Man so scared of dentist his teeth ‘crumbled’ – ‘NHS dentists don’t believe me’
A man terrified of visiting the dentist let his teeth fall into disrepair so badly that they started to “crumble away”.
Lajos Csendes, who has struggled with a severe phobia of sitting in the dentist’s chair, has avoided visits since he moved to the UK from Hungary, despite having long suffered from weakened teeth. Since he was a teen, the 31-year-old’s fragile teeth have broken on even the softest of foods like bread, and even in his own fingers. His condition – a family issue that also affects his sister – coupled with his fear of visiting the only people who can address it, have meant that most of his teeth have crumbled, with front and wisdom teeth being the only ones remaining. And, at one point, it left him seeking emergency treatment after a severe infection took root and started travelling towards his heart. He was told by a Hungarian clinic in 2024 he had to fork out between £20,000 to £25,000 to restore his teeth and facial bones after the infection entered his blood stream, something dentists believe he could have avoided with straightforward early visits. But “frustrated” Lajos has said he couldn’t have taken earlier action due to his phobia, which gives him “nightmares”.
Lajos said: “I was frustrated with the dentists… I’m not the only one who feels this fear about dentists… they thought I was joking when I said I have this fear.” He added: “It makes me have nightmares… I hope people realise it really affects me and is a serious issue. I’ve been ashamed of who I am – over the years I have stood up to the mirror and tried to learn to smile in a way that you cannot really see my teeth.
“Finding a good relationship was always a struggle for me… I know people are judging… and some are afraid to interact with me.” Lajos’ intense fear started in childhood, and has led to extreme tooth decay that has taken “80 percent” of his teeth since he was 15 years old. He explained what teeth remain are “literally crumbling away”.
He said: “So when I was younger, basically I could break down my teeth with my fingers or with my nails, or even if I just had a bite of bread or an apple. Now I have my wisdom teeth in the back, and my front teeth, but basically nothing in between.”
Lajos has avoided eating foods that could exacerbate his condition since his teenage years, especially those that are “crunchy or chewy”, and conceals his smile. His phobia has meant dental check-ups are near-impossible, finding it difficult to even enter his dentists’ building.
He explained he starts to feel sick and shakes when confronted by a dentist’s surgery, adding the triggering experience is “so scary for me”. He said: “I struggle with the smell, the noises, the clean white building. It all just triggers me… I feel sick, I shake and it’s just so scary for me.”
He claimed he was discouraged from seeking help for the condition after an unnamed NHS dentist did not believe he was truly phobic. Lajos said he later turned to smoking to cope with his anxiety, despite knowing that doing so would exacerbate his condition, and smoked three cigarettes a day for several years.
Dentists have since told Lajos they believed more frequent appointments could have helped prevent his teeth crumbling, adding that genetics likely played a part in his tooth loss. Lajos, who has no name for his condition, is now fundraising to pay for a dental procedure he received at a specialist Hungarian dentist designed for phobic patients.
Following a devastating infection that left parts of his face deteriorating, he explained dentists would need to remove the roots of his decayed teeth and reconstruct parts of his skull. He said: “They plan to take my teeth roots out and then open up the part of my face, above my mouth, and screw in metal bolts into my upper and lower jaw to bring my jaw line forward.
“They’d then put ceramic teeth in.” Lajos has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay the £20,000 to £25,000 needed to finish the procedure he wants to “be able to feel normal again and not have to worry about my smile”.
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