To want all my teeth removed? (Trigger warning, suicide mentioned)

With regards to dentures, as others have pointed out, you can have your teeth taken out and a temporary denture put straight in so you don’t have to be without teeth at all.

Secondly a pp mentioned taking them out overnight, again this is no longer necessary (unless you want to). I wear mine 24/7, only taken out to clean.

It only took me maybe 2 weeks to get used to my top denture, which is no time at all in the grand scheme of things. I’m due to have the bottom set done at some stage, I hear that’s a bit harder to get used to but I’ll manage I’m sure.

I’ve had to go private. It is expensive, but I’ll save money in the long run not having any more tooth problems!

I can totally understand where you are coming from. I had terrible teeth,sadly bad genetics played a huge part in this ( my dad had all his removed at 19 and my mum is at the dentist so often having work done). I was told that my saliva was overly salty which caused some issues.
I had a full clearance 10 years ago. Please make sure that if you do end up going the same route get a good set of dentures,if you are not happy with them go back and get them adjusted.
I didn't do this and went too long struggling with not wearing dentures.
I have now found an amazing dentist but because I went without teeth for so long my bone structure in my gums is rubbish. I don't have enough bone in my bottom gum to hold a denture in place. So last Friday I had 2 implants placed in my bottom gum to hold a denture in place. The surgery was painful and expensive but hopefully will be worth it in the end.

I was in exactly the same situation as you OP. I found a private dentist and asked him to take all my top row out, and fit me with a denture. Absolutely the best money I ever spent. Still have the same denture, and was worth every penny. I remember the absolute abject misery tooth pain caused me. It was horrific. Been pain free for 10 years now. And I won't hesitate to get the bottom set done if I start getting that pain again.

Not the point of the OP I know but it’s shocking some people haven’t seen a dentist for nearly 2 years due to covid. Our dentist has been seeing patients throughout (or as good as - we haven’t missed a check up). They upped PPE (in the early days the hygienist looked like she was prepared for a NBC attack) and increased cleaning between appointments.

Sympathies op, dental pain is the worst. Interesting reading about bone dissappearing if you remove teeth, I had no idea that happened so that’s worth knowing. I definitely agree teeth health is very much genetic, my ex had perfect teeth, never needed fillings or treatment but rarely brushed his teeth or looked after them 🤮 our oldest child is the same, perfect teeth, doesn’t take care of them at all, the middle child seems to have got my bad genes and was born with enamel hypoplasia, front one was rotten by 2, thankfully his adult ones are good and all my kids are nagged morning and night to brush and all have electric toothbrushes.
My teeth were terrible growing up, I had a dysfunctional upbringing as consequently poor oral hygiene, then bulimia from early teens for several years, then multiple pregnancies with 9 month long sickness. I’ve had the back teeth out on the top on both sides, one at the bottom left near the front and a crown. Touch wood not too many problems since then, which I’m so thankful for as dentists here still not seeing anyone apart from emergencies.

It’s understandable to want to consider removing them all, I find very little touches tooth pain in regards to pain relief, it just makes you unable to function properly I find as it involves your whole head. Definitely try and see another dentist, even if it means saving some money to see someone privately.

Someone may have already posted that perhaps 60 or 80 years ago , the removal of all teeth followed by a full set of dentures was regarded as a suitable 21st birthday present. A rite of passage. An uncle who had all his teeth removed in his 20s lived well into his 80s. I'm not saying OP shd do it, merely pointing out that orthodox approaches swings right round over time. Get another dentist, one with a sense and knowledge of history.

OP sorry to hear you are in so much pain. Dental pain is awful. I had toothache in one tooth and wanted to cut my head off, so the pain and distress you're in must be immense.

I don't know if this will help but my grandad in his youth had all his teeth out (not sure what age he was but I think late 20s/early 30s). He couldn't get on with dentures (this is many years ago, dentures are much better now I'm sure) but it never affected him at all and he never regretted it, he was just grateful to have avoided years of pain and treatment.

I really hope you manage to get things resolved.

Sorry your experience this pain, OP. Toothache is the absolute worst. I would get a second opinion. I’ve been asthmatic since the 80s and never have I had any dental issues due to either my inhalers or allergies. I would be looking for a different cause.

Dental health is so linked to systemic health that I would urge you to see a doctor and have some blood tests, and perhaps a bone density scan. I have a friend with severe teeth issues but she has a lot of other medical conditions that explain what is going on in her mouth. My dental health at 40 was poor. I needed a lot of work on gum disease, root canal and a dislocated jaw. I later discovered I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome which explains all going on in a mouth that gets brushed twice a day, low sugar diet and not smoking. I would definitely get your physical health checked out, and ask in your family for others dental history as it may give clues to what is happening to you.

You need to find yourself a really good dentist.. ask for recommendations from friends/family/Facebook.

It’s obviously better to keep your own teeth for as long as you can and you’re still so young to have dentures.. but then pain you describe sounds unbearable. You need to determine which are rotten and unsavable and which can be kept and go from there… good luck

I hate the apparent teaching in dentistry that everyone's teeth are identical and if you clean properly you will have good teeth and if you need cavities you are eating loads of sweets and not brushing enough

I have 4 kids. 3 of them have never had a filling in their life. My eldest, now an adult, is autistic, 6 feet tall and only cleans his teeth once a month or so. He drinks diet coke and doesn't have a balanced diet at all. Perfect teeth, never had a filling.

Then my youngest son (not youngest child) has had probably 20 fillings. He has always had incredibly soft teeth and had his first filling at 4. I stopped buying fruit juice and squash (including sugar free). I limited fruit. I bought electric brushes. He had his teeth painted with anti erosion stuff. He had sweets just once a fortnight. He never has fizzy drinks; doesn't like them. Every single time we go to the dentist I get a lecture about his teeth and not feeding him sweets every day.

There is without a doubt something different about this kid's teeth compared with my other 3 kids. And it's not as simple as how much sugar he eats or how well he brushes.

A lot of hospitals have dental clinics which are better at dealing with unusual stuff like this. I have worked with a few people who have had this done, it is possible, if drastic. Can you speak to your GP? Or find if there is a community dental clinic near you?

What about implants. Expensive but look natural.
Also need to find out what is causing it. Maybe some deficiency.

Is there any possibility you could fund titanium teeth OP?

Yanbu. Some dentists can be judgy cunts. I had the same issue for years. Teeth crumbling, constant fillings, root canals and abscesses despite being absolutely fastidious about oral health. I had so many dentists that told me that sugar and/or not brushing properly were the only possible cause.

Saw an amazing dentist recently who noted that I had good hygiene but shocking levels of decay and bone loss. She referred me to the hospital for tests and it turns out I have a condition that is causing all of the calcium to leach out of my bones and teeth.

So, years of pain and tooth/bone loss that could have been prevented if any of the dentists I had seen had looked beyond their own prejudice and ignorance.

There are a lot of conditions that can cause decay and tooth loss. Immune system conditions, absorption issues and more. Ask your dentist for a referral to oral medicine for investigations. Good luck x

I'm sorry you are dealing with this it sounds awful. Is there anyway you can change to see a different dentist?

For those of you questioning the OP about inhalers, there is a well proven link between inhaler use and poor oral health.

I've only had minor issues compared to this (and a much more understanding, very kind dentist), but PLEASE ask to be referred to hospital. They're great. If anything, if the hospital feel you need dentures it'll only be £282.80 instead of ££££ private.
If you're moving to another practice, read reviews to make sure they deal well with nervous patients and complicated issues.

I wish you well if you do it. My mum had it done when she was in her 60s and honestly she broke down when all her teeth were removed and said she’d made the worst decision. It totally changes your face shape and sadly in her case the dentures never fit properly she’s been back and forth from dentist. You are only young please explore this as a last ditch attempt only. Don’t regret it like my mum.

@CureTheToothPain
It was just a thought, the dentist mentioned it to me so I thought I'd pass it on.
I suppose I think there's likely to be a link between dental health and other health issues including mental health and getting help for dental issues isn't easy without spending ££.

Look into whether your facial pain could be caused by nerve pain. I had terrible facial pain for years which was assumed to be sinuses, or psychological but eventually a GP locum actually listened properly to me and suggested it sounded more like Trigeminal Neuralgia. Normal painkillers don’t work for nerve pain. She prescribed Amitriptyline which helped pain but made me really groggy so I moved to Gabapentin which was great. Shortly after I changed dentist and she found I had a massive root abscess on one of my top front teeth which I suspect had been coming and going for years and had triggered the pain.

@PeterPomegranate I'll have to watch out then! My dentist has lengthened the time between my visits to 18 months as I never have issues. I have to say, in my defence, when I brush them i do give them a very good scrub!

Would you consider treatment abroad? Obviously you have to be very careful as not all clinics are good but I have a dentist in an Eastern European country. She is absolutely amazing and the clinic is in the top 10 in Europe.
The prices are very reasonable. They will look at everything in detail and come up with a treatment plan.
There are plenty of options these days that aren't just all teeth out and removable denture in.