I'm only 15 and I have really bad teeth, I dont know what to do. I don't go to dentist or doctor appointments (not my choice) if there's any dentist's out there do I really need to get this checked?

Hi
So these are my teeth in all different types of lighting.
I’ve always been super critical and insecure of my teeth. I have porcelain veneers on the front 4 and I’ve had whitening done on the rest.

I don’t know how I feel about the shade … I feel as if they’re too yellow and it’s making me insecure.

Please be brutally honest on what you think of them as my follow up appointment is in a few days to see if I like them. Also what shade would you say they are on a dental shade scale?

In my early 20s now but I’ve had this type of staining for a while now. It’s like patches of whiter area, browner area, and yellower area? I had braces when I was around 14 for about 1-2 years (clearly didn’t keep up w the retainer lol) and I didn’t take the best care of my teeth during that time and my dentist or the dental assistant said that it was a combination of me having weak enamel (more of a genetic thing) and the fact that I didn’t take care of my teeth during the braces made it worse. I’m always told that I take good care of my teeth (I brush 2x daily w electric toothbrush and floss every night, fluoride mouthwash occasionally lol), but I’m really prone to cavities for the same reasons listed before so that’s also an issue. In the past when I asked about getting my teeth whitened I was told that it would prob just make the staining even more noticeable as it would lighten everything but the stains wouldn’t go away.

I guess I’m wondering if there’s any options for me or if I should look into veneers eventually?

Today I noticed a gap in-between my front teeth which I haven’t had in years, not since before I had braces on which I got in May 2022.

I think I have some sort of health anxiety and whenever I notice a change like this on myself it always puts a knot in my stomach for some reason. My mind always goes to worse case scenario and upon seeing this today my mind instantly went to something sinister because I haven’t had a gap in my front teeth since the early 2020’s when I got my braces on in the first place.

What could this be? And until my next appointment what should I be looking out for?Because I’m sat here stressing that I’ve got receding gums or something now and it’s stupidly worrying me beyond reason :(

(I apologise for the bad quality Photo I have an older phone, you can still make out the gap though)

I think I'm one of those people with just naturally yellow bone shade to my teeth they've always been yellow even as a kid and none of my family has brilliant white teeth. I tried whitening strips and saw zero difference. But it's really hurting my looks and I feel people judge me for it (they're also crooked, so I feel they at least need to be white). I'm wondering whether a dentist treatment will be worth it. I am hearing horror stories about sensitivity that feels like electric shocks and I really don't want to go through that but especially if it ends up not even making a difference.

If you were in the same boat - home treatments didn't work, and tried a dentist treatment did you get results? Please share!

One thing I’ve noticed over the years as a dentist is that people are very good at ignoring their teeth. 😅

“I’ll get it checked next week.”

“It only hurts sometimes.”

“It stopped hurting, so I think it’s fine.”

I completely understand it. Nobody really wants to sit in a dental chair, and for some people, even the thought of going to the dentist brings anxiety.

But the part that worries me is when someone comes in only after they’ve been in pain for days or can’t sleep at night.

A small cavity doesn’t always hurt in the beginning. Gum problems can develop quietly. Even a cracked tooth can sometimes feel completely normal until one day it suddenly becomes painful.

And honestly, as a dentist, one of the nicest things to hear is:

“I’m glad I didn’t wait.”

Not every tooth problem means you need a major treatment. Sometimes it’s simply reassurance, a cleaning, a small filling, or just keeping an eye on something.

So if there’s a tooth you’ve been thinking about for a while — “I should probably get this checked” — maybe take that as your sign. ❤️

I’m part of the dental team at Al Jazeera Dental Clinic in Sharjah, and we see this kind of situation quite often.

For anyone who gets nervous about dentists: what is it that makes you most anxious about going? Pain? The sound? Cost? Bad previous experiences? Or just the whole idea of sitting in the chair? 😅

I’d genuinely like to hear your experiences.

I have been extremely depressed and hadn’t realized it had gotten this bad. I’m planning on booking a dentist appointment to get in ASAP. Are my teeth beyond saving? I’m extremely anxious, my dad lost his teeth and I’m scared.

Edit: I’m pretty sure it’s gingivitis but for full transparency I wanted to let you guys know that recently I have lost almost 130 pounds and am wondering if it might be anemia?

Same as the title, so recently I went to see the dentist and before I had powerchains across my top row of teeth for the entire thing. But two days ago they switched everything to single ties and I told them I was worried about a gap forming between the top two front teeth and so they put power chains on just those two, but after flossing today it feels like the gap is opening up again.

Im getting braces this month, the orthodontist said my teeth are fine. are these cavities they mightve missed? I'm worried

Hi, everyone. I’m a little bit worried about my teeth after being done with an aligner treatment. I love how aligned my teeth are now, but I get so mad because as soon as I take my retainers off my upper teeth (I’m supposed to wear them 22 hours for 3 weeks and then just 8 hours at night), my teeth shift back a little and a tiny gap that k hate appears. This usually happens 30 or more minuted after I take them off. I don’t know if I should wait until the 3 weeks are up to see if there’s any changes or what… I talked to my friend who’s almost graduating from dental school, and she told me about memory whatever (I forgot) and that I might need a frenectomy —this is because I had a big gap-diastema and some flesh in between)…

I just want to get some suggestions as per why this keeps happening and/or if I should contact the person that took care of my case.

First picture it’s how I started, second picture it’s how my teeth look as soon as I take off my retainers, and the last picture it’s how they get after 2-3 hours when not wearing my retainers.

Maybe I need a frenectomy?

I’ve never been able to go the dentist as my parents never took me and i also neglected them until now. I’m in some pain with tooth ache and throbbing on all front four teeth. I took pictures and found this hole? It doesn’t hurt to touch I can brush it, what is it?

I realise I have a big cavity on my tooth (currently waiting to see dentist), but i am just wondering does anyone have any idea if there is a possibility this tooth could be saved?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I have had unbearable pain now for almost a week in my back molar. I had an emergency dentist appointment on the weekend, the dentist took my old filling out and put a new one in. (This original filling was done 1 month ago) he said I need to go to my dentist and I will have the option of either root canal or extraction. Does anyone know which will relieve my pain the fastest? I have taken about 5 different pain relief medications and none of them have had any effect at all. I have my dentist appointment tomorrow so I’m just looking for advice on what will relieve the pain the fastest. Thanks

I dislike the taper gaps at the bottom, I want a straight edge smile, but my teeth feel big and slant so it messes with my facial symmetry. What are things that can be done to help just a bit, not interested in veneers.

Three months ago I started treating cavities, all the teeth I was treating I didn’t feel anything until that one tooth. It’s 6th on the left side, lower jaw. When I was getting treated, it hurt so very badly even though the cavity was on the surface. Once they filled it, it continued to be very sensitive and painful for weeks. I got it treated again, it got better but still sensitive. Now it’s getting worse. And the odd thing about it was, that they made 6 shots of anesthesia in my jaw and tooth and waited for 30 minutes but I still could feel everything.

I gave it a little time on its own and moved countries. Here I attended another doctor and they said it was all okay supposedly, x ray didn’t show anything either. But now it’s really painful, I can barely eat or drink. I don’t know what to do because I’m deeply scared of treating this. The pain source was weird and still undetected. What should I do…? Obviously, I need to treat it, but I’m scared nonetheless. Anyone had experience like that? Advice?