Teeth pulled in my twenties?

poppytattoo

Hi everyone. 
I'm in my mid-late twenties. Due to a chronic illness I've all my life that means I vomit nearly every day, have permanent acid reflux, barely any immune system (so I get other infections and illnesses a lot) and my body has trouble with absorbing vitamins, I've always had trouble with my teeth. Most of my teeth had fillings in by the time I was 13 and in my early 20s those fillings were becoming cracked and the teeth infected so many of the fillings were replaced (making them even bigger and meaning I have less actual tooth). 

I have spent an awful lot of money trying to save the teeth in the past few years, on crowns, root canals, filling replacements etc, but every few months I'm back at the dentist with another tooth infection or abscess or to sort out a cracked filling or crown that's popped off or a chipped tooth.
My teeth also look horrible - very crooked and it seems each one is a different shade. Most of the old fillings are dark grey and the recent ones are off-white but not quite the same shade as my actual teeth. 
To cap it all off, my front tooth at the bottom has now turned a dark brown - I think it's dead.

I am at my wit's end and sick of throwing all my money at my mouth just to be continually in pain and to be increasingly insecure about the way it looks, especially given I work in an industry that is all about appearances and everyone has perfect hollywood smiles. 

I'm back at the dentist this week and very seriously considering asking about getting them all taken out so I can just start again with either dental implants or just dentures. I know it would be odd to have fake teeth in my twenties, but I feel like it could save me money, pain, and embarrassment in the long run. I'm sick of always being upset about my teeth and feel I'm throwing good money after bad.

I have always found these forums incredibly supportive but honest and  I would like to ask: has anyone here had a similar procedure? Did it feel worth the cost? Am I likely to save money in the long run by just having them all taken out, or am I kidding myself? If I got dentures/implants, how often would I need to replace them? 

Would really appreciate any advice or anecdotes. 

[Deleted User]

My Gran had all her teeth out at 36 and I remember her saying as a little girl it was simply the best thing she ever done x mind you my Gran didn't have to worry about looks or how she'd sound afterwards. There was also a programme last week with Katie Piper 'never seen a doctor' which featured a couple having their teeth removed after difficulty in the past, worth a watch if not a little sad I must warn. Personally couple of weeks ago when I really was unsure and was meant to have couple of teeth out mimimum (couple of extractions in my early 20's had gone on) I got into the chair and just changed my mind, a really hard deep clean was said might help bring feeling back into the dead teeth. Today as I had a video link interview, whilst the look of the rest of me made me want to chringe the only thing that kept me going was seeing two beautiful front teeth which have now been restored - week or so after I thought I was going to regret it but glad now I didn't end up with dentures there.

Toothsmith

There are still some circumstances where having your teeth out and being replaced by a denture is a perfectly valid and correct decision.
You will have to be aware of the pros & cons of this vs struggling on to save your teeth, and the circumstances will be highly individual to you. Therefore, the best person to properly explain them all to you will be your dentist.

The thing is though, that if you get to a stage where all your teeth are gone - and you don't like it - there is no going back. So you need to be absolutely sure it is the right decision for you.

From what you write above, it could easily be your best option. Dentures will never feel like your own teeth though, but as you are still relatively young, you should be able to adapt to the difference, as young people are adaptable. What might be worse would be struggling to hang on to your teeth for another 20-30 yrs, only to have them all finally fail when you're more middle-aged and less adaptable.

It's a hard and life-affecting decision you have to make, and you need a dentist you can assess the teeth honestly, and advise you accurately of what you could expect if you carried on trying to keep them, vs what to expect if you lost them.

It's not an easy decision.

poppytattoo

Hi both, 
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts. It was really helpful but also made me feel like I wasn't going crazy! 
Keepcalm - I had a similar thing with my Nanna who had all her teeth pulled in her early forties and also said it was the best thing she ever did! 
Toothsmith - You're absolutely right, it's a tough call...

Just to give an update, I had another appt with my dentist late last week and we talked through everything and all my options for the best part of an hour. Her recommendation was not to pull them all out as even with implants, it's likely my jaw bone would start to shrink and as I hopefully have a good few decades of life left, that could cause me problems later down the line. I'm also very aware that I haven't been in the best headspace lately and I definitely have form for deciding in tough circumstances that a drastic thing would fix everything and convincing myself to do it without giving it the proper consideration. 

So, having finally been properly honest with my dentist about these feelings, we have come up with a plan: 
I'm getting a bite guard to try and stop my grinding and braces to try and even out my mouth - this will restore some of the "shrunken" teeth and fixing the severe overcrowding should reduce some of the pain and inflammation caused by my teeth clashing together all the time. We're going to replace all the fillings that have started bleeding through and put crowns on some of the more problematic ones. Yes it's even more extensive and expensive work, but I feel a bit better now knowing that I have a plan, that I am not going to give up on my teeth just yet, and that for the first time ever (well in about two years when it's finished) I won't be ashamed of the aesthetic look of them and should hopefully be in much less pain.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me in such a considered and understanding way 

Toothsmith

That all sounds much more positive.
Just make sure that you get good support with oral hygiene and diet advice from the practice so you know how to maintain everything well as well. 

JedEaston

I don't know if this will support you, but. My grandfather lost almost all of his teeth in a stupid incident - at 25 (or 26, I don't remember exactly) he had an argument with a pole and lost almost all of his teeth. In the early 1970s, he was offered no choice but to get dentures on his upper and lower teeth. He was completely used to dentures according to him. Though he was embarrassed to tell his future wife, my grandmother. And so being factually toothless all his adult life, he was confident with dentures. And you know, I didn't know he wore dentures until I saw a denture removed in the bathroom at age 15 or 16. It was quite a funny story when I found out. 

So I hope you will be okay and find a good and safe way for you! 

thepurplepixie

I had a big gap in my front teeth and had my frenum removed and wore a brace to push my teeth together, it was a plate like people have (or used to have might be better now) for a top set of false teeth.  I hated it, I wore it for 4 years so had time to get used to it.  I'm pushing 70, have all my teeth and would do anything to avoid losing them.  Other people might be more adaptable but I found it ruined the taste of food, food got stuck under it and I was thrilled when I could stop wearing it.

I hope your treatment works well.