My fear of dentists is ruining my teeth

[Amanda32]

I joined this forum cos I can express my fears with anyone seeing my teeth. I've probably only got half the teeth I should,some have broke,2 were kicked out (horse) and 2 exploded after root canal. I never developed my fear until I was mid 20's. I had root canal done but the following day i could feel pressure building up, and it was like a mini explosion and I lost 2 teeth? That dentist was closed down a few months later? About a year later a tooth broke and exposed the nerve causing horrific pain,I put up with the pain rather than face my fear. My friend found a dentist that dealt with nervous patients,on route to the dentist I was sick,then passed out in the waiting room. When I finally saw the dentist I got a 20 minute slating of the state of my teeth then told i needed 6 teeth extracting. As you can imagine I went into full panic mode and felt so ashamed, embarassed and belittled. I've never seen a dentist since,now its through fear and finances. I have badly receeding gums and 2 of the bottom teeth are loose,I brush twice a day with a gum protection toothpaste and use listerine gum treatment mouthwash, but it's getting me so depressed, My face looks 'drawn in' due to tooth loss but I have completely lost my confidence,I don't really smile and I avoid looking at people. Its now starting to affect my marriage. Is there any training schools where I could be a 'guinea pig' for students doing cosmetic surgery at a greatly reduced rate?

 

[seashell]

Dear Amanda,
I'm not a dentist,but I had a really really bad fear from dentists.I would for example get sick whenever I should've gone to dentist and would put up with horrible pain just so I wouldn't have to go to the dental office.I also felt embarassed and felt like the dentist was judging me.But trust me,you just have to forget about all of that,brushing teeth is no longer going to help you.You need to tell yourself 100 times you can do it,if you get sick like that you can find someone to go with you for the first time.Go around random dentists,find the one you like! Also,you have to realise dentist are not going to judge you cause of your teeth,they just want to help you,whenever you feel ashamed of your teeth remember that they have probably seen worse! And there is help,don't lose hope,you just gotta realise the more you postpond the visit to the dentist it's going to get worse. I had a little different situation than yours cause I haven't been to dentist for 7 years,then at the age of 19 realised what mess I have done.Now I am going to dentist every week,and the feeling is amazing! Whenever you do something,you will feel so great because you are finally doing something with it.It's probably going to take some time,you are going to loose some teeth,but there is still small decays which you can prevent from becoming bigger and that way save some of your teeth. I think there are dental offices at colleges where students do surgeries for better prices,at least that's how it goes in my country.Sitting home and worrying isn't going to change anything. I hope I helped you at least a little bit,and I really hope you are going to fix your teeth,and there is always help trust me!