Self Confidence and Dating with Dental Phobia

[YoungAndAfraid]

I know that I always deal with internal severe self confidence issues (despite displaying a confident exterior) and I'm constantly worried about embarrassment or being called out because of my teeth.

I was planning to have them whitened before my prom but today it was discovered I will need a crown. Not sure if it will be covered so the money that was supposed to go towards whitening may have to be spent on the crown. Also not sure if all the work I need will be done on time for that date.

It's so frustrating because now my self confidence is completely shot and I'm overly worried. I'm thinking ridiculous things like "my date won't take me anymore because he will realize I have bad teeth and he just hasn't seen it yet but when he does..." Or "maybe the reason guys X, Y, and Z didn't want to go out was because they don't like my teeth, which is usually the first thing you notice about a person".

I know there are a lot of people of different ages on this site and wondering what advice you guys might have for dealing with teeth related self confidence issues that I face even when I'm not in the chair. I don't want my embarrassment or fear to negatively effect my relationships with possible friends or boyfriends.

Feeling so frustrated.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi,

allow me to offer you some ideas that address the whitening issue along with the financial limitations you presented. Before I start, allow me to say as a man that human beings and women particularly are attractive not because of their teeth whiteness (too white is actually weird...) but according to what they radiate and that has to do with how well one feels about him/herself.
Now, let's talk about teeth:
After a teeth cleaning, the teeth become more bright. In many cases, the petit is pleased with this result and no bleaching is needed.
if you are still interested in bleaching but cannot afford that because of the crown, you can make a deal with your dentist: ask for a temporary crown (it should be part of the work for a permanent crown so no extra costs) and have the bleaching first and once you achieve the teeth shade you desire, then make the permanent crown which fits the color of the teeth. This way you can postpone the crown hopefully till the following year and have your teeth bleached. This has to be agreed with your dentist who has to trust you coming back for the permanent crown.