Worried. And Stressed

[WhisperingShadows]

Well. Long story short. I'm 18. My teeth are terrible looking. My mental issues messed with my oral hygiene but recently as I've gotten a lot better. I need help.

Okay. So it's okay to judge me.

I know I messed up. I won't deny it. I just want to know if it's to late or not.

My gums are purple. Teeth yellow.
They've started to feel weird.
Like sometimes certain teeth will feel like numb but fuzzy. I have a small hole in one of my teeth. It's barely noticeable but I noticed it right away. I'm stressing out because I feel like I might lose em.

They are sensitive now recently after I started to brush them. Cold kills some of my teeth and warmth eh well. Feels idk.. weird.. I just need help ? I'm trying to change a lot of my ways. Including dental hygiene

 

[Sevena]

It's never too late to develop healthy habits! No one here will judge you, as many have been in the same position, and it's a good thing that you're looking to improve the situation now.

Brushing twice a day and flossing will help greatly. Try to reduce your consumption of sugary/acidic drinks. Flavoured water can be a good substitute. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. That means 3 weeks of brushing and flossing as part of your routine, and then it will become second nature. You can do it.

What about a visit to the dentist? Getting any issues treated, and getting a professional cleaning, will not only give you much relief, but it will greatly improve the condition of your gums. If you're scared of the dentist, you can let the dentist know at the start of the appointment that you're very nervous and would like them to go easy on you. Dental treatment shouldn't be painful, including cleanings. You won't lose all your teeth - you would most likely have much much bigger and more painful issues already if you were even close to that outcome. Try not to panic over worse-case scenarios. They almost never come true.


Hang in there! You'll be okay!

 

[WhisperingShadows]

It's never too late to develop healthy habits! No one here will judge you, as many have been in the same position, and it's a good thing that you're looking to improve the situation now.

Brushing twice a day and flossing will help greatly. Try to reduce your consumption of sugary/acidic drinks. Flavoured water can be a good substitute. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. That means 3 weeks of brushing and flossing as part of your routine, and then it will become second nature. You can do it.

What about a visit to the dentist? Getting any issues treated, and getting a professional cleaning, will not only give you much relief, but it will greatly improve the condition of your gums. If you're scared of the dentist, you can let the dentist know at the start of the appointment that you're very nervous and would like them to go easy on you. Dental treatment shouldn't be painful, including cleanings. You won't lose all your teeth - you would most likely have much much bigger and more painful issues already if you were even close to that outcome. Try not to panic over worse-case scenarios. They almost never come true.


Hang in there! You'll be okay!

Well I also forgot to mention my gums are receeding. And yes. 21 days to form a habit is kinda true. Ive stopped drinking sodas. I'm trying to switch my ways. Thanks. ?. And well. I am spooked by a dentist. I mean I know what they're gonna tell me already. My teeth are quite nasty. So far it's been 3 days since ive started to brush my teeth. And as a note I noticed that some areas they got pink around the tooth. While the rest of the gun stays a purple color.. I just haven't been able to sleep to well because it is starting to bug me. Sometimes one of my tooths feels a weird pressure/fuzzy ness when I run over it with my tongue and apply light pressure on the tooth. It doesn't hurt. But feels absolutely weird as hell to the point where when it does happen it messes with my paranoia.

 

[Animalhouse]

To be honest with you, your story sounds like it came straight out of my own head, except I am 30 years old. I too spent much of the past decade in a deep depression, due to low self esteem, job woes, friendship problems, and an underlying medical condition that was recently diagnosed. My parents never took me to the dentist as a child and the one and only time I went to a dentist was when I was in college after a chipped a molar after biting down on a piece of bone. My experience at the dentist was absolutely terrible. It took forever, the dentist was mean and rough on my mouth, at one point she jammed one of those plastic things in my mouth to keep my mouth open without telling me, causing my jaw to become dislocated and has caused me problems ever since. Long story short, I never went back and to this day I've never even had a cleaning.

Once the depression set it, I neglected my health in many ways, mostly in the form of bad eating habits and neglecting my teeth. I thought, "who cares, I don't have friends or a job anyway." Time went on and things got worse. Like you, my teeth feel weird. Nothing really hurts exactly, but sometimes I get this phantom loose tooth feeling and i instantly go into a downward spiral of emotions. Then I spend time in the mirror, poking around with my finger and don't see anything moving, but the feeling remains. A few times, my husband tried to schedule an appointment with the dentist for me and I promptly flipped out and cancelled.

Which brings me me to the turning point of my story. A few months ago, I went to my primary doctor for a checkup with the same feelings of depression and anxiety. The doctor commented and was concerned over how much weight I had gained since the last year. I was devastated and cried myself to sleep that night. I then found out that my weight gain was caused by a treatable medical condition. I took the opportunity to turn my life around. I started eating right and I'm still successfully losing weight which makes me feel better, but one thing remains over my head...these gnarly teeth.

After nearly 10 years of keeping my fear to myself, I broke down and told my husband about all of my concerns, my fear of the dentist, the fear of losing my teeth, my nightmares about losing teeth, my inability to sleep, my late nights spent googling things about teeth. Just this weekend, I finally agreed to go and my husband made an appointment for me. It's tomorrow and I am completely freaking out, I'm ashamed, disgusted, and fearful of the outcome. But my doctor's words remain in my head. He told me that I am too young to live like this, always miserable and anxious. You are young too. And you are not alone. It's never too late to start taking care of yourself. You can't go back in time and change the past. You can only change what happens from now on. It takes a lot of courage to put your fears aside, but I encourage you to take the next step.

 

[Enarete]

Dear WhisperingShadows,

it might look like you have messed up and you might even believe it too, but it's not true.

Nobody enjoys doing unhealthy things and neglecting parts of their body or life and if someone does, it's mostly due to a deep suffering or just due to not having learned it. The only important thing is that you decided to change it and as Sevena said, it's never too late for that.

I am sure that it's not too late. You might need a thorough cleaning to get your gums into a healthy state again. You know, if you look around here on the forum, you will find people who have been dreading the dentist for years and were absolutely sure they would need extractions and whatever.. and when you look at their post after the first visit, they are totally surprised about not needing half as much treatment. And there were also some with lose teeth who just needed a cleaning. Chances are that a dentist will tell you something you don't know and it would be something much more positive that you keep telling yourself.

If you do not feel ready to make a dental appointment yet, that's fine. But what about to just look up for dentists in your areas to see if there are some nice looking and skilled in dealing with nervous patients? Maybe a practice that can also be contacted via email? Again, no need to contact anyone if you don't feel up to, these things need time, but just starting to look for options might be helpful.

All the best and keep us posted

 

[WhisperingShadows]

Dear WhisperingShadows,

it might look like you have messed up and you might even believe it too, but it's not true.

Nobody enjoys doing unhealthy things and neglecting parts of their body or life and if someone does, it's mostly due to a deep suffering or just due to not having learned it. The only important thing is that you decided to change it and as Sevena said, it's never too late for that.

I am sure that it's not too late. You might need a thorough cleaning to get your gums into a healthy state again. You know, if you look around here on the forum, you will find people who have been dreading the dentist for years and were absolutely sure they would need extractions and whatever.. and when you look at their post after the first visit, they are totally surprised about not needing half as much treatment. And there were also some with lose teeth who just needed a cleaning. Chances are that a dentist will tell you something you don't know and it would be something much more positive that you keep telling yourself.

If you do not feel ready to make a dental appointment yet, that's fine. But what about to just look up for dentists in your areas to see if there are some nice looking and skilled in dealing with nervous patients? Maybe a practice that can also be contacted via email? Again, no need to contact anyone if you don't feel up to, these things need time, but just starting to look for options might be helpful.

All the best and keep us posted

Well. I'm not scared of a dentist. I mean I'm scared what they'll tell me sure. I ll even tell them. Doc. My teeth are nasty and stuff. Help me. I'm trying to turn my ways around. It's 8:14 pm for me right now. And my brushing schedule is weird atm. Cause I'm going out to eat at a late notice. And don't know when I'll be back home. I'm sure it doesnf matter what time you brush teeth but. I'm not sure if I should brush them now and then go eat.. or wait till I get home and is done and over with

 

[WhisperingShadows]

Well I just noticed that while I was drinking a cold aloe Vera pomegranate juice that one of my k9's when I rubbed my tongue against it had like a pop sensation in it. Edit:

I noticed it a while back. And now that I went to the bathroom to check it out in the mirror I very lightly moved It with my finger and it moved quite a bit. It doesn't move forward backwards as much as it does side ways. When I lightly moved my finger side ways I felt the pop sensation in it.

 

[ReyCo]

Well I just noticed that while I was drinking a cold aloe Vera pomegranate juice that one of my k9's when I rubbed my tongue against it had like a pop sensation in it. Edit:

I noticed it a while back. And now that I went to the bathroom to check it out in the mirror I very lightly moved It with my finger and it moved quite a bit. It doesn't move forward backwards as much as it does side ways. When I lightly moved my finger side ways I felt the pop sensation in it.

This has happened to me as well. I ate some meat and reached with my finger nail to take out some left over meat stuck in between them. I heard the small crack and later went to brush and it fell out. Its scary as hell for sure. Thankfully, my dentist was able to fix it with a filling. He almost like shaped my tooth with the filling.

When it comes to brushing, you should brush after a meal and before you go to sleep you should brush so that the fluoride (toothpaste) has more time to work its magic. Also, dont rinse the toothpaste completely off as it can wash out the fluoride.

I would suggest for you to buy ACT mouthwash as it is alcohol free and helps remineralize soft spots (spots on your teeth that are whiter than the rest of the tooth).

 

[WhisperingShadows]

This has happened to me as well. I ate some meat and reached with my finger nail to take out some left over meat stuck in between them. I heard the small crack and later went to brush and it fell out. Its scary as hell for sure. Thankfully, my dentist was able to fix it with a filling. He almost like shaped my tooth with the filling.

When it comes to brushing, you should brush after a meal and before you go to sleep you should brush so that the fluoride (toothpaste) has more time to work its magic. Also, dont rinse the toothpaste completely off as it can wash out the fluoride.

I would suggest for you to buy ACT mouthwash as it is alcohol free and helps remineralize soft spots (spots on your teeth that are whiter than the rest of the tooth).

Recommended tooth paste? I need to get act mouth wash. I have some but I'm not sure it's doing what I want it to. And yes. Some of my teeth have like. White spots on it. The one with the hole that developed has it on a white spot.

 

[ReyCo]

Recommended tooth paste? I need to get act mouth wash. I have some but I'm not sure it's doing what I want it to. And yes. Some of my teeth have like. White spots on it. The one with the hole that developed has it on a white spot.

I would have to recommend Sensodyne toothpaste. Its a bit expensive at 5 dollars or so per tube but we need it. Also, I remember someone at my dentist mentioning prescription toothpaste which I assume has higher levels of flouride. I would really look into that. In fact, I have a check up on some extractions tomorrow so I will also ask about what toothpastes they could prescribe and Ill let you know about that.

For mouthwash I use ACT because its alcohol free and has flouride as well which is just a little boost when used after brushing. Its was about 5 dollars as well.

 

[WhisperingShadows]

I would have to recommend Sensodyne toothpaste. Its a bit expensive at 5 dollars or so per tube but we need it. Also, I remember someone at my dentist mentioning prescription toothpaste which I assume has higher levels of flouride. I would really look into that. In fact, I have a check up on some extractions tomorrow so I will also ask about what toothpastes they could prescribe and Ill let you know about that.

For mouthwash I use ACT because its alcohol free and has flouride as well which is just a little boost when used after brushing. Its was about 5 dollars as well.

Well. I've noticed that my tongue when it rubs against my lower teeth it's rough af sometimes. And right on. Thanks. Im gonna be making my appointment soon. I hope ? I been stressing out for the last week. So I hope when I go they tell me good news.

Edit:

And well I know I have a cavity. I been staying away from the sugars now recently. I'm not to spooked what the dentist is gonna tell me. Cause my gums are receeding. (I think so at least) cause my back teeth I feel like a rough edge at the very bottom where my gums are now at. I'm sure I'll need a deep cleaning. But what I'm worried about is what the dentist will tell me. I don't want my teeth to be pulled out but I suppose it's my fault you know?

 

[Enarete]

But what I'm worried about is what the dentist will tell me. I don't want my teeth to be pulled out but I suppose it's my fault you know?

I'm sorry to hear that you worry so much about losing your teeth and also that you feel like it is your fault. For your fear of losing teeth: the main approach in dentistry is to save teeth and there are a lot of things that can be done to do it. Extractions are just the last option and from what you write it doesn't seem things are that bad. Lovely to see that you are taking such a good care for your teeth now and also that you are mindful about your diet.

When you look at the posts here on the forum, you will find out that people mostly need much less treatment then they thought they would and this might be your case as well.

 

[WhisperingShadows]

I'm sorry to hear that you worry so much about losing your teeth and also that you feel like it is your fault. For your fear of losing teeth: the main approach in dentistry is to save teeth and there are a lot of things that can be done to do it. Extractions are just the last option and from what you write it doesn't seem things are that bad. Lovely to see that you are taking such a good care for your teeth now and also that you are mindful about your diet.

When you look at the posts here on the forum, you will find out that people mostly need much less treatment then they thought they would and this might be your case as well.

Id hope so. I hate that they are so sensitive now. And my lower two teeth are rough feeling. It bugs me to heck... I appreciate the support in these stressful times everyone. I wasnt gonna go to this site but I had seen some stories and figured.. maybe it really isnt to late for my teeth. And that I should try at least. I've never seen what an extraction looks like or how it's done. I'd prefer not to. Till the day I have to get one. I'm not a to fearful person but when I hear about things that may or may not be painful I hesitate.

 

[ReyCo]

Well. I've noticed that my tongue when it rubs against my lower teeth it's rough af sometimes. And right on. Thanks. Im gonna be making my appointment soon. I hope ? I been stressing out for the last week. So I hope when I go they tell me good news.

Edit:

And well I know I have a cavity. I been staying away from the sugars now recently. I'm not to spooked what the dentist is gonna tell me. Cause my gums are receeding. (I think so at least) cause my back teeth I feel like a rough edge at the very bottom where my gums are now at. I'm sure I'll need a deep cleaning. But what I'm worried about is what the dentist will tell me. I don't want my teeth to be pulled out but I suppose it's my fault you know?

So came back from the dentist and was able to get the strong toothpaste I wrote you about. Its called PreviDent 5000 by colgate. The cost was 17 dollars and my insurance did not cover it. However, Its so gonna be so worth it to have the peace of mind knowing I have a bit of extra help with this toothpaste.

I do hope you make that appointment as you are very young and most likely can save your teeth. I wish I had someone telling me to take care of my teeth at 18. Couldve saved me so many fillings and root canals.lol.

 

[WhisperingShadows]

So came back from the dentist and was able to get the strong toothpaste I wrote you about. Its called PreviDent 5000 by colgate. The cost was 17 dollars and my insurance did not cover it. However, Its so gonna be so worth it to have the peace of mind knowing I have a bit of extra help with this toothpaste.

I do hope you make that appointment as you are very young and most likely can save your teeth. I wish I had someone telling me to take care of my teeth at 18. Couldve saved me so many fillings and root canals.lol.

I'm waiting for my insurance card lol sadly it's taking forever. And well. I bought sensodyne toothpaste today. They were out of act sadly... I hate the white spots on my teeth. They seem to be getting a little whiter. But my gums are still eh. Purple. I noted that the areas that are pink now are by the teeth. The rest of the purple is above the teeth. I heard since my gums are purple I am gonna most likely need to get a deep cleaning. I will continue use of the sensodyne and ill keep you posted. ?

 

[Moxie]

Also, please see a primary physician. You’re awfully young to have so many tooth issues, despite neglecting them. There might be some health issues that are contributing to your dental problems and if they’re not corrected, your teeth will continue to suffer.

 

[WhisperingShadows]

Also, please see a primary physician. You’re awfully young to have so many tooth issues, despite neglecting them. There might be some health issues that are contributing to your dental problems and if they’re not corrected, your teeth will continue to suffer.

Oh I know that. It's why im here. I'm putting an end to my teeth abuse. And as an update. I been using sensodyne. So far it's working fairly great. I been able to tolerate cold/hot drinks now

 

[WhisperingShadows]

Soooo.. I got my dental appointment two weeks from now. Omg. Im kinda nervous

 

[Enarete]

Heyyyy, that's great news! Well done and a huge pat on the back! Lovely to hear this, it was for sure not easy. You are doing great.

Sending some good vibes and wishes for the waiting time. Let us know how you are doing and may the days till your appointment pass quickly and calmly.

 

[WhisperingShadows]

Its been a while... I have to get a deep cleaning.. Ooo. Scary. Yeah. Hahah... Im nervous as heck right now