My Dental Phobia

Hello there, I did not realise such a forum existed until a friend told me about it. So glad it does as I may get some help.
A little about myself, my name is James, I am 39 years old. Nearly the dreaded 40
My problem, as you no doubt have guessed, is that I am terrified of the dentist. I can't even go into the building, let alone sit in the chair. It all stems from a terrible experience I had with a school dentist when I was six. He did a filling without anesthetic, so as you can imagine that put me off for life.
Over the years I have tried all sorts of different ways to get over this fear. Even so far as to try hypnotism. All to no avail.
Obviously, I have had problems with my teeth because of not seeing a dentist. Rather than go and see one I have even pulled my own teeth out with pliers because the pain was so bad. Something which I have done a few times but have no wish to repeat.
A couple of years ago though my doctor put me through to the dental department at my local hospital as they could sort my mouth out under general anesthetic. Something which I was looking forward to as after I wouldn't have any problems ( hopefully )
However that never happened as due to me having emphysema and bronchectisis, they would not put me under a general, only a local. Which is no good. As I said to them if I could lay there awake in the theatre and have them sorted, I would go to a dentist.
As a result I am now stuck. Yes I still have most of my teeth, but they are all loose and if it was not for the morphine I take for my lung problems I would no doubt be in excruciating pain again.
If anyone has any suggestions I could try I would welcome anything, don't care how outrageous. Thanks for taking the time in reading this.

Sorry to hear of your dental woes. The only thing I can suggest is to find a dentist you like and trust and take it from there. (Your experience of fillings without anaesthetic or with ineffective anaesthetic is not at all unusual among posters on this board including me but I have no fear when having treatment with my current dentist.)

Building up a relationship of trust with a dentist who has painfree techniques is the only way forward if GA really is out of the question. It is possible maybe that i/v sedation or oral sedation may be an option...who knows if they were really giving the real reason.
If you are using the NHS your best bet for finding an empathetic dentist with the ability to gain your trust and work at your pace is the Community Dental Service. In many areas they treat special needs patients such as those who are medically compromised but also often dental phobic patients.

Hi there,

I'm sorry to hear of the anxiety and pain this is causing you. I had a wonderful dentist who recently retired, so I feel like I am back to square one again. Have you heard of EMDR? It stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. A licensed therapist or psychologist would be the people who know this technique. It's been demonstrated to be helpful for trauma, phobias, addictions, etc. You'll find a wealth of information about EMDR if you Google it.

Good luck!