u/Nervous_Persimmon343

Hi, I'm 25F. Bit of a long post on a throwaway account, because obsessing over my teeth all the time causes me stress.

I was diagnosed with full-mouth periodontitis at 23. I had a history of being depressed since I was 16, with a high sugar diet (yes, because I was a hardhead, but I'm sugar-free now).

My life was stressful growing up. I was near homeless a few times as a child and I felt like I wasn't going to live long if that was gonna be my life all the time. Had not touched a string of floss until I was in my 20s because I was poor, my parents didn't teach me. Family couldn't afford food sometimes, and that meant dental visits were off the table too.

I skipped brushing at night sometimes when I felt too down, but I thought I made up for it by brushing hard the next day until my gums bled. This went on for years, and I thought it was normal.

After finally making my own money, I went to a dental hygienist at 23 to get my teeth checked. There was a huge clump of blackened calculus on my right premolar and I wanted it removed (not in picture sorry, I was too embarrassed). Dentist cleaned it, told me that I have periodontitis, and was surprised to see that much calculus on someone so young. It was the size of a small roach covering three teeth. I had no idea what the hell periodontal disease was, so imagine my shock when I found out it was chronic.

I didn't take it seriously until this year, since I lost my job on Christmas 2025 and was anemic a year before that. But I haven't skipped a day of 2x brushing (sometimes 3x) with a soft bristled toothbrush, flossing at least once a day, waterpik, mouthwash, and saltwater rinses. Of course, I stopped eating sugar too. It was hard, like it was a drug, but I'm free of it.

Sadly, I can't afford a periodontist (I live in a province, specialists are extremely rare in my area), but I found a dentist who wanted to deeply study my case and gave me a 70% discount on my treatment plan. I have mostly 5-6mm pockets, and my deepest is one 10+mm on one side. My front teeth has a gap and have gradually been growing larger over the past few years, so I wanted to get that checked next. My bottom front gums have been getting abscesses, and I had gum surgery / drainage 2 weeks ago on my bottom front teeth to get rid of an infection.

I'm gonna go back in 3 months to get my 10+mm pocket cleaned and sewed up on July. I hate being stabbed with a needle, but this is reality now, and I will survive this just as I easily survived starving and being nearly homeless as a kid. Besides, I haven't had such healthy gums and clean teeth that I can't help but appreciate it now lol

I don't know if my condition will stabilize or not, but I sure as hell will try. I like my teeth a lot and would love to keep them.

(Pictures are my gums and teeth this month after suture removal)

How bad is it, really?

Worried about my gums, but proud of progress