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Finally made the call!!!

V

vinny79

Junior member
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
Messages
18
Location
Northeast US
I happened to come across this forum a couple of weeks ago and after reading many of the posts I have finally 'made the call' and set an appointment for myself to see the dentist. It was both a mix of stress and relief at the same time. Its been around 10 years since I have been and really have not had a major problem over that time except the last couple months here. On vacation in May I chipped one of my back teeth at dinner and knew from that point it would just be a matter of time before I had to get something done. Once I got to reading the posts in this forum it really helped to show that I wasn't the only one going thru something similar, having a phobia of the dentist and the like. Just the thought of visiting the office was enough to make me put it off even further but this afternoon I made an appointment. Luckily I only have to wait over the weekend as my appointment is Monday afternoon. Lastly, I just wanted to say thanks to those who have shared their stories, reading them in the forum is part of what pushed me to call. :)
 
!!!BRAVO!!!
I hope that, like so many of us here, you discover how far dentistry has come in the last decade.
Good luck Monday...just keep breathing deep.
 
!!!BRAVO!!!
I hope that, like so many of us here, you discover how far dentistry has come in the last decade.
Good luck Monday...just keep breathing deep.

Thanks, just finished getting ready to go to my appointment and will be leaving in a half hour or so.
 
Let us know how it went vinny, good job on making the call and hopefully getting there.

rp
 
Let us know how it went vinny, good job on making the call and hopefully getting there.

rp

I did it!!! I made it thru my first dental appointment in almost ten years. First of all, I was surprised that I didn't feel as stressed over the weekend and especially this morning leading up to the time I left to go there.

Once I arrived to the office I was greeted by a very pleasant receptionist who then took my name and some basic info for my appointment. I had already gone online and filled out the patient forms which ended up saving some time. Then it was only about ten minutes later that I was called and shown to an exam room. The dentist started by asking basic questions such as the reason for my appointment, what my goals are (dental wise), history of prior work that I had done and things like that.

Then it was time to sit in the chair and have a complete set of x-rays taken. That part of an appointment is something that I have never had a problem with as my dental phobia has more to do with the sounds of whats going on and what I'm able to feel. So after all of the x-ray films were taken, the dentist went over each of them with me, explaining what everything meant and what work needed to be done to correct the issue. Then came the part of the visit I was most nervous about, having to lay back for the oral exam.

However the dentist explained everything he would be doing before he started and that it would not be painful. At that point I think it was just my phobia taking over that made me think something would go wrong but everything turned out fine and it was over before I knew it. It was just a matter of a few more x-rays after that and I was done with my visit. Then once I got back out the reception area, I was equally surprised that two hours had already past, as I figured the time would slow to a standstill.

I have to go back next Wednesday morning for a consultation about what needs to be done and come up with a plan with my dentist regarding what work needs to be done, what priority each part is and the like. Overall I'm feeling much better about my future appointments now than I was just last week. Just going in today was an experience that I needed to get started. I'll post more next week about my appointment.

Thanks again everyone!!!
 
Excellent- I can hear the excitement in your voice.................big relief number one.....

rp
 
Hello all. Just got back a short time ago from the follow-up consultation with my dentist that I had scheduled after the first visit last week. I knew after the ten years I had not got gone to the dentist that I would need a fair amount of work done but was pleasantly surprised once the meeting got started. My dentist had prepared a tentative schedule for what needs to be done and broke it down into three parts.

The first thing I need to have done is scaling which my dentist has me scheduled to have done over two visits, one week apart. I had an idea that I would need this done after my first appointment last week. My dentist showed me the affected areas on my x-rays and explained how the procedure is done, how long it would take, ect. Luckily I can have this done at the same offices as my new dentist so I don't need to travel to multiple offices.

The second part of my treatment plan includes filling the cavities that my dentist found while looking over my x-rays. I was surprised that after ten years there were only four of them and three of which are pretty small. So I will have those taken care of over the next few visits after my scaling appointments.

The last part that needs to be done is one extraction. As I mentioned in my original post, the last tooth on the bottom right side of my mouth chipped while I was on vacation in May and my dentist recommended that what is left be removed and possibly replaced with an implant so the rear tooth on the upper right hand side has something more to rest on.

I could have started right away next Monday but will be away on vacation for the entire week. The office being booked thru the following week after that, I decided to schedule the start of my treatment plan for August 8th, which my dentist said was fine.

Overall it is a lot of work to get done but breaking in down into parts really helped me instead of looking at everything as one big thing. Also knowing that once it is all done I will only need to visit the office for regular cleaning check-ups is just one more thing for the pro column. Now I'm looking forward to vacation next week and then getting started on my treatment plan. I'll post more as my appointments progress.
 
Last edited:
I enjoyed reading your posts, so thanks for sharing!

It looks like you found a nice dental office and it's working out for you.

:)
 
I am so pleased for you ........ you GO girl :)
 
Good for you and hooray for not all that many cavities !

If you don't mind my asking, I'm wondering why there's not another option for your chipped tooth other than extraction ?
 
Good for you and hooray for not all that many cavities !

If you don't mind my asking, I'm wondering why there's not another option for your chipped tooth other than extraction ?

Thank you!!!

I too had that same question for my dentist during my consultation today. My dentist explained to me that with what is left of the chipped tooth is only really a shell of itself and also that the tooth directly above that one has nothing to rest on now. He also showed me in my x-rays that the upper tooth has already fallen below where the rest of my top teeth are now. He also suggested the idea of an implant for the area the tooth extraction will leave that could be done after the other work I need to have done.
 
Oh, that makes a lot of sense, thank you ! I'm sorry for being nosy ! I'm facing my first dentist visit in 20+ years and I like finding out what all treatment options are available for various problems beforehand.. it makes me feel a little more in control and less lost. :)

Congrats again on a pretty successful visit !:thumbsup:
 
Oh, that makes a lot of sense, thank you ! I'm sorry for being nosy ! I'm facing my first dentist visit in 20+ years and I like finding out what all treatment options are available for various problems beforehand.. it makes me feel a little more in control and less lost. :)

Congrats again on a pretty successful visit !:thumbsup:

You're welcome and its no problem at all. Last week I made my first trip back to the dentist in about ten years and part of what got me there was reading in the forums here. Now that I'm able to share my experiences also, it has become another way to get more comfortable with going.

Good luck with your first visit!!!
 
Congrats. I'm starting to get work done tomorrow for the first time in about as long as you. The consults seemed to go alright for me as well. I hope we both have as simple for us in treatment as consultation.
 
Congrats. I'm starting to get work done tomorrow for the first time in about as long as you. The consults seemed to go alright for me as well. I hope we both have as simple for us in treatment as consultation.

Thanks and best of luck on your treatment also.
 

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