Help! Am I going to lose my teeth?

[Chriscee123]

I'm only 24 years old. I had pretty decent teeth until I was about 20 then I started developing problems. I had a lot of decay and frequent cavities.

I continued to go to the dentist every 6 months but every time they would just patch up the cavities, clean my teeth and send me home.

It seems like my teeth have just progressively gotten worse though in between visits. It's now been almost a year since I've been to the dentist. My teeth are the worst they've ever been and it hurts to even try to brush them. I don't know why this is happening.

I am ashamed and also very afraid of what they will say, and to admit that it's gotten this bad. It's affecting not only my health but also the way I feel about myself.

My teeth have serious discoloration, white spots, some craters, and I'm sure some cavities. I have a lot of pain but I've been lucky enough so far that I haven't noticed any whole chunks falling out.

I am terrified that I will either lose all my teeth or have to have them removed by the time I'm 25.

I just desperately want to know if it's too late for me to fix the teeth I have..? Or if I'm going to need them pulled and fake ones, or just basically what my options are moving forward from here??


Please help!

I've included a couple of pictures below.

(I know they're bad - thank you!)

 

[MattKW]

Too hard to say why your upper teeth have the discolourations. But there's a hell of a lot of plaque around those lower teeth, so you really need to improve your hygiene and diet. Your gums will be tender at first, but if you persevere, they will stop bleeding and toughen up. Brush at least 2x daily, avoid snacking in-between meals, buy a high-fluoride toothpaste (e.g. Colgate Neutraflour), and start flossing (or using interdental brushes). The dentist is there to help you, but it's annoying when people don't listen to advice and look for the easy way out.