Teeth anxiety.

[King_George]

(Hi, I'm new).

Does anyone here feel anxious (insecure is probably a better word) about their teeth? How do you deal with it? Special shout out to anyone with particularly bad teeth (and I don't mean having braces or an out of place k-nine, I mean, your smile is a mess).

I have really bad teeth because of a couple of accidents when I was young, it has left me with front teeth that have gaps, are chipped, and the worst thing being one of them has grown curving backward (not out of the gum, but the tooth itself curves). The dentist has tried countless times to hide the chip, but all of the fillings have been transparent. Plus other painful, yet ultimately useless procedures. As for the rest of it, the only thing that's been recommended to me is grinding them all down and getting false teeth. That is not something I want to do for purely cosmetic purposes (other than how they look, I have no problems with them).

I've struggled with my teeth my whole life, and I know for a fact, that the second I open my mouth, it impacts how people think of me in a negative way. I have social anxiety disorder so you can only imagine how much it impacts my life. I just hate my teeth and there's nothing I can do about it.

How do you even deal with it? I need to not hate them, but how can I not when they're hideous?

[Anne1221]

Can't the chipped tooth be covered with a crown? I've known people who have had gaps fixed and chips fixed. Maybe you need to check with someone who is up to date on all the latest on cosmetic dentistry. In the meantime, they are probably not looking at your teeth. They usually look into your eyes when you're talking to them . When you talk to others, aren't you looking at their eyes instead of staring into their mouth?

[OmfgJaney]

I'll tell you something....everyone has something they utterly hate about themselves. Your case is severe because it's not something you can exactly HIDE, but that same person judging you for your teeth might have something equally 'unappealing' about them that you can't see. My dad actually has very bad teeth from smoking and drinking and all that. Cracks, chips, blackness, etc. I honestly never notice it. He does have a mustache, so maybe that might be something you'd want to grow out. I most certainly do have anxiety about my appearance (if you want to PM me, I could tell you things about me worse than having bad teeth). You're fine, really. No one is born with perfect teeth and all of those people you see with nice teeth probably had them fixed up.

I would say if it's something that is chronically bothering you and something that is preventing you from leading a normal, happy life that perhaps you should consider corrective surgery. I know it's not right that you have to do that in order to feel accepted, but it could be worth it.

[King_George]

Can't the chipped tooth be covered with a crown? I've known people who have had gaps fixed and chips fixed. Maybe you need to check with someone who is up to date on all the latest on cosmetic dentistry. In the meantime, they are probably not looking at your teeth. They usually look into your eyes when you're talking to them . When you talk to others, aren't you looking at their eyes instead of staring into their mouth?

Sorry my reply was rude, I deleted it now. I apologize.

[Anne1221]

I'm glad I didn't see it because I was actually trying to be helpful. Sorry about that. I see these commercials on tv where the guy says he was embarrassed by his teeth and then he gets them fixed, but I don't really know that much about it. I guess I thought it was like the commercial.

[Ritch]

I agree with what Anne said. If this is something that you feel is affecting your life, it would be worth while by seeking out the help of a professional in that particular field. I am sure that there are things that can be done to improve your teeth and reduce your anxiety. She also pointed out a very important thing, people usually have eye contact when looking at someone.

Do you actually know that people's perception of you is influenced negatively or is this an anxious assumption? I am a very warm blooded person and I sweat profoundly in the heat due to a combination of heat and my anxiety. It felt like the whole world could see me sweating and that everyone was aware of it, but they weren't.

[Anne1221]

Ritch, you remind me of my brother. He is always so worried about his sweating but no one around him ever notices it. Recently he gave a talk and afterwards he asked us about it. His wife said, "I never noticed how you wipe your forehead of the sweat with your handkerchief until you started talking about it." Amazing the things we think others are thinking about, but in reality they are not.