u/21yearoldteenager

i’ve been meaning to make a dentist appointment anyway (NHS Wales) as i’m due a check up, my teeth are killing me and i know it’s my fault due to my cocaine use. how do i approach this topic with the dentist? i was planning on just being honest and telling them ive been having a lot of pain and issues due to drug use, would this be helpful? could they point me in the right direction in terms of harm reduction/how to soothe my symptoms?
my immediate thought was to just be upfront, but after doing some BRIEF research it seems the main worry for other users/addicts (i can admit i am one) is ensuring dentists/healthcare professionals can’t tell they have been using at all, but i was hoping the dentist would be able to give me some advice or at least be able to make some better informed conclusions after my check up with everything on the table?
idk this is probably a question for a dentist ironically😭😭 just hoping someone has any experiences having conversations like this with dental professionals, i know they can’t help me properly if they don’t know the real cause of my dental issues. (obviously) other than stopping my drug use is there anything they can do to alleviate my tooth pain, im in agony.
for more detail, ive been trying not to gum it for the past few months after the pain became worse but inevitably theres often a little bump that i cant be bothered to scrape up into a small line so i just stick it on my gums, i try to be gentle and have been using pain killers and bonjela - bonjela doesn’t do much at all any more.
sorry if there seems to be an obvious answer to this or i sound ridiculous, i’ve admittedly not researched as much as i could have, i figured a personal/real experience could be more helpful to me?

i know (or at least i’m pretty sure…) that it’s delusional/a way to make excuses for myself - but i tell myself i’m not high enough / not even high at all unless my pupils are huge. i’ve got into the habit of checking myself in the mirror when im using to see how big my pupils are are, then use that as an excuse/justification to do more, especially when i know deep down that i need to stop/slow down. if my pupils aren’t “big enough” or have gone smaller instead of bigger, i feel like i can do more even if i’ve already done way too much. i guess we all have our excuses to do “one more line”, so does anyone else do this?!
just because my pupils aren’t huge obviously doesn’t mean i’m not high, but lately that’s all i’m focusing on and measuring my usage by. it’s strange that i’m suddenly so fixated on this and i’m not sure where it’s come from🤨