AIBU to worry about dental bone loss after avoiding check-ups?

[TheOpalFox]

Any dentists or anyone scared of the dentist? I’m now scared how much bone I have lost!!!
I haven’t been the dentist in 10 years! I’m going next week
I’m so scared they will judge me or tell me I’m going to lose my teeth 😞 front ones too

Please don’t judge

Hiya, I am not really scared of what the dentist is going to tell me. I am mostly scared about the cost of putting it right !!
My dentist picked up on my bone loss problems about 4 years ago and I am now going to the hygienist quarterly to keep things manageable. This is coupled with interdental brushes and thorough cleaning with electric toothbrush and it seems to have slowed it down (Also quite smoking/vaping🥳)
Be brave and pragmatic. Get the diagnosis and discuss thoroughly with your dentist about options. It may not be as bad as you think it is going to be. Best of luck 👍let us know how it goes.

I can’t tell how much bone loss you have from looking at a photo - I’d need radiographs and probing depths. You do have a build up of calculus which is causing some gum recession, so need a thorough clean,but that’s not unusual. A dentist won’t judge you, believe me we’ve seen worse

They will probably recommend sessions with an hygienist to thoroughly clean them up then regular hygienist appointments after that

Hi I am scared but I find it’s much worse the less frequently I go because I know there could be problems. I left it for years once and had to have four fillings. I’ve been going every 6 months now and everything is much less scary because less likely to be an issue.

They won’t judge you, they will have seen much worse. Dentists and drs are there to problem solve based on how you present and tests they can do, like x-rays. As soon as you walk in, that’s what their brain is thinking.

You can even tell them you’re anxious, I did this once and they were so lovely. Dental anxiety is a real thing.

I have parodontitis with some bone loss but thanks to regular cleaning and checkups it hasn't progressed further. Go to your dentist and explain. They have seen it all before and can help.