braces because I don't want to make her feel bad at the same time.

I am also slightly paranoid and panicking thinking my teeth are shifting but I don't think they are. Hm. I've not been having a good time lately ?
 
It’s been a bit since you posted your message. I hope you’re hanging in there. Thinking about teeth can really weigh on our mental being. Personally, I could never take pictures of my teeth prior to starting treatment, so I completely understand. Maybe it will be better to wait until you can do an in person consult? It was much easier to have someone else look at them than myself.

I was so worried about what people would think. I had the opposite situation. My mom wanted to get braces for me but I flat out refused due to my phobia, but I still haven’t told them I have Invisalign and I see them often. Will they find out eventually? Probably. But cross that bridge when you get to it.

It‘s a lot of money but if it’s something you really want, it’s worth it. ?
 
Thanks thisisme, you're right that it would probably be best to wait till I can do an in person consult.

I just go through periods where I feel so insecure and feel repulsed by my own appearance. I'm feeling a bit less insecure but it does weigh on my mind a lot (I know that's not normal).

I'm not so worried about other people's reactions, I'm worried about how my own family will react. I know my sister won't be too fussed by it, but I'm worried it's going to upset my mum and make her feel bad for not taking me to dentist after I was 5 or 6. She does know that I've taken myself to a dentist the past 3 times I've been. She doesn't seem too fussed but I can never tell with her. I don't even want to tell my grandmother as she is very critical and pessimistic.

I would still love to see if Invisalign could be an option as that would make it less noticeable but I honestly dread to think what my family would say if I had to get fixed braces. No one in my family has ever had them before. I just dread what they'll think.
 
Thanks thisisme, you're right that it would probably be best to wait till I can do an in person consult.

I just go through periods where I feel so insecure and feel repulsed by my own appearance. I'm feeling a bit less insecure but it does weigh on my mind a lot (I know that's not normal).

I'm not so worried about other people's reactions, I'm worried about how my own family will react. I know my sister won't be too fussed by it, but I'm worried it's going to upset my mum and make her feel bad for not taking me to dentist after I was 5 or 6. She does know that I've taken myself to a dentist the past 3 times I've been. She doesn't seem too fussed but I can never tell with her. I don't even want to tell my grandmother as she is very critical and pessimistic.

I would still love to see if Invisalign could be an option as that would make it less noticeable but I honestly dread to think what my family would say if I had to get fixed braces. No one in my family has ever had them before. I just dread what they'll think.

I still dread what my family will think about me getting Invisalign, haha. It’s been two months. At this new point, it feels like a social experiment. Nobody in my immediate family has ever had them either (braces or Invisalign), and I know my sister will be jealous that I will “now be prettier“ in her words. Always a competition between us but that’s not why I got it.

You remind me a lot of myself. Every morning I’d get up and the first thing I’d think about were my teeth. Every morning. For a decade. Then, if that wasn’t bad enough, I would continue to think about my teeth all day and longed for the day I would be brave enough to face my fear. I was so insecure and felt like people must think less of me for my teeth. No matter how successful or well liked I was at work, I felt inferior to them. Obviously not true but it shows the emotional toll it was taking on me. Since starting Invisalign, my confidence has boomed. I take Snapchat selfies with my teeth and share them with the only person I’ve told. There has been little movement (I’m on 6/42) but getting them and knowing that I’m working on it makes me just feel more confident.

COVID helps a ton too but even when I see some friends now, I leave them in and just don’t say anything. It’s nobody’s business whether they notice or not.

Invisalign has advanced so much (aren’t we lucky we waited! Ha!). What’s possible now wasn’t just a few years ago.

Also if it’s helps, nobody ever has to know how self conscious you are about your teeth or how much you don’t like them. You don’t have to even give a reason but if you feel like you do, you can say something about your bite being off or them being hard to clean. I told my friend selfies made me dislike my teeth but not that every morning I woke up for 10 years and hated them. Haha. By the time my family finds out, I’ll be smiling in pictures and they’ll be like uhhh, something is different. Haha.

One step at a time. You are very young and it’s a big decision. One day you’ll either get them or you’ll own your current smile. There’s no in between. You’ll be happy and confident regardless of your decision!
 
Thank you thisisme, it's nice to have someone who understands.

I try to be confident with how my teeth look atm, but it's so hard at times.

I'll get there one day
 
Argh ?

I've managed to chip a tiny piece of one of my molars and I don't know whether I should leave it or get it looked at? I'm not really in any pain but I have read that if you leave a chipped tooth alone you could get worse problems down the line ?

It's a very tiny chip and the only way I notice it is if my tongue catches it. What would you do in this situation?
 
I think I might email and ask for some advice and see what they suggest. I think that might be best.

Now how do I write this email without me coming across as a nervous wreck?
 
I sent an email this morning, I had to reword it a few times but I sent it. Now I'm just waiting for a response. Hopefully I get a response in the next few days. I'm hoping I don't have to go to get it checked out but if I do I suppose that will help settle my nerves a bit more. Argh ?
 
They got back to me this afternoon, it was the really lovely nurse who's normally on reception when I go. It's really helped settle my worries, they said if it's not giving me any pain it can wait till I next go, which will be February. So I'm going to schedule my next check up and just try to forget about it. Ah, at least they got back to me ?
 
Managed to get my next check up booked in. So I can't back out of it now.

I am a bit worried that I'll be switched over to the new dentist there when I go for my next check up. When I rang in August to rearrange my appointment for August, I could have had an appointment with the new dentist, but I couldn't due to scheduling reasons and partly because I was worried. I hope I haven't been, but if I have I will try to keep an open mind. I had a quick look at their website again and read the about info for the new dentist. They sound alright, they do say they like helping anxious patients so if I have been, I hope that their just as nice and as calming as my current one. I'm just worried that if I have been switched to the new dentist, that it won't be a good fit and that I won't be able to see my current one again. Argh. Why am I worrying about this now, if my appointment isn't for another 2 months. Argh ?
 
I think I had gotten myself worked up into a state the other day. I've managed to slowly calmly down. I can't think about the what ifs, I've just got try to forget about it ??
 
I feel like I've gone back a step with the progress I was making.

Been a bit of talk about dentists and teeth at work today and its just made me feel all wobbly and euk. I'm starting to feel a bit more worried about my next appointment now. Worried I'm going to need a filling or two, worried about being switched to the new one without any warning. It's just argh ?

I know they will probably tell me before I go if I have been switched and I know I probably don't need a filling but who knows.

At least the tooth I chipped a bit off has sort of stopped catching my tongue.
 
I had gotten myself worked up a bit yesterday.

I've been having a bit of discomfort near the tooth I chipped last month, and I'm hoping it's just stress causing the discomfort in my jaw, but I got myself worked up thinking something is wrong with that tooth. It doesn't hurt, so it shouldn't be anything really, should it? Well, I'll find out next month if there is something wrong or not. I had gotten myself worked up over the what ifs. I'm terrified I'm going to have a panic attack if I do ever need treatment. Also worried of making a fool of myself. I just think the not knowing is making me worried.

I hope everything will go alright next month, I am sort of looking forward to getting my teeth cleaned again, hopefully with the ultrasonic, even though the manual way wasn't too bad. And it will probably be the first place that isn't work or home I've been to in a good while ? This is how exciting life is at the moment ?
 
I've had to reschedule my appointment, and I had gotten myself a bit worked up with anxiety over it ? I've managed to calm myself down a bit but I still feel ?
 
My appointment is in about two weeks time but I already feel so worried about it.

I'm also really worried atm because the space where my last wisdom tooth is meant to come through is causing quite a bit of discomfort lately. I do feel like it's trying to come through, but I'm sure my other ones didn't feel this bad. Part of me is worried that it's going to cause a problem for the tooth in front it and I'm really worried about it ?
 
My appointment is in about two weeks time but I already feel so worried about it.

I'm also really worried atm because the space where my last wisdom tooth is meant to come through is causing quite a bit of discomfort lately. I do feel like it's trying to come through, but I'm sure my other ones didn't feel this bad. Part of me is worried that it's going to cause a problem for the tooth in front it and I'm really worried about it ?

I have 3 of my 4 wisdom teeth. One is coming through (it’s nearly all the way through) and has occasionally caused a bit of discomfort but it always went away. Easier said than done but try not to panic. It can very much be just a wait and see approach. The big thing is just as it comes through, keep it super clean. Some wisdom teeth just grow in upright. You just don’t know. They may not even say anything about it at your appointment, especially if it hasn’t come through yet, and if you don’t want to bring it up, you don’t have to. I ignore topics about my wisdom teeth because those suckers are staying unless they absolutely 100% have to come out for others reasons.

You got this. In just over 1.5 weeks, you’ll be done and saying why did I worry so much! ?
 
Thank you thisisme for the reassurance

I don't know whether to mention it when I go or not. It will probably be better by then and I'll probably not need to mention it ?

Hopefully I can stay calm on the day and not panic or worry too much
 
Had a reminder email this morning, not that I really need a reminder, it's ingrained on my mind ?

Anxiety has gone down a little but but I'm still a bit worried about what they may find ?
 
I'm really going through the motions. I had managed to calm myself down, but now the anticipation is getting to me a bit and I feel a bit nauseous :shame: I also worked myself up thinking something is wrong, and that my teeth have gone really downhill in 6 months (I know that is just paranoia as my teeth look fine, and don't hurt).

At least by this time next week it will be long over and done with.

Argh :frantic:
 
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