Obsessed with teeth anyone else like me? update

[dizzydruid]

Hi,
I'm not sure where this post should go really. I seem to have developed an obsession with my teeth to the point where I'm getting really depressed and anxious about it and I feel like its driving me mad :(
I have a wonderful dentist but he is impossible to get to see, due to my mental health problems I was refered ages ago the community dentist.
I've always been worried about my teeth but for years was terrified of going until I was referred to him. A few months ago he put a compostie bond over my two front teeth as the enamel was wearing thin. Ever since then I have become obsessed. I cant stop looking in the mirror for any problems, god knows how many times a day i look. I brush my teeth several times throughout the day. Everyday I look in different mirrors, in different light at different angles and of course I generally find that there is something different, something I havent noticed before and I end up having a panic atttack :(
During the last week I have noticed that an area of my front teeth looks fairly grey and a little transparent which sent me into a frenzied panic, then yesterday I discovered a little white area on my tooth that wasnt there before. I ended up having a major panic attack and then phoned every professional whose care I have been under but everyone was out of their office or on holiday. In the end I phoned my best friend who phoned the dentist for me and has got me an appointment with a different community dentist.
I'm really worried as its not my usual dentist and I will have to explain my mental problems yet again and then I have written a list with at least 7 things to do with my teeth that I'm worried about.
Basically what this boils down to is I have an overwhelming fear that something terrible will happen to my front teeth, that they will go horrible looking and they will be like that for the rest of my life.
I'm driving myself mad, I have already looked at my teeth at least 10 times this morning and brushed them twice. I desperately want to stop worrying about it. i know most people worry about their teeth but with me its an obsession to the point where I have suicidal thoughts when I think about the problems I can see with them :(
Help! how can I stop this obsession?

lucyx

[Piglet]

Hi Lucy,

I had a patch of noticing my teeth alot a while ago and like you noticed allsorts of new things about them - I had a little white patch on the side of a tooth but I seem to feel the dentist told me that was a bit of calcification and nothing at all to worry about.

I also noticed the grey areas you talk about too and remember thinking gosh is that new but realising in actual fact that they probably had always been like that.

I have quite a decent set of fangs and as I'm getting older I would rather like to hang onto them, plus I loathe going to the dentist (he's actually lovely) which is where I think my fear comes in. I so don't want to have anything done at the dentist that I am hoping non of my observations mean treatment.

You know though its one area where even if you did have problems cosmetic dentistry is amazing.

Do you think though that your teeth are the focus for your anxiety at the moment and like me this could be a changing focus. I had a phase about thinking my hair was getting thinner too at one time.

Maybe you could allow yourself the luxury of just half an hour worrying about it in any one day, say between 6pm - 6.30pm and not allow yourself to think about it out of that time slot.

Also writing down what your actual fear is on paper and answering it like a good friend would may help you to see it in perspective.

Love Piglet

[dizzydruid]

thanks for replying piglet.
Yes I think it is definately a focus for my anxiety but unfortunately it is one of my 'favourite' worries that is to say the one worry that has always been there in some form or another. A month or so ago I was obsessed with my throat and now that has gone and i have accepted that it was due to anxiety my focus has gone onto my teeth. It seems so silly but its almost as if my brain isnt happy unless its got something to worry like mad over.
I'm driving myself mad over it and i know I'm driving everyone else mad. My friends and partner have now seen my teeth up close numerous times and they keep reassuring me that my teeth look fine.
Hopefully the dentist I see tomorrow will be understanding and go through my 'problems' and reassure me. It just worries me that in the future they will look terrible and I wont be asble to afford to make them look better.

lucy x

[mjh74]

Funnily Lucy, I wouldn't say I'm obsessed but because my front teeth are caps, I worry about them every time I eat as I know I wouldn't be able to face the dentist feeling like this. Every time I clean them with my sonicare tooth brush I'm really warey that one day it will cause them to come off! So I guess I'm thinking about my teeth about 25% of the day. Didn't really think about it until I read your post!

Mark x

[dizzydruid]

Hi Mark,
I guess the last week or so i have been thinking about my teeth 90% of the time. As you can imagine I'm started to get a bit fed up with it I just hope my visit to the dentist puts my mind at rest. The thing is my two front teeth are covered with composite bonding and I worry just as much about them. Its mainly I suppose because a lot of it is down to purely cosmetic worries and I worry that the dentist wont take it as seriously but to me I honestly feel like its life and death as silly as that sounds.
oh well I will have to sit out my worries until 3.45 tomorrow [Sigh...]

lucy x

[dizzydruid]

well, after feeling sick with nerves all day, waiting for the ex to come round to look after the kids. I took a beta blocker and headed off for my app at 3.45 I got there only to be told my app was at 2.45 and that they wouldnt be able to see me! I definately was told the app was at 3.45 yesterday. I burst into tears when she told me, she has fitted me in tomorrow. I have to sit and wait from 9.45 to see if they can fit me in and I will have my kids with me so its going to be a stressful morning tomorrow :(

lucy x

[sueiamnew]

Oh Lucy, what a shame for today but good luck for tomorrow!!

It will be OK, i too am obsessed a lot lately with my teeth, i keep thinking my front one has moved

Let us know how you get on X

[Piglet]

Oh Lucy that's horrible when that happens - think I would have cried too!

Mind you I like having the kids with me as I wouldn't be brave enough to go on my own.

Good luck and I look forward to hearing how you get on.

Love Piglet

[dizzydruid]

Hi,
well I went this morning and everything is ok. I'm so lucky with my dentist. He suffers from health anxiety and is always worrying he has some sort of incurable disease or cancer. Last time we spent the whole session discussing throat cancer and our 'experience' of food sticking in throat and lumps in the throat. He is really funny and helps put my mind at rest on my general health let alone my teeth.
Anyway as he is very sympathetic to people who worry excessively about health he sat me down and let me get my list of problems out and I read out each one. He then looked at my teeth and went through discussing every problem. He said nothing is wrong at all with my teeth and they are perfectly healthy. The only reason I@m finding things is because I@m looking far too hard and noticing things that I havent seen before but they have always been there. Once I notice something it is very difficult to work out if it was there before or not but he assured me that nothing is wrong.
I feel a lot better and have only looked at my teeth once since I got home so I hope this continues anyway plus I know that I have a routine appointment with him at the end of next month to look forward to.
I never thought I would be in the position of looking forward to seeing the dentist as I used to be terrified of them. My mum cant believe it as she used to drag me kicking and screaming.
so for now its forget the teeth and fingers crossed my brain doesnt find some other health issue to get anxious about :S

lucy x

[Piglet]

Oh he sounds lovely Lucy.

I think that's all it was with me too - looking far too hard at my teeth and seeing more than was there. Lol!!!

Well done for going and I hope that really helps.

Love Pig x

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.