Terrified of attending upcoming dental appointment and considering not attending

[DentalDoomer]

Hi fellow dental phobics,

I am 25 and I have essentially always had good teeth. The only ‘work’ I have ever had to had carried out was when I have to have my teeth cleaned by the dentist which regularly happens as my bottom front teeth are crooked and difficult to clean. I have never (and will never) smoked, I do not drink alcohol and the only thing I do drink is water and no sugary drinks. I will not drink/eat anything that is very acidic.

For the past several months I have gotten into a diabolical habit of not brushing my teeth at night and effectively only brushing my teeth once a day. I am not sure why I was doing this but I feel that I was so tired that I genuinely forgot to brush my teeth at the end of the day, and one habit progressed to another. I do have very poor mental ill health (anxiety and depression) and my mental health is at one of its lowest points, however this is not an excuse as I have felt like this for many years and my teeth have never been affected in the slightest. I am not experiencing any pain in my teeth, which I suppose is a very minor positive thing.

To put into perspective how awful this is for me, I was considering orthodontics treatment a few years ago and to be considered you need to have teeth that are perfectly clean. I decided not to go through with the treatment, mainly because of financial concerns and because one of my teeth needed to be removed to commence treatment and I wasn’t willing to do this.

I attended the dentist last year and it was absolutely fine with no issues whatsoever. I was actually excited about attending as I was worrying about my lack of attendance during the lockdown period.

Here are photographs of my teeth which are attached. If anyone could shed some light as to what (if any) dental work will be carried out to make my teeth better I would be very grateful. I am particularly worried about the front tooth on the top layer as it appears discoloured and several teeth on the bottom layer which are very plaque-y.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Gordon]

In those photos, it's just heavy staining, do you have a big tea drinking habit? Just needs a good scale and polish and will look miles better.

 

[DentalDoomer]

In those photos, it's just heavy staining, do you have a big tea drinking habit? Just needs a good scale and polish and will look miles better.

I don’t drink any tea whatsoever! Thank you very much for helping to ease my anxieties.

I do have some plaque on the bottom of the lower set of front teeth. Do you feel this will be an issue?

There is some plaque on the back of my teeth (front and back) but unfortunately I cannot take a photograph of these due to being unable to angle my phone camera correctly. I am presuming that because my teeth are okay from the front the back of my teeth must be acceptable as well?

Here are some more photographs of the inside of my mouth (just for reference) and a photograph of the left side of my teeth where I can see some plaque which is also worrying me. Do you feel that any work will need to be completed on the sides and/or insides of my teeth?

Many thanks for your assistance. I am very grateful.

 

[Gordon]

Really can't be certain from photos, but I don't see anything too dreadful in there.

 

[DentalDoomer]

Really can't be certain from photos, but I don't see anything too dreadful in there.

I went to the dentist today and there were no issues! I had the teeth scaled and polished and they are back to normal again. Hopefully they stay that way for now!

Thank you very much for your assistance. It is very much appreciated.