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I haven’t been to the dentist for about five years

Hi Jennifer  I’m 25 years old.
i have haven’t looked after my teeth for the past 4-5 years, and as you can guess i hate myself for it.
i have 2-3 broken teeth n 2 teeth that have broken away fully leaving the roots. my top and bottom front teeth are fine as i just mainly brushed them, don’t ask me why :( my gums bleed when brushing, so i guess that’s a dental hygiene disease. i’m so scared of going to the dentist to get them fix as suffer from anxiety attacks :(
could you please help me with some advice? and let me know what kind of treatment i would have to undertake?
anything to help would be amazing

thanks

nick

Hello, Have you had any psychological help with your anxiety attacks . There is a good resource called Anxiety Uk, which has some excellent online resources .
If your gums bleed when you brush them then it may mean that the plaque left behind if you are not effective at removing it ,is causing the gums to be irritated and bleed . You may also have some tartare under the gum which can only be removed with professional cleaning .
It sounds as if the roots will need to be removed , and it may be that it can be arranged for you to have sedation for this , either by a dental practice which does it , or at a hospital .
If you use some of the strategies that help avoid panic attacks when you have your appointment , that may help . But at the first visit tell the dentist how nervous you are , get a diagnosis , and see if the dentist pays attention to what you say . If they dont seem sympathetic or offer any help with this anxiety , then find another dentist .

Answer provided by: Dr Jennifer Pinder Retired
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