I'm so stuck...I just dont know what to do. Help!

NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow!

Hi!
So glad I found this forum. Im 20 and terrified of the dentist – I’ve no idea why as other than having a dentist who cut my gums quite sharply when scraping between my teeth, I’ve never had a particularly traumatic experience at the dentist- the worst was a few months ago when I had to have a wisdom tooth pulled as it was growing into my gum.

The past few weeks Ive had a dull throbbing pain in my gum at the back of my front teeth- I thought I cut it whilst flossing and it got infected (im quite prone to infection) so I went to the dentist and he gave me antibiotics. Unfortunately I was allergic to them and ended up in hospital with no feeling down one side of my body. I came off those pills and got penicillin instead- Ive just finished the course and I’m still in pain. I’ve reluctantly booked myself an appointment for tomorrow. I’m convinced hes going to think I’m stupid or paranoid to keep going back there, but my fear of going is eclipsed by my fear of what will happen if I don’t.

I’m terrified its an abscess and I’ll have to have a root canal, I’m praying its not. I know its irrational though cos if it is that, then I know ill get through it and I’ll feel better afterwards. But I still cant get past the fear and I’ve had butterflies all day. The thought of going makes me feel so sick!

Any support or advice!? Im freaking out!

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

Hiya,


I just wanted to say good luck at your upcoming appointment today! Let us know how it goes, Your fears are by no means irrational! Everyone here goes through the same thing, You said that your fear of going is eclipsed by the fear of what will hapen if you dont, in my opinion thats a great way to think, my fear is of the actual going to the dentist as I have left it for so long but I have managed to let a dentist look in my mouth and I have an appointment coming up on the 15th of June to have 4 teeth taken out!!

I am sure you will be fine and keep us posted!

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

Thanks for replying Nat!

Well, its an hour and a half away, should probably get dressed instead of going over and over this forum! I'm a final year uni student, just finished exams so sadly I have nothing to occupy myself at the moment except stressing! I'll let you know how it went when I get back.

Are you having your extractions done under general anaesthetic or just the numbing injections?

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

I am having tham extracted with just injections and a little help from IV sedation, which scares me to death right now! I am trying to think positive about it and was doing OK up until now when I read a post from someone who works in the legal side of malpractices and stuff like that and they said they deal with law suits regarding sleep sedation and people that dont come round!! Now im probably more scared now than I ever have been! I know it was probably just a passing comment and I dont hold anything against them as I chose to read that post but its not really making me feel good about the whole thing right now!

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

I wish I had a little more time to go into this right now, but those IV sedation lawsuits happened in the US, where "deep sedation" doesn't appear to be classified as general anaesthesia as it is in the UK. Deep sedation isn't used in the UK, and I suspect that's where people didn't come around. Also, it is far more common in the US to use a complex mix of drugs to achieve very long sedation sessions, whereas in the UK, usually a single, very safe drug (midazolam) is used and appointments are kept shorter.
To the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been a single case of death following dental IV sedation in the UK. It is extremely safe.

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

letsconnect said:

To the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been a single case of death following dental IV sedation in the UK. It is extremely safe.

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Thanks Lets, I appreciate that. I know even if it did happen it would be very very rare but when your having to do something that you have never had done before all sorts of things go through your head!

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

Yeah, Nat I've also never heard of problems like that in the UK- are you UK or US? If you're worried, is there any way you could go through it with just the numbing injections? I managed it and I swear to you that you won't feel a thing. Double check with your dentist that youre totally numb if you're worried about it. With mine the whole side of my mouth was numb and I just closed my eyes and thought about something else and tried to breathe steady to stop myself panicking. It was literally just a weird pressure then its all over. The slight ache you get for a few days afterwards is worse than having it done I think..and certainly no worse than the pain you probably have had beforehand! Would you ever consider giving the sedation a miss?

I'm off to my appointment now, persuaded my boyfriend to come with - he LIKES the dentist!!! Probably even weirder than being terrifed! At least my dentist is handsome! Mmm.

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

Unfortunately I cant do it without sedation, my dentist said he wouldnt be comfortable pulling teeth out for me unless I was as my fear is so bad he doesnt really want me having any recollection of the procedure or to have me freak out. He really wants to help me and thinks that this is the best route for me to go down.

Good luck though! Hope it all goes well and as for your boyfriend LIKING the dentist, weird!

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

Im back!

That was very weird. He had a look around where I said it was hurting but said the gum looked normal, so he took an xray of the area- absolutely nothing wrong! He even showed me the xray and all my teeth were perfect- no abscess or cavities or chips or anything. So he was pretty stumped - didn't want to give me more antibiotics cos I'd had enough of those, and he just scaled my teeth and said to stick to soft foods for a while and wait and see. Didn't like the scaly pokey thing but he didn't poke me with it or anything. So now it still hurts and he hasnt got a clue! Guess I'll wait and see if things improve.

Nat- since you have to have the sedation I'd just try not to worry about it- you'll wake up for sure and then it will all be over!

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

See, nothing to worry about!

I wish my stories were that easy! Glad it went good for you though, all that worrying for nothing, easy to say after the appointment though isnt it!

Fortunately I have a very nice new dentist, he hasnt done any work on me and the 15th will be the first time but he phones me when I need him and always lets me come in to see him if I have any problems and I mentioned yesterday that he has a very calming relaxing voice and everytime I talk to him I feel instantly OK with everything! Shame I cant speak to him everyday really but I think that if I feel OK when I speak with him on the phone then on the actual day I may feel OK about everything, I guess only time will tell!

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

I dont know anything about root canals -and judging from peoples reactions to them being mentioned on here, probably dont want to! but why are they feared so much, is whatever is done to them very painful?

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

I hope not Exodus, I have one scheduled for the 15th June!

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

hi nat
ive always wondered why people fear rct so much(root fillings) i wonder if part of it is the name. i have had 4 . i didnt really find it much diff to ordinary fillings except that its usually two app and takes longer. you can have them done by endodontists but c did mine ,i wouldnt have seen anyone else anyway. you should be ok .m

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

Two apps? What are those?

Did it hurt more than a normal filling? Also what is an endodontist lol, I've had an orthodontist and 2 dentists but never anything else.

Re: NEW USER AND FREAKED OUT! Appointment tomorrow

hi exodus
they can do it in one go but i think they prefer to do it in two appointments. im not very good at explaining things so you may be better putting it in the dentistry section but honestly it was no worse than ordinary fillings just more time consuming. it didnt hurt anymore no they make you numb,i think its more fiddly for the dentist and more time consuming but i didnt feel anything. endodontists are people who specialise in root canal treatment(root fillings) sorry didnt mean to confuse you ,just me showing off

Please help

Hi everyone,
Well - over a year ago now I went to the dentist with wisdom tooth pain and he told me there was no room for it in my mouth and that he was going to extract it there and then - as someone terrified of the dentist you can imagine how awful it was - it was horrible, it didn't really hurt (although it was really sore afterwards) but the feeling of having it pulled out of my mouth made me feel sick.
One year later I began to have a similar pain on the other side of my mouth and went to see him again - again, he decided to take it out there and then.

It's been a few months and I've changed dentists as I wasn't happy with the last one - again I've had wisdom tooth pain, this time on the bottom tooth and far worse than before. I went to the new dentist and she tells me that this one is impacted, as is the one on the other side. The swelling around it is quite bad and my whole gland in my throat is massive and throbbing. She gave me some antibiotics for it and has referred me to a surgeon to have these 2 taken out as well - because of the position of these two they'll probably need to be done under general anaesthetic, or at least sedation.

The thought of having to have 2 more extractions, these 2 simultaneously, fills me with fear. I constantly feel sick and I'm crying all the time. I've called the surgeon and made an appointment with him this Friday. I feel so gutted that all of my friends and my boyfriend have had no problems with their wisdom teeth at all and none of them have a problem with the dentist - then there's me, terrified, with all my wisdom teeth coming through at different times and having to be extracted one by one. Nobody I know really understands - I just need some support from people who understand, I really don't want to go through it all again but I have to

Re: Please help

I'm sorry that you're going through this.  At least you're not alone: you have us!  

I had my wisdom teeth out in exactly the same way you did -- one at a time on the top, the impacted lowers out at the same time.  I had the bottoms out under GA.  I don't remember anything between sitting in the chair and being helped out of the office to the car.  

The only thing that even got me into the office was knowing that I'd have GA and be completely out of it.  Looking back though, the whole process was not that bad, scout's honor.    Truly, it's such a relief to have it over with.  Maybe you can focus on the fact that these are the last two wisdoms to have out and then you'll be done!

The Other Me

Re: Please help

Thanks for your reply, its good to hear you've been through the same thing!

I've calmed down a bit today and am doing what you said, focusing on the fact that once these two are out, that'll be it for me. And if I take care of my teeth I'll only ever need to go back for checkups and cleaning. Luckily I dont have any fillings and the dentist said I probably wont ever need them as my teeth are unusually strong!

Am going to the doctor this afternoon (for something un-tooth related!) and am going to get her to check my swollen gland is definitely caused by my impacted tooth and maybe try and get something to relieve the swelling and pain until I have the operation.

I saw this programme on TV once about how occasionally general anesthetics dont work and people can feel the pain but arent able to communicate to explain - I know it sounds ridiculous but as I've never had any kind of operation I'm convinced I'll be able to feel it all! Sometimes I feel like such a loser!

Re: Please help

Polarpurplebear said:

Thanks for your reply, its good to hear you've been through the same thing!

I've calmed down a bit today and am doing what you said, focusing on the fact that once these two are out, that'll be it for me. And if I take care of my teeth I'll only ever need to go back for checkups and cleaning. Luckily I dont have any fillings and the dentist said I probably wont ever need them as my teeth are unusually strong!

Am going to the doctor this afternoon (for something un-tooth related!) and am going to get her to check my swollen gland is definitely caused by my impacted tooth and maybe try and get something to relieve the swelling and pain until I have the operation.

[highlight]I saw this programme on TV once about how occasionally general anesthetics dont work and people can feel the pain but arent able to communicate to explain [/highlight]- I know it sounds ridiculous but as I've never had any kind of operation I'm convinced I'll be able to feel it all!  Sometimes I feel like such a loser!

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I also saw a Programme like that. Wonder if it was the same one It was that Programme that gave me a massive Phobia of General Anaesthetic & Sedation.

I hope you get something to help the swelling & pain I'm sure everything will be ok

Re: Please help

Yeh I think it was the same one - I wish I'd never watched it! It was on quite a long time ago, last yr maybe, in the UK (not sure if you're from here even)
Everyone is so nice on these boards, it's good to get some support!
The doctor gave me more amoxycillin for my swollen glands - she said they were really inflamed and hopefully this will help bring them down until the evil extraction!