albatross
16-09-10, 10:16
Hi all,
First time poster here. I've suffered with health anxiety (and according to my GP probably a bit of generalised anxiety/depression too) for at least two years now. It was triggered by a worry that I had cancer, which was in actual fact neck pain brought about by stress. I was taking SSRI's for about 18 months, and starting to feel better about things, when my GP suggested I should come off them, which I did over a few months. A short while later, I started worrying again.
The latest thing I've started worrying about is my teeth. I had severe gum/tooth ache about 6 weeks ago; my NHS dentist said my gums looked "extremely swollen" but suggested it would go away if I practiced good oral hygeine.
I bought an electric toothbrush and embarked on a stringent oral cleaning regimen, but things didn't seem to improve. I then saw a private dentist, who said I had trench mouth. He gave me antibiotics, and since then I've been going to him on a weekly basis for cleanings etc, and since then my teeth do look and feel a lot cleaner.
I started googling around the condition, and got pretty terrified over the whole thing. I have a couple of patches of gum recession around my lower front teeth, which have been there for years, but one in particular seems to have gone much, much bigger since starting to clean my teeth thoroughly, virtually doubling in size. I've heard that this can be due to gum inflammation and that as the gums start to heal they shrink back, exposing the true extent of any recession. My NHS dentist semi confirmed this when I asked him about it, but is adamant I'm not losing any tissue, and both he and the private guy think I'm worrying un-necessarily. All the dentists I've seen (four in total) have said that I shouldn't/definitely won't lose any teeth because of what I've had progressing, and that it's not getting any worse. In fact, the private guy said it was a "huge improvement", and my NHS dentist said it was "like looking at the difference between black and white" when I went back to him last week. My NHS dentist said he's very doubtful I've even had trench mouth in the first place, as I've not had bad breath or lots of necrotic gum tissue etc.
The problem is, I'm utterly convinced that my teeth are all going to fall out now. Since I've taken up cleaning my teeth so thoroughly (usually after every meal, floss once a day, mouthwash three times a day up until this week) my mouth feels very dry, and although neither I or the dentist can see anything in my mouth, it feels like it's shedding skin. My saliva feels thick, and my gums/teeth still sometimes ache. I also now have an extremely sore throat which I've had for about 2 weeks, which I saw the doctor about last week but he said it just looks a bit red and should go. However, I read that left alone, trench mouth can spread to the cheeks, throat etc. I also sometimes have a strong burning sensation in my mouth and on the tongue. I've been having proper treatment and keeping up the oral hygeine now for about a month.
The logical side of me says that the skin shedding could be due to such a strict regimene of cleaning etc, and that the aching could be stress/grinding teeth, the sore throat and burning mouth could be a stress thing too, and that I've just had a bit of gingivitis which is on the mend. I actually remember the trigger for all this, it was a billboard for corsodyl that I saw saying gum disease is the number one cause of tooth loss in the uk. I started checking mine and getting stressed about it. That said, my NHS and the private dentist were both quick to confirm that my gums in the lower front were very swollen and infected (but the rest looked quite good), and the private guy mentioned trench mouth, I'd never even heard of it before that. The other thing that really bothers me is the ever expanding bit of gum recession, which the dentists I've seen are very unconcerned about, adamnt that i'm not losing any.
Why can't I trust professionals diagnosis that I'll be ok, that I'm not going to lose all my teeth, or even one or two because of this? I've read that trench mouth can be caused by high levels of prolonged stress combined with gingivitis; both of which I've had. Do peopel think I'm blowing this out of proportion? To my eyes things don't look a great deal better, but then I'm not a dentist. Do you think the gum/tooth ache etc could be psychosomatic? It seems highly co-incidental that I've seen a billboard about gum disease, recently come off SSRI's, and suddenly been hit by this. But then all the dentists have confirmed there is a problem of some sort. Despite accepting that I have issues with health anxiety, anxiety, stress, depression etc that have been diagnosed by professionals, I've become utterly convinced that I've had trench mouth and despite my best efforts it's spreading to my throat and other areas of my mouth, even though I've been getting treatment and cleaning my teeth like mad, which I would imagine would make this virtually impossible. Has anyone had an sort of similar experiences?
It's really affecting me badly, I can't think about anything else, I'm really down and worried about it. If anyone can offer any advice, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance
James
First time poster here. I've suffered with health anxiety (and according to my GP probably a bit of generalised anxiety/depression too) for at least two years now. It was triggered by a worry that I had cancer, which was in actual fact neck pain brought about by stress. I was taking SSRI's for about 18 months, and starting to feel better about things, when my GP suggested I should come off them, which I did over a few months. A short while later, I started worrying again.
The latest thing I've started worrying about is my teeth. I had severe gum/tooth ache about 6 weeks ago; my NHS dentist said my gums looked "extremely swollen" but suggested it would go away if I practiced good oral hygeine.
I bought an electric toothbrush and embarked on a stringent oral cleaning regimen, but things didn't seem to improve. I then saw a private dentist, who said I had trench mouth. He gave me antibiotics, and since then I've been going to him on a weekly basis for cleanings etc, and since then my teeth do look and feel a lot cleaner.
I started googling around the condition, and got pretty terrified over the whole thing. I have a couple of patches of gum recession around my lower front teeth, which have been there for years, but one in particular seems to have gone much, much bigger since starting to clean my teeth thoroughly, virtually doubling in size. I've heard that this can be due to gum inflammation and that as the gums start to heal they shrink back, exposing the true extent of any recession. My NHS dentist semi confirmed this when I asked him about it, but is adamant I'm not losing any tissue, and both he and the private guy think I'm worrying un-necessarily. All the dentists I've seen (four in total) have said that I shouldn't/definitely won't lose any teeth because of what I've had progressing, and that it's not getting any worse. In fact, the private guy said it was a "huge improvement", and my NHS dentist said it was "like looking at the difference between black and white" when I went back to him last week. My NHS dentist said he's very doubtful I've even had trench mouth in the first place, as I've not had bad breath or lots of necrotic gum tissue etc.
The problem is, I'm utterly convinced that my teeth are all going to fall out now. Since I've taken up cleaning my teeth so thoroughly (usually after every meal, floss once a day, mouthwash three times a day up until this week) my mouth feels very dry, and although neither I or the dentist can see anything in my mouth, it feels like it's shedding skin. My saliva feels thick, and my gums/teeth still sometimes ache. I also now have an extremely sore throat which I've had for about 2 weeks, which I saw the doctor about last week but he said it just looks a bit red and should go. However, I read that left alone, trench mouth can spread to the cheeks, throat etc. I also sometimes have a strong burning sensation in my mouth and on the tongue. I've been having proper treatment and keeping up the oral hygeine now for about a month.
The logical side of me says that the skin shedding could be due to such a strict regimene of cleaning etc, and that the aching could be stress/grinding teeth, the sore throat and burning mouth could be a stress thing too, and that I've just had a bit of gingivitis which is on the mend. I actually remember the trigger for all this, it was a billboard for corsodyl that I saw saying gum disease is the number one cause of tooth loss in the uk. I started checking mine and getting stressed about it. That said, my NHS and the private dentist were both quick to confirm that my gums in the lower front were very swollen and infected (but the rest looked quite good), and the private guy mentioned trench mouth, I'd never even heard of it before that. The other thing that really bothers me is the ever expanding bit of gum recession, which the dentists I've seen are very unconcerned about, adamnt that i'm not losing any.
Why can't I trust professionals diagnosis that I'll be ok, that I'm not going to lose all my teeth, or even one or two because of this? I've read that trench mouth can be caused by high levels of prolonged stress combined with gingivitis; both of which I've had. Do peopel think I'm blowing this out of proportion? To my eyes things don't look a great deal better, but then I'm not a dentist. Do you think the gum/tooth ache etc could be psychosomatic? It seems highly co-incidental that I've seen a billboard about gum disease, recently come off SSRI's, and suddenly been hit by this. But then all the dentists have confirmed there is a problem of some sort. Despite accepting that I have issues with health anxiety, anxiety, stress, depression etc that have been diagnosed by professionals, I've become utterly convinced that I've had trench mouth and despite my best efforts it's spreading to my throat and other areas of my mouth, even though I've been getting treatment and cleaning my teeth like mad, which I would imagine would make this virtually impossible. Has anyone had an sort of similar experiences?
It's really affecting me badly, I can't think about anything else, I'm really down and worried about it. If anyone can offer any advice, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance
James