Oral cancer fear and bad teeth

[itiswhatitis]

Hi :)

I'm new to this forum but definitely not new to anxiety. I'm 22 and have suffered with it for almost my whole life.

I'm really worried about oral cancer at the moment. I've never had great oral hygiene unfortuantely which has resulted in many bad teeth and my anxiety has stopped me from going to the dentist in the past. The last time I went was about a year and a half ago. They X-Rayed and checked and did say what I already knew, that I need to practise much better oral hygiene and should consider having teeth removed.
However, there of course was no sign of cancer or anything immediately life threatening so it soothed my anxiety a bit.

I'm worried again now though. I've smoked for about four years so I'm terrified that that, combined with my already poor teeth is enough to have given me cancer :unsure: One of my bad teeth is mostly broken and has been bleeding lightly over the past couple of days. I also have pain on one side of my throat and also a couple of dark spots on the inside of my cheek, on the same side as my throat pain.

Anxiety stopped me from going back to my next dentist appointment and they said they wouldn't see me after that for some stupid reason. So I have no dentist I can go to, although my mum is going to try ringing around the local dentists tomorrow to try and get me an appointment. I'm scared that it won't be until after Christmas though. I'm scared that if it's cancer it'll be a lot worse by then and there will be no hope.

[Fishmanpa]

Ummm... no... it's not cancer IMO and I'm an oral cancer survivor so I know of what I speak ;) It's exactly what you already know it is. Poor oral care combined with lack of dental care resulting in a probable infection.

At 22, now is the time to start taking care before there's no option but dentures.

Positive thoughts

[itiswhatitis]

Ummm... no... it's not cancer IMO and I'm an oral cancer survivor so I know of what I speak ;) It's exactly what you already know it is. Poor oral care combined with lack of dental care resulting in a probable infection.

At 22, now is the time to start taking care before there's no option but dentures.

Positive thoughts

Thanks for your reply. I'm sorry you went through it, I hope everything is better for you now.

I'm definitely trying to get better at taking care of my teeth. It sounds pretty dumb. I just never got into a habit as a kid so it's harder to do so now, and sometimes I think "What's the point?" because it just seems like my teeth are just too far gone. The anxiety about the cancer gets super bad though. You're right, it is just my bad teeth and probably an infection. My brain just automatically jumps to "cancer" though, especially as I smoke.
I'm going to give smoking up too. Hopefully we get through to some dentists tomorrow and I can get checked out and they could help me out with the pain I sometimes get and the bleeding from the bad tooth/gum.

[BikerMatt]

I doubt you will get a regular dentist appointment before Christmas now. You will definitely have an nhs emergency dentist in your area though. Do a google search. In my area they run 7pm to 9pm weekdays and 2pm to 4pm weekends 365 days a year. At least they can put your mind at ease it's nothing sinister (which it won't) before Christmas.

[itiswhatitis]

I doubt you will get a regular dentist appointment before Christmas now. You will definitely have an nhs emergency dentist in your area though. Do a google search. In my area they run 7pm to 9pm weekdays and 2pm to 4pm weekends 365 days a year. At least they can put your mind at ease it's nothing sinister (which it won't) before Christmas.

Thanks for your reply, I'll search for that tonight and contact them tomorrow.

[BikerMatt]

No probs. Thinking about it most dentists have a certain amount of emergency appointments a day, but you will have to phone first thing. Your probably still better off finding your local emergency service though, until researching and finding a regular dentist you like and trust.