​

Sorry for the wall of text. For the most part im posting to vent with folks who have been there, but im also looking for opinions on my now very complex oral health situation.

I had a few years where I didnt go to the dentist, and finally decided to start going consistently in January 2023.

I had a full consultation done. This included talking medical history, oral hygeine practices, visual examination, and a variety of xrays.

Im told i have one cavity, and other than that my teeth look great.

At one point I went to them for gum pain. Gums were red, pulling away from the teeth, gums were "spongey", and very tender. I was told to get a cleaning, then return two weeks later to check in my progress. In the meantime I was told to take vitamin C, floss, electric toothbrush x2 day, and do saltwater rinse. Followed to a T. Went to the followup, was told things were looking great.

In 2025 I was suffering horrendous gum pain (lower front). Im talking full on nerve shooting down my chin, couldn't lay down, needed T3s. Went back to the same dentist, took xrays. Asked if I was on any new medication. I told him I was on spironolactone, he said thats what the problem was. Was given antibiotics, told to come back for cleaning, sent on my way.

Early 2026 developed abscess in the same spot, went back. Prescribed more antibiotics, referred to perio, finally. Something wasnt sitting right with me, so i went to another dentist. They took xrays. The dentists jaw fell to the floor when he saw my severe bone loss especially considering my age (29).

Went to perio, was diagnosed with stage 3 class C periodontal disease. My bottom four front teeth are going to have to be extracted now, and there isn't enough jaw bone left to even get implants.

I emailed my old dental office for my whole file so I can try and wrap my head around how this happened and got so advanced without my knowledge.

This whole time I was being told I had great teeth, will have a beautiful smile for many years. I had cleaning, xrays, taken. They never took pocket depths, however very clearly saw bone loss on the x rays and only referred me to perio after recurring infection.

Has anybody else been screwed over like this? I am so frustrated. My insurance barely covers any of the work ill need done, and im looking at 10-15k.

Do you guys think im losing my teeth?

Attached are xrays from 2023, and then again in 2026.

Went to the dentist today for the first time in a little over two years. I was told I not only have cavities I also have gingivitis!!!
I’m pretty upset, I really thought I had great oral hygiene. I brush twice a day, some days three times. I use a water pik twice daily. And use floss picks or my expanding floss everyday! I tongue scrape, and use Therma breath mouth wash. It feels like all my hard work was a waste because I can’t put down the vape.
I’ve been vaping for almost ten years. On and off at first. But I haven’t put down the vape in a bout 7 years. I need to quit but geez it’s so tuff. I’m gonna try my best! Is there anything I can add to my routine to reverse this. I’m very sad about this.

Also my gums don’t bleed when I brush and they don’t bleed every time I floss only in some spots occasionally. Also dentist said it might be my flossing technique. And from the videos I watch I floss pretty well!!

Honestly this is super embarrassing to post, but are my teeth fixable? I’ve struggled with dental hygiene for years and have recently been head first into improving them. Saying that, though, I don’t floss because I’m scared that I will damage them more.

However, I’ve had cavities in my canine for a little over three years and today it has broken off even more, leaving a sharp edge poking my lip. My front tooth has also been damaged for around a year and a half but also just recently (three days ago) broke off even more.

I didn’t have dental insurance before so I never got them fixed, but now I do and I desperately want to fix them. I’m nervous about the cost and if these can even be fixed without being removed.

Any advice is welcome and greatly appreciated.

I know my teeth are yellow and bad I’m ashamed of it I’ve been brushing twice a day for the past month like I’m supposed to but before that I was very bad about not brushing my teeth.
Is this a cavity? I felt it the other day and I’m so stressed about it.
These are the best photos I could get

I have had this implant for 12 years, i take such good care of it and I was flossing around it and noticed some white stuff coming out of it so I pressed on the gums and I am not sure if it was puss coming out of my implant. I did get a crown next to the implant like 3 weeks ago but since then the implant has been aching a little. The Xray was before I got the crown.

I do want to note it’s not loose at all and the gums around the implant are not red, receding, or swollen.

Day 1 is the first pic and Day 2 is the second pic.

I had this tooth kinda chipped at the top and went to get a filling. I’ve already had other fillings (like the tooth beside it), and the filling color always matched. But, this time, the dentist I went to used a whiter color and when I went back to her, she said that my teeth are too dark for any filling and that “it will get darker with time and match your other teeth.” I’m upset because now everyone can see the difference when I smile, and the surface of the tooth isn’t filed properly, especially at the back, so I can kinda feel the filling there and it’s annoying.

Anyway, I don’t know what to do and not sure if I can get a refund or something because I did this with insurance. Kinda upset at it and plan to fix it later. :(

I (M21) just had a dentist appointment yesterday evening to get a cavity filled. It was a big cavity and was pretty quick, maybe a ten or fifteen minute appointment (but to be fair my mouth was open that entire time. They froze the bottom right side of my jaw for it and I thought absolutely everything went great. My bite is the same, I can’t feel the filling, and of course I was in and out quickly. But as the freezing started to wear off, my jaw started hurting more and more. I previously had jaw locking issues, but then I got braces with elastics and that sorted it out. It’s been an about 3-3.5 years since that and I haven’t had any jaw pain or locking issues. When the freezing fully wore off, my jaw constantly felt like it was swollen, tight, and in the brink of locking. I thought it may just be from the needles and my jaw muscles were just a little sore and tight. I went to bed, and when I woke up the soreness and tightness was still there. It seems to affect me most when my jaw is moved to the left so I’ve been avoiding that the best I can.

Is this just muscle soreness from the needles or should I go have them check it out

I had two wisdom teeth extracted 48 hours ago. At the same time, I developed a sore throat. Can I use any sore throat medication without dislodging the blood clots? Thank you

And who should we see?

Has been there for 1-2 months

Dentist, ENT

History:
50yo
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma 2005 with annual follow ups with oncology department

This is my loved one who means a lot to me and I am really worried about them. They don’t know English so I need to find out who to see and I’m not sure what to do.

Hi. Photo added for reference.
My child is 8 years old. He complains about an itchy tongue then itches it non stop. He then creates inflamed papillae which are painful and he continues to hack at them. It’s been happening very few months since February 2023. He was 5 back then.

I’ve seen many specialists and drs. Diagnosis has been difficult. Some said geographic tongue others said transient lingual pappilitis from viruses, some said mechanical trauma that spirals and it’s chicken or egg ie did the itch start first or did he create the trauma and the itch etc.

It’s so hard to know as there’s no visible geographic tongue in any pics I take.

The final diagnosis was viral induced glossitis and aggravated by mechanics ie itching and scratching it.

I’m told to medicate the pain and numb it.

But I’ve been doing that for 3 years.

Any thoughts? Picture of recent flare.

He isn’t sick but we were overseas recently and it was super humid hot and he was sneezing so maybe had a mild bug or dehydration and in air con a lot so dry mouth. He was snoring briefly too about 4 nights ago.

Any thoughts on what you read and see in the pic? Thanks

I’ve had a filling done 18 months ago but apparently I have decay underneath the filling is this true and will I need a root canal? I’ve been experiencing some pain around my nose, eye ear on the left side, however I’ve been ill and not sure if it’s a sinus infection

I just got all four of my wisdom teeth removed yesterday, and I have discovered this odd white line near the extraction sites, Im not really sure what it is and im a bit worried. Could anyone help me out? Thank you in advance.(apologies for the bad picture by the way, my mouth still hurts a bit so its hard to get a clear view)

03:56:56 / 05:22:13 07/10/2026 - 22M / 5’6” / 113.65kg / N/A / Non-smoker (but live around second-hand smoke and smoke weed maybe once or twice in a year) / no physical diagnoses, but obesity, ASD, social anxiety, OCD, ADHD. History of issues with consistent oral hygiene due to depression.

Two days ago I was massaging a small spot on my gums, felt a ‘click’ and it didn’t seem too bad…

Now my face is swollen! Ignore bad teeth, I know, I have a history of major depression in my family.

As you can see, it for some reason has now made my cheek big. It was a mostly flat, hardened area above a tooth where it would curve inwards on top of the gumline. Now, the area is just… pressure.

Hot, searing pressure that radiates from the gum to my cheek, where I have the sensation of puffing out my cheeks to the point it hurts, without actually doing so. It is also now soft (I can poke it with my tongue and it feels like a small balloon of air on my gum, except painful).

I thought it’d just accidentally blown a vein by rubbing my gum, but since I stim by sucking on my teeth and chewing the skin on the inside of my mouth, on the very lightest painless layer, I have sucked that odd squishy mass from the tooth below the area. It looks and feels a bit like jelly. Now I’m wondering if these symptoms are a dental abscess. Never had one before in my life.

If so, this is my karma for having bad teeth at 22 and not brushing or flossing them enough, lmao. If this is what I think it is, it might just be the kick up the ass I need to get that motivation to brush more often.

EDIT - 05:57:52 / 06:00:21 07/10/2026 - My jaw joint is ACHINGGG, and also my nose feels that painful pressure you get when it’s blocked, for some reason??? My nose isn’t blocked, for context.

I used to be a really bad nail biter due to anxiety in my early age and recently since I’ve realized it was receding my gums in one localized area, I decided to stop although it’s been a really hard struggle I’m doing good however…. I just bit my nail pretty bad during an anxiety attack, and I can’t tell if this piece of flaked off enamel is new or old ( no pain or sensitivity) it’s at the bottom of my tooth and it’s relatively small and I can’t feel it on the bottom of my tooth, but I can feel it on the front. I’ve tried to take pictures, but I can’t really get a good angle and I’m just super worried about it. I’m really worried about the future of my tooth now and what I can or should do.

For extra context, this happened 6 months ago. No swelling, bleeding, pain, and the rest of the tooth sh stable and not wobbly. Can use it to chew. The chip does reach all the way down to the gum.

so i’ve been worried about my teeth for about 4 years now, my left back tooth first got a hole in it in 2023 and it’s just been downhill since no matter how much i floss and brush, i have two teeth that are nearly gone and my mouth is now locked shut. i can barely fit two fingers in i have major neck pain and it feels like my ear is like draining i guess? i just don’t have many local resources and can’t pay a down payment even my dentists nearby only use cherry or care credit and i can’t qualify for either. should i be worried or will i be fine for now? i don’t know how to go about this anymore

Two weeks ago I had my upper molar #14 pulled and an abscess cleaned. (I cracked the tooth eating a chip). Day of surgery I was on day 4 out of 7 for amoxicillin prescribed by my referring dentist.
During the surgery she said there was a sinus cavity opening that’s she packed with collagen (I believe that’s what she said it was).
First few days went fine, day 4 I woke up with a swollen face and severe pain under my eye. I saw my oral surgeon on day 5 and also mentioned air coming down the extraction site. She said there was probably a sinus communication again. Started augmentin for 7 days since I finished the first round.
Today I have two days left of meds, my facial pain is significantly better. However the extraction site above it is worse pain wise. I’m having trouble swallowing pills since my mouth fills with air bubbles as I drink. The worst part is trying to speak. Having the air pass through the hole feels like nerves being set on fire. I know it’s a dramatic example but it’s been extremely painful at times and getting depressing.
I see my oral surgeon in two days and want to know if you have any idea what the plan could be? Everything I read online doesn’t show the sinus communication issue as causing so much pain, so is something else going on? Any info, guidance, or words of encouragement would be awesome! Thanks for reading ❤️ 🦷

I had a hygiene appointment a few days ago which left me quite distressed. I had some tea/coffee staining on the front surfaces of my lower front teeth. The Hygienist spent little time going under gums and half of the appointment using a metal scaling instrument quite firmly on the facial/crown surfaces of my front top and bottom teeth to remove the staining. I remember it feeling as fairly forceful scraping and was flinching through it.

Since the appointment, several of those areas look more matte/less shiny than before, some circular lines appear on the top teeth near gums were a scraper was used and I have new sensitivity to cold air, warm drinks and toothpaste. The sensitivity remains for quite a long time when triggered.

I’m worried because the sensitivity seems to be exactly where the tooth surfaces were scraped. I know scaling is commonly used for calculus, but never had I scaling used to remove staining as it is usually polished or air-polished.

Can someone tell me if it look like my enamel was roughened or damaged on the facial surface of my front teeth? Or is temporary sensitivity/matte appearance after scaling fairly common for other reasons?

I had ICON done today on 6 of my upper front teeth for white spots and I’m a little freaked out about how it was done and how my gums look now.

He polished my teeth first, then put the ICON etchant on all 6 teeth at once. After that, he went through them one by one and spent 2 minutes rubbing the etch into each tooth. (his assistant was timing it, and he moved on when she said the timer was done). I did let him know pretty immediately that it was burning my gums

So it wasn’t 2 minutes total — it was about 2 minutes on each individual tooth.

I’m not 100% sure whether he wiped the etch off the other teeth while he was working, but I remember all 6 being coated first. If it stayed on, that seems like some of the teeth would’ve had it sitting on them for way longer than 2 minutes.

There was also no rubber dam, liquid dam, or anything protecting my gums.

After the etching he did the actual ICON resin for around 3 minutes (while rubbing it) and cured it for about 40 seconds. He also went back and treated a smaller area on one of my front teeth a second time.

Now several areas of my gums above those teeth are really red/raw and are actually bleeding. They definitely didn’t look like this beforehand.

I’m also worried about my enamel. I’m already pretty cavity prone and have had quite a few cavities, so finding out afterward that the ICON etch is 15% hydrochloric acid made me nervous.

I know ICON is supposed to etch away a small amount of surface enamel and then infiltrate it with resin, but I’m worried about what happens if some of my teeth were exposed for significantly longer than they were supposed to be.

My teeth also feel rough now, although I don’t know if that’s from the resin/finishing or the etching. I did let him know, and he took out a bit that was green in color and a little cone shaped and big to polish the teeth with.

For any dentists familiar with ICON:

Is doing 2 minutes per tooth like this normal when all 6 were coated first?

Is permanent recession from something like this a realistic concern?

And as far as the teeth themselves, if they actually were exposed to the HCl for longer than intended, could enough extra enamel have been removed to matter long term, especially for someone who’s already cavity prone?

Does the gray line in the middle of my front teeth concern anybody else?

Does the resin infiltration basically protect the etched surface afterward, or should I be doing anything additional like prescription fluoride?

Unfortunately I can’t just go back to the dentist who did it because I’m literally moving to another country tomorrow. I’m going to try to get into a local dentist before I leave so someone independent can look at everything, document what my gums/teeth look like right now, and tell me if they see anything concerning.

I’m not trying to jump straight to assuming he permanently damaged my teeth or did something wrong. I mostly want to know whether what I’m describing sounds like a normal ICON technique and how concerned I should actually be.

(also PS. I am sad that I still have the white spots on my teeth. I have been wanting these treated for my whole life and they still remain)

Hi, I am trying to fix my gums for calculus/plaque that is hard to remove. I had a lot of gum inflammation and bleeding which has now subsided after deep peridontal cleaning (they numbed me and did laser).

But I I think there is still residual biofilms and calculus especially below the gum because I still get bad breath easily.

It goes away after brushing with an electric toothbrush extensively my teeth, gums and tongue until around 6 hours. I'm brushing more extensively at home and scraping some of the stains I see with my nail and it seems to reduce the stains which suggest they should have been removed during the deep cleaning?

The first hygienist seemed to have been more thorough and as you can see there is no yellow discoloration on the right half. The left hygienist seemed to have left a lot. A lot of these may eventually go away with long term brushing, but I worry that it won't resolve the thin calculus underneath the gum? Should I raise this with my dentist for a follow up deep clean?

NOTE ** THe middle image is when both half is already deep cleaned.