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Three dead front teeth, horrible anxiety

L

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Nov 13, 2017
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All righty, so. Hopefully venting will help?

When I was younger, I got into a bike accident of sorts -- one that was completely avoidable, much to my lingering dismay. It had just rained, and I was rushing down a hill and then around a corner, a little bit behind schedule. As luck and carelessness would have it, I hit a fallen tree branch as I turned the corner and ended up knocking three teeth out of place (both central incisors + the left lateral).

Went crying to the dentist, got the three teeth splinted (I had braces back then, which made it easier), and went home to let my face heal.

Week or two later, I learned that the trauma killed the teeth, and then that I'd have to get root canals for all three. I'd like to think I handled it well, back then.

Well.

It's approximately three years later, today; I'm closer to twenty than I am to fifteen, now... and tomorrow I have to go back to the endodontist to see how the teeth/roots/everything else looks.

I'm terrified. I can not contain my dread. The left lateral seems like it's darkened to me, but I'm not sure if that's paranoia or if it's actually gotten worse over time. My left front tooth has a chip in the front... and then a hairline crack/craze line that's noticeable in light, which bothers me to death. The right front tooth has a chip on the corner... though honestly? That's the thing I mind the least.

The teeth pulse sometimes, after hot or cold drinks -- not painfully, but in a way that worries me. And they don't feel like teeth, which... bothers me more than I'd like to admit, honestly. As does the thin enamel (?) on all three of them -- my teeth are somewhat translucent, though I'm not sure how long that's been going on. Translucent and yellowed, much to my disgust... having braces over a span of a decade didn't help, but that's another story.

It could've been a lot worse. It also could've been a lot better. It's my own fault, but over the past week my thoughts have just been about these front teeth and how much stress they've giving me. I can't get my mind off them -- or the thought of implants, or of failed root canals... reading about the topic's just made it worse, I think. :(

So, tomorrow's The Reckoning. I don't know what I'm going to do, no matter what news I receive. I also don't know what to do about the chip on the front of my upper left incisor -- and that's assuming I don't need to pull the tooth out, or anything. If they're all in good shape, maybe I'll set about to finding a way to whiten them... or keep worrying about how transparent and chipped and cracked and dark they are.

(Sorry, sorry; this is 3+ years' worth of pent-up melodrama. I'm just... stressed? Nervous? Even if all three teeth are good, I'm wondering if implants might've been a better solution -- everyone seems to have a different opinion on the matter : \ )
 
In general you are much better with natural teeth and not implants when you have a choice. Root canals on front teeth usually go very well and are almost always successful. The problems occur with external resorption and cracks in the roots. Get them checked and x-rays.
 
Can you get them crowned?

Believe me, I know your anxiety. I broke my front tooth #8 when I was 7. I am 50 now. I've had crowns on it over the years but it's slowly shifted forward out of place. I had a root canal done, apparently when I was a kid because I don't even remember it. It's been hurting me for a while and my current dentist found decay up under there. I've had to switch dentists a numerous times over the past 8 years because I've been complaining about it hurting and moving. They'd just blow it off and I'd live with it a while until I complained again. I got sick of the cycle and went elsewhere to the dentist I have now.

Mine was not really salvageable. Decay, it is totally black and it's only half a tooth anyway. So, I had it pulled last Wed in preps for an implant. This past weekend was the worst!!!! I had so much anxiety I couldn't sleep and I didn't sleep for 2 days. Phantom limb syndrome I guess. My tooth is GONE!! How do I live with that? I am better now though. The swollen gums from my bone graft have gone down. I get my stitches out Wednesday and I'm slowly learning to eat with this stupid flipper. But the flipper tooth looks so much better than the previous crown I had. At least I can smile! So there is a positive. :)

Point to all of this is, just know someone gets your anxiety. Take it one day at a time. Try not to read the Internet too much cause I do that and make it worse! Weigh out all your options before deciding anything and if at all possible that you can keep your teeth, do it. Don't pull them unless your dentist says you absolutely have to!

Good luck. :)
 

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