B
Barbara Anne
Junior member
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
- 18
- Location
- Vancouver island
Hello Brit Stress Doc and every kind and/or terrified person reading
I had my appointment!!!! With your support I found a dentist i could try. He might be on probation for a few years or so, just to be safe.
Though I've been going to the dentist twice a year, this one is more proactive (instead of putting out painful and horrible fires he considers preventing them!) He did use a deep level of IV sedation. He promised me whatever it took for me to have a comfortable experience. I learned from the wonderful endodontist I found that Ativan the night before and two hours before the appointment makes the sedation work better, so he gave me that too. His office staff are gentle and kindly in a professional way, which helps. I was there for four hours as he did the crown impression and then other things he said would cause problems over the next five years or so. They root planed my teeth, "recontoured" my gums in places - like skin grafts -- and took impressions of my bottom teeth. This summer was so painful and traumatic and dragged on for months as I fell between vacation cracks that I told him I never wanted that to happen again. It's been two years of sickening pain and terror as tooth after tooth needed root canals and crowns. When I told someone that any time I went for the smallest thing like a tiny filling or a cleaning I alwas ended up needing a root canal and crown, they laughed a very cynical laugh. Anyway, after looking at digital xrays the new dentist said my bottom teeth would begin to be a problem. I told him I had had it and wanted them removed so this nightmare could never happen again. I would not miss the teeth at all - only feel safe from more nightmare. Both lower molars are crowned with root canals, so an implant in the middle would hopefully anchor the bottom plate. He approved and said more dentists should listen to clients.!
The only dark spot in the whole experience was suddenly coming to consciousness with something cold and hard shoved into the back of my throat which made me gag and then vomit. It was the impression tray inserted by someone with the sensitivity of a stone. But the whole experience was 99% smooth and stressless.
I thought a bit about women and dentists. Speaking as a woman, I observed that half of all women have been attacked physically sometime in our lives. Three quarters have been abused in one way or another if you include emotional abuse. We're not really on a level playing field. I think this counts in the pure physical response to someone being insensitive or causing easily avoided pain. Anxiety disorder could often be past trauma reactivated on some level. That puts a different light on things, I think. It's not so much something wrong with weak and defective me as a logical reaction.
I did stumble across the Phobia and Anxiety Workbook that I think Stress Doc mentioned. I was very impressed with it. It's not"think positive thoughts and get used to being in a dentist chair" It would be valuable for anybody. It gets into life balance - take an hour every day to do nothing, take a day every week and a week every quarter - or suffer cumulative stress which leaves you prey to dark reactions in the psyche. Nurture spiritual connections which support and enrich life, so we don't feel so alone when bleak times come. And on and on.
I had a few days when the dragon in the dungeon reminded me it's there, but I saw that as echoes of past times. I actually did it, and I lived, and it was pretty much ok. I feel ok about the next visit, when he puts on the crown. I feel ok about having those future problem teeth out because I've had one successful IV sedation with him. What more could I ask!
This is completely miraculous.
One thing I did in the weeks before the session was join an online email penpals group and write to people all over the world about lives and places. They were so interesting I usually forgot about D Day. Just think, I could have been making myself sick instead
Kudos Dental Phobia Forum
Barbara
I had my appointment!!!! With your support I found a dentist i could try. He might be on probation for a few years or so, just to be safe.
Though I've been going to the dentist twice a year, this one is more proactive (instead of putting out painful and horrible fires he considers preventing them!) He did use a deep level of IV sedation. He promised me whatever it took for me to have a comfortable experience. I learned from the wonderful endodontist I found that Ativan the night before and two hours before the appointment makes the sedation work better, so he gave me that too. His office staff are gentle and kindly in a professional way, which helps. I was there for four hours as he did the crown impression and then other things he said would cause problems over the next five years or so. They root planed my teeth, "recontoured" my gums in places - like skin grafts -- and took impressions of my bottom teeth. This summer was so painful and traumatic and dragged on for months as I fell between vacation cracks that I told him I never wanted that to happen again. It's been two years of sickening pain and terror as tooth after tooth needed root canals and crowns. When I told someone that any time I went for the smallest thing like a tiny filling or a cleaning I alwas ended up needing a root canal and crown, they laughed a very cynical laugh. Anyway, after looking at digital xrays the new dentist said my bottom teeth would begin to be a problem. I told him I had had it and wanted them removed so this nightmare could never happen again. I would not miss the teeth at all - only feel safe from more nightmare. Both lower molars are crowned with root canals, so an implant in the middle would hopefully anchor the bottom plate. He approved and said more dentists should listen to clients.!The only dark spot in the whole experience was suddenly coming to consciousness with something cold and hard shoved into the back of my throat which made me gag and then vomit. It was the impression tray inserted by someone with the sensitivity of a stone. But the whole experience was 99% smooth and stressless.
I thought a bit about women and dentists. Speaking as a woman, I observed that half of all women have been attacked physically sometime in our lives. Three quarters have been abused in one way or another if you include emotional abuse. We're not really on a level playing field. I think this counts in the pure physical response to someone being insensitive or causing easily avoided pain. Anxiety disorder could often be past trauma reactivated on some level. That puts a different light on things, I think. It's not so much something wrong with weak and defective me as a logical reaction.
I did stumble across the Phobia and Anxiety Workbook that I think Stress Doc mentioned. I was very impressed with it. It's not"think positive thoughts and get used to being in a dentist chair" It would be valuable for anybody. It gets into life balance - take an hour every day to do nothing, take a day every week and a week every quarter - or suffer cumulative stress which leaves you prey to dark reactions in the psyche. Nurture spiritual connections which support and enrich life, so we don't feel so alone when bleak times come. And on and on.
I had a few days when the dragon in the dungeon reminded me it's there, but I saw that as echoes of past times. I actually did it, and I lived, and it was pretty much ok. I feel ok about the next visit, when he puts on the crown. I feel ok about having those future problem teeth out because I've had one successful IV sedation with him. What more could I ask!
This is completely miraculous.
One thing I did in the weeks before the session was join an online email penpals group and write to people all over the world about lives and places. They were so interesting I usually forgot about D Day. Just think, I could have been making myself sick instead
Kudos Dental Phobia Forum
Barbara
