Early Periodontal Disease Diagnosis
Hey everyone, I’m new here to this and I wanted to share my thoughts and get some insight. I’m a 24F who went to get a routine dental cleaning yesterday, only to find out I’m in the early stages of gum disease. My dentist took lots of x-rays, scanned for oral cancer and from what she and the other hygienists could find, I have no bone loss. Doctor also confirmed this. I’m going in for two separate cleanings this month, and then she said either 3-4 month visits. She said at my cleanings, they’re going to use a laser treatment. I’m struggling with a lot of anxious thoughts that they’re going to find something really bad during the cleaning, like bone loss or something worse. I’m so terrified that I’m going to lose my teeth. She was super positive and optimistic that everything would be okay, but I’m struggling with a lot of anxiety and shame. I just feel so stupid to be having this in my early twenties. I have some 4-6mm pockets, and some below that as well. After she did the pocket measurements, she completed another measurement but I can’t remember what it was, and these were all 0s and 1s. I even cried while in the office yesterday, and all the ladies were super kind and understanding. There’s a lot of plaque buildup around my teeth, and I’ll be honest that flossing was something I have always neglected. I just got home from college last year, and I had a cleaning two years ago but I rarely went because I had no insurance and I couldn’t afford dentist appointments every 6 months. I’m hating myself for not listening to my parents about this, and this is the most upset I’ve been in a long time. I bought an electric toothbrush in their office that also came with a water flosser. I’m also trying to use real floss, but I’m having an issue where I’m unable to get the floss in between my teeth. I had braces years ago and I also have a super tiny mouth, so my teeth are all just jammed in there. Any recommendations on this? I’m just feeling so ashamed and disgusted with myself. Luckily I’ve been regularly going to therapy sessions every two weeks for the past year, and this is something I definitely plan to talk about.