Obsessed with teeth health

[tashbarnes87]

Hi all looks like im here again :weep:

After a loooooong battle with HA over MS i have completely replaced my fear, whilst i know this isnt the same thing i thought i would post here to get some help as i feel exactly the same obsessiveness like the MS worry.

Basically to cut a v long story short i have bad teeth & im 24 :( i know its vain but i am very happy generally with the way i look but my teeth let me down, i have 4 fillings up top, 4 down below 2 root canals & a crown. I am obsessive but cleaning them, i brush 3 times a day, floss at least twice & mouth wash alll the time. The problem is not now its my childhood & being allowed to eat & drink anything i wanted ( mostly sweets & coke) not being made to brush or go to the dentist. I had to have a root canal on a side tooth after the birth of my son which was awful dentist did the root canal in 10 mins without xrays, i left & about an hour late the pain ( much worse than childbirth) started it was an abcess. That was treated & after a complaint about the dentist i was given a crown & second root canal. I developed a hard lump on my gum after & nearly 3 years now its still there, not painful but when i press on it i can feel the tooth ( i know that sounds crazy) maybe a root?! any hoo had my daughter last year & a tooth snapped in half. I always go to the dentist every 6 month & they fix me up & send me on my way.

Any way my health anxiety has been really good like 99% cured & i have been really really happy :) getting married in 9 weeks too :) BUT then i have been having a awful few weeks & my anxiety levels have sky rocketed i decided to go & see a new dentist about preventative measures & that was last Thursday. Since then i have been a mess :( The new dentist was awesome & checked all my teeth & he said my gums were pristine & that he can tell i take care of my teeth, next he does Xrays & then he says 'o' turns out 2 root canals i had done as a teen havent been crowned & i will need that doing soon & he said i might as well crown the broken tooth too. So at 24 i will have 4 crowns that might not even last 10 years, then what? I cannot handle the thought of loosing my teeth, since then i have been obsessed, flossing, checking every 10 mins, pressing on this lump on my gum ( would i know in 3 years if it was a abcess?) cant think about anything other than my teeth, waiting for them to break, barely eating in case they break, :weep::weep:

Im so upset :(

[tashbarnes87]

no one ? :weep:

[Humly]

Hi. I am a fellow tooth obsessive and have had a long saga with my own teeth. Can I ask why is he saying that the root canalled teeth need to be crowned. I had a root canal done 12+ years ago and it hasnt been crowned. As far as I know they only crown them if they are starting to break or are really weak so maybe he is just jumping the gun a bit. Is this a private dentist or nhs?

[tashbarnes87]

Thanks for the reply he is NHS. He is fantastic dentist & im so happy i bit the bullet & went but i dont understand the need for a crown yet. I thought it was best to hang on to a tooth for as long as possible. Its a back chomper tooth but it seems fine, i know it could break but so could a crown?! x

[Geoff2301]

I've had a lot of crowns and root canals done...... mainly as a result of cycling/motorbike accidents over the years! I know they like to put a crown on back teeth after a root canal as it is significantly weakened by the canal work and the crown reinforces it.

[Humly]

My root canal is on a back tooth and it also has a huge filling in it but as I said it hasnt been crowned , nor has it ever been mentioned that it should be. I suppose it depends whether the teeth in question are considered to be weak. At the end of the day its up to you whether you have them done or not. I agree about hanging onto your own teeth as long as possible though. Maybe have another chat with the dentist as see what he says. And just look at all those "celebrities" on tv - none of them have got their own teeth, lol. x

[Alabasterlyn]

From what I have been told by an endodontist, who is a root canal specialist, it's routine to crown a root canal filled tooth as they will become brittle and eventually break as they longer have any nerve or blood supply to the tooth. I had a tooth that wasn't crowned after having a root canal filling many years ago and it turned out the dentist hadn't got all the nerve out, which was why the tooth had stayed intact apparently. They also have a tendency to discolour after the nerve has been removed I think.

[Humly]

I have scoured dental web sites and forums for many months and everyone, dentists included, seems to have a different opinion on this issue. The thing is, if you trust your dentist then take advice from him.

[tashbarnes87]

Thanks all!! I know it's impossible to say for sure but this lump on my gum, if it was something like an abscess etc I surely would have had some pain by now? X

[Humly]

Yes if it was an absess you would certainly know about it. Also the dentist would have picked it up when he did your exam and xrays.

[AceFrehley]

Hi Tash, I feel your pain, you're not alone! I've recentley developed a slight complex with my teeth (in fact, I write this after just brushing them!) Are you confident with your dentist? I had a fantastic dentist (on private) but due to leaving full-time education and into the big bad world, I couldn't afford it, so I went onto NHS and got a, to be quite honest, sub par dentist.

I had a problem with a filling, it cracked and slowly started falling out, taking along with it a bit of tooth :scared15: I was terrified, also the fact I couldn't get an appointment for 2 weeks as my dentist was on holiday, I was so careful and obsessively cleaning, rinsing etc. As I've already had one removed due to an infection, and the thought of having another one out, I'm sure you can imagine what I felt, I was having nightmares!

Anyway, anxiety washed over me the night before the appointment I had booked, I was thinking I wasn't going to leave the dentist alive..silly when you think about it! The dentist managed to fill it, but even now I'm careful about chewing on that side. I don't have 'bad' teeth by any means, but I have a sweet tooth, which I've tried to curb by only allowing myself a treat once in a while and ruled out Coke/Carbonated drinks.

[tashbarnes87]

Thank you! i do trust this new dentist he was really lovely & as hes NHS i dont feel like he is just making me have unneccesary work done. I just hate feeling so low. Im now convinced my teeth hurt & i cannot leave that lump alone. Im sure its an abcess thats in my gums & my teeth are going to fall out, i dont have any desire to eat incase one snaps :( i have to return for a filling next week but as i have left it 2 weeks im worried that the decay will have worsened & i will have to have a root canal :( x

[AllInMyHead]

I don't know much about teeth, but I'm pretty sure decay doesn't progress very quickly. That's why they usually leave it 1 or 2 years between check ups if everything is ok. 2 weeks won't have made any difference x

[Geoff2301]

I wouldn't worry about crowns only lasting 10 years........ I,ve had one thats been on for 35 years.

[tashbarnes87]

I wouldn't worry about crowns only lasting 10 years........ I,ve had one thats been on for 35 years.


That is just what i wanted to hear, thank you :D x