teeth anxiety

[liabrighton]

so this is my main anxiety issue and having major flare ups for the last 3 weeks (as broke a tooth and dentist has refused to see me til next week unless it gets infected) but today has been really bad ive been in tears and feel really sick now after brushing my teeth and another area has started bleeding alot. i have so much regret about letting them get this bad and have been doing my best to look after them now but they seem to be getting worse not better is begining to afect most parts of every day the way i talk eat and drink and keeping me awake also its standing in my way with relationships as i'm worried to get involved with a partner as being intimate would hurt the and i eat quite strangly due to the worries of "hurting" my teeth/gums. dont realy know what i want from this but just getting so obsessed abut my mouth and scared of feeling this way forever was even googling having them all removed the other night s s fed up
:weep:

[KK77]

Sorry you feel this way but why would you think of having your teeth "all removed"?

You can get broken tooth restored with crown and no one would know.

[liabrighton]

thanks for the reply i can see what you mean i do sound drastic. i think that tooth is actually he least of my worries im' fairy confident it can be fixed with a crown next week but the waiting is driving me crazy and i'm having to eat different to avoid the broken tooth which is causing other issues. i'm getting desperate and its just feel like this would be the only way to stop the constant irritation i have gaps between most of my teeth which means things get stuck and the teeth shift and they are difficult to clean between which means i get frequent gum infections, the worry about the discomfort and teeth falling stops me from cleaning them properly which means its a viscous cycle i cant really escape think i need to properly explain o my dentist the issue they nw i'm an anxious patient but never actually explained to them what goes on at meal and brushing times.

[ErinKC]

I'm sorry you're going through this and have to wait so long to see the dentist! I think you're right that telling your dentist the full extent of your anxiety and behaviors is a good idea. I always feel better when I'm honest and I think it helps to get through things. Maybe they can sit down with you and really explain everything going on in your mouth, show you x-rays of your teeth, and give you better information on what makes your teeth vulnerable and what doesn't, plus any possible treatment to help ease any discomfort or fear.

[liabrighton]

yeah i think that would be really good idea to face up to whats happening in there although it might mean i hear some "scary" truths its probaby for the best the damage has been done now so i can ony go forward as you say maybe they will have an idea how to ease my problems a bit thankyou erin

[ErinKC]

The reality is always easier to deal with than our imaginations. Even if there are some legitimate issues to deal with, I've always found that once something moves from my mind to reality it's much, much easier to deal with. My mom always says to me to stop saying, "what if" and instead say, "so what?" .... So, what if you have to have some dental work? It might be unpleasant, you might feel anxious and uncomfortable, but then it will be over and you'll survive and feel better mentally and physically. I find it puts me in more of an action mindset rather than sitting and stewing. You can't really deal with anything until you have all the information. Right now all you have is every terrible thing you can come up with in your mind, all of which is almost certainly worse than the reality. Good luck!!