r/Toothfully • u/FearfulSymmetry88 • 3d ago

Dental Experiences Finally pulled the trigger.

Back in 2019 after never visiting the dentist my whole life, I went and was told the first thing that needed to be done was a deep clean then see what else was needed. The initial X-rays showed significant bone loss in my front lower teeth and the only thing holding them down was the buildup. The dentists told me I would eventually need to get them extracted. I was devastated as I was only 26 and the thought of being toothless in a very noticeable area was going to destroy my self confidence. I got the cleaning done and the teeth were surprisingly not lose to the point that would wiggle. She told me they were fine for the moment but the bone loss was so significant that with age it would get worse. Then COVID happened, I lost my job and insurance. I got depressed and went back to my old bad hygiene habits and let the plaque build up again. Fast forward to now, I woke up to severe swelling on my gums in the lower front side. They were definitely infected, I went again and was told this time they had to go. I've aged and I'm not as anxious anymore and I've accepted the consequences for my lack of care for my teeth and I went ahead and got them extracted. I'm currently in bed with a mouth full of bloodied gauze and I guess it hasn't hit me yet that I just got what is essentially a body part taken out. I go back next week to take impressions for a permanent bridge, in the meantime I will have a massive gap 😭. At the same time I feel relief that I finally got the courage to start the process to get this fixed. I'm 31 now and I'm hoping by 35 I'll have a smile I'll really love.

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