toothsmith-please could i have some help

mattsue

yes of course you can x

Nicki

Could you contact the Community Dental Team who will have "Special Care Dentists" who are dentists who are specially trained in dealing with vulnerable children and adults which include adults with mental health issues. If you can find one who will see you, I would also take your psychiatrist up on his kind offer to accompany you. It will be tough, but if you can get through it (with maximum support) it will never be as bad again.

I don't have dental phobia thank goodness, but have had major anxiety issues in the past during a nervous breakdown, and my DD who has a disability is terrified of dentists (really does have a phobia) and she is seen by the community team who are fantastic with her (if need be they will let you go several times just to the consulting room without examining or even talking to you about your teeth until you feel comfortable enough to move forward) I can understand some of what you are going through, but promise you from personal experience that if you can just make the first step, you will feel better for it in the long term.

BlondeHeadOn

My teeth started to feel 'funny' about 10 months ago, just on one side so I stopped chewing on that side. I am terrfied of going to the dentist so I kept putting it off, and on that side of my mouth the teeth kept feeling like they didn't fit properly or might be loose. Finally a bit of tooth (or so I thought) fell off, and I panicked that they were all going to break up and fall out.....

.... so I forced mysefl to go to the dentist....

.... and it turned out that my teeth were all fine, but I had a build-up of plaque on just 2 teeth at the top/back. The plaque had become set and hard and basically meant my teeth were mis-shapen, and no longer 'fit' with my other teeth properly. The broken-off bit was a bit of the plaque. The dentist cleaned off the plaque and ploished my teeth - and lo and behold they all feel and work fine again!

I would not have believed that my mouth could feel so odd with just a bit of plaque, but this might be a reason for your teeth feeling funny? Just a thought....

Hugs to you, and good luck with sorting it out - and remember, it may be just be something as simple as a bit of plaque.

random456

Thanks all. Nikis post is very interesting, I never knew people like that existed, i will look into it. They are (touch wood) feeling a bit better as i am chewing on them more now, trying to take my mind off it.

boo81

Tigger36 thanks for the link, I have a fear of the dentist and havent been in 10 years. Ive always been terrified and remember breaking out in a cold sweat when I was very young and overheard my mum telling my teacher I was seeing the dentist once I had changed out my school clothes!

My mum is hopefully calling for me this time and im now 26! I wont go alone as im simply too terrified but ive been recommended someone who is very good. I know I have lots of plaque and im hoping thats all, ive never seen a hygienist and its just really worrying me. The cost is the other concern!

Tigger36

boo81 wrote: »

Tigger36 thanks for the link, I have a fear of the dentist and havent been in 10 years. Ive always been terrified and remember breaking out in a cold sweat when I was very young and overheard my mum telling my teacher I was seeing the dentist once I had changed out my school clothes!

My mum is hopefully calling for me this time and im now 26! I wont go alone as im simply too terrified but ive been recommended someone who is very good. I know I have lots of plaque and im hoping thats all, ive never seen a hygienist and its just really worrying me. The cost is the other concern!

I had my first deep cleaning session yesterday to get rid of the plaque build up. My dentist did it himself - they don't have a Hygienist - and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I took the decision to go private so I could have the 'Wand'. It's a painless injection and, believe me, it was worth the extra money. I used a 0% purchase credit card for the bill and intend to pay it off as quick as I can. He did half of my mouth yesterday and I'm getting the other half done in 3 weeks. He said I might have a few days of discomfort but I actually don't have any :T
I keep looking at my teeth in the mirror because I can't believe the difference already. The backs are spotless and they just don't look like my teeth. Honestly, bite the bullet and go. There's no smell anymore, they tend to hide instruments so you can't see them and if you get the right one they will be really patient and gentle. On my first appointment my dentist did a full check up without me freaking in the slightest. You won't regret the decision - I'm now living a much happier life believe it or not. The worry has gone, I know that my teeth are fine and all of the worries about cavities, extractions etc have gone. I can also walk up and down the dental aisle in the supermarket at ease! :j

sinizterguy

Your teeth probably feel odd because you have been grinding your teeth at night. Or even clenching.

I find that the sensation is increased when you are stressed or going through a period of increased stress. I spent my last three years in uni clenching my teeth at night and waking up feeling like my teeth were not my own. They also "feel" a bit loose, but they will be fine. The normal treatment if signs of bruxism (grinding) is seen is to get you a biteguard. Similar to the sports ones but custom made for you.

As for gingival recession, everyone will have some. How much depends on how good your oral hygiene and many other factors.

When you are brushing make sure you use a soft tooth brush and that youre doing it properly. If you press too hard and your technique is not correct, it can cause gingival recession and tooth wear. Same applies for flossing - technique has to be right.

Corsodyl has the disadvantage of causing some staining. I would not advise patients to use corsodyl on a daily basis unless have active periodontal disease (normally indicated by bleeding and swollen gums). You can continue to use that every night, but I would dilute it. But there are differing schools of thought on this and a different dentist may give you different advice. Also do not drink coffee or tea for about 45mins after you have used corsodyl - as doing so can increase the chances of staining.

There is general anaesthesia available under the NHS but there are usually huge waiting times. You cannot get general anaesthesia in a dental practice, but you can get sedation (either as a gas or intavenous). Most practice dont offer them under the NHS, although there may be a few around.

I think I have answered most of your questions, but feel free to ask me anything else you want. I am not as good as Toothsmith for reading through long posts and answering all the questions.

random456

Thanks sinizter. I have woken up a few times noticing my teeth are clenched, but not the ones that are troubling me?
I take it you are a dentist then? I have used corsodyl before with no staining but that may be because i do brush my teeth a lot (with a soft brush and correct technique)
What would be my way to go then re: some sort of being 'knocked out' during treatment? like I said before, some sort of intravenous valium would do nothing so it would have to be something else, and this is just for a check up! I can't afford private, maybe if I saved I would have max £100..:(
Do you know anything about these 'special care dentists' that Nicki mentioned?

Toothsmith

Hi Pumpa,

Having read above, you've ben given good advice already, and pretty much everything has been covered.

First thing - you need to go to a dentist.

No decent dentist will get you in for a first appoinment and start drilling there and then. They will talk to you first and ask you why you are there at LEAST!

It is not uncommon for psycological problems of many shades to manifest themselves in bad feelings towards your teeth.

Stress can also make you grind your teeth at night, which can also make them feel very wierd during the day. All of them or just a few of them.

So - there is a high probability that NOTHING is wrong with your teeth, but you still need someone to look at them and tell you that.

Gengigel, and Corsodyl are both excellent medications for the problem that they've been designed for. Both are absolutely useless at curing things they're not designed for, and neither have been shown to have any effect at all on nutters! (I know I know!!)

Get to a dentist

random456

Well I dunno you know! being a certified nutter and all, me gums do feel better after using the stuff :P
I was just very panicky when I did the orig post, so I went out and bought everything dental I could afford. They do feel much better already, I am being mega scrupulous in the cleaning, examining etc, no loose gums, no bleeding or pain, one small bit of tartar inbetween 2 teeth that is all. I'm sticking to this until I can get the courage to go (do dentists still see you after 8 pints of John Smiths?? JOKE!)