• Dental Phobia Support

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Oh my gosh I finally did it! Thank God.

T

tracyt888

Junior member
Joined
Sep 29, 2015
Messages
5
I live in the United States and have suffered severe dental phobia for years. I was so thankful to find this forum and read all the other stories. I have been 12 years now not going to the dentist. Had some issues with my teeth in the back but in general my teeth actually looked very pretty to most people. Only I knew the deep dark secrets. Then I had some trouble with an active infection in the back of my mouth that caused tremendous pain. I was forever feeling horrible and worrying about my teeth. I finally bit the bullet and went today. I was so afraid and just knew I'd be coming out of there with a full set of dentures. Much my surprise I came out needing only one root canal and a couple of crowns for now. My root cana isl scheduled for Friday and then will have my other procedures in a week or so after that. May need some other things in the future. But it all was much better than I thought. I'm so thankful that I finally decided to make this decision and take care of myself. I am posting this just so others will get out there and do the same. It is such a relief to know that I'm on the road to get in my mouth in better shape.
 
Had root canal Friday. Not very pleasant. But I survived. My next step comes on the 28th. At that time I'm having two extractions and three crowns placed. the crowns I will be getting will be temporary as they fit me for a permanent Bridge in the very back of my mouth. Just cannot wait to get all of this done. I'm not the best at describing the fear embarrassment and shame that goes along with finally facing my demons. I'm just so glad that I have finally been able to do it. But I can tell you all the way there on Friday I was screaming inside of my head. I had nitrous oxide while the root canal is being done. Actually made me feel very weird. When I have the other work done I will be doing nitrous oxide and Halcyon.
 
Major surgery is next week. :( infection in the back of my mouth still not clear. Started round 2 of antibiotics today. Any recommendations for clearing a gum infection would be welcomed. Also doing warm salt water rinses. Terrified about next week but really want to get this done and over with.
 
Major surgery is next week. :( infection in the back of my mouth still not clear. Started round 2 of antibiotics today. Any recommendations for clearing a gum infection would be welcomed. Also doing warm salt water rinses. Terrified about next week but really want to get this done and over with.

I constantly have infections in my mouth - so what I have to do is make sure that I'm cleaning my mouth around 2-3 times a day to keep it clear. I also use a Water pik to blast out/flush out my mouth and it does wonders. I put a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to clean out the bigger gaps in between my teeth. That will help disinfect and remove the bacteria from those spaces.

I had oral surgery to clean my gums and bones on my left side (upper and lower). It is pretty intense, I was awake for the whole thing and just really numbed up. Going through that again, I would probably take some anxiety meds or get laughing gas/take something that makes me sleepy. But the results are really awesome as long as everything heals up correctly (I do not have any more pus coming out, my gums look a lot healthier, and my dentist is no longer concerned about my gums). I needed 4 full days at home to recoup and heal - the first 24 hours are pretty painful (my husband had to add milk to my yogurt because of how little I could open my mouth without pain) but over the counter pain meds (about 800 mg of Advil) will make everything okay. Oddly enough I was most terrified about the stitches, but after going through the surgery, the stitches were the easiest part - you don't feel a thing and by then I was so frazzled and DONE with being in the chair I didn't even care when I felt a stitch go in (he hit a spot that wasn't really numb).

You'll do great and if you do happen to have a hard time with it, have some nice treats at home. Hubby babied me to no end for 2 days, I ate any junk food that I could (lots and lots of chocolate mousse), and I just slept, read, and relaxed. (I chose to take 4 days off because I'm a teacher and my procedure ran the risk of my gums bleeding if I talked too much - I just couldn't deal with possibly ruining a child if my gums started bleeding while I talked to them.)
 
I constantly have infections in my mouth - so what I have to do is make sure that I'm cleaning my mouth around 2-3 times a day to keep it clear. I also use a Water pik to blast out/flush out my mouth and it does wonders. I put a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to clean out the bigger gaps in between my teeth. That will help disinfect and remove the bacteria from those spaces.

I had oral surgery to clean my gums and bones on my left side (upper and lower). It is pretty intense, I was awake for the whole thing and just really numbed up. Going through that again, I would probably take some anxiety meds or get laughing gas/take something that makes me sleepy. But the results are really awesome as long as everything heals up correctly (I do not have any more pus coming out, my gums look a lot healthier, and my dentist is no longer concerned about my gums). I needed 4 full days at home to recoup and heal - the first 24 hours are pretty painful (my husband had to add milk to my yogurt because of how little I could open my mouth without pain) but over the counter pain meds (about 800 mg of Advil) will make everything okay. Oddly enough I was most terrified about the stitches, but after going through the surgery, the stitches were the easiest part - you don't feel a thing and by then I was so frazzled and DONE with being in the chair I didn't even care when I felt a stitch go in (he hit a spot that wasn't really numb).

You'll do great and if you do happen to have a hard time with it, have some nice treats at home. Hubby babied me to no end for 2 days, I ate any junk food that I could (lots and lots of chocolate mousse), and I just slept, read, and relaxed. (I chose to take 4 days off because I'm a teacher and my procedure ran the risk of my gums bleeding if I talked too much - I just couldn't deal with possibly ruining a child if my gums started bleeding while I talked to them.)

Thank you so much for replying. I cannot tell you how helpful your information is. I'm so nervous about next week but I certainly want to get this done and over with.
 
Thank you so much for replying. I cannot tell you how helpful your information is. I'm so nervous about next week but I certainly want to get this done and over with.

Definitely get it done and over with. My oral surgery was my worst experience there, but now I feel ready for anything else they could possible do to me to be honest. It sucked, but I survived (that's being a bit over dramatic - I was tired, shaky, and in pain afterwards but I was able to drive myself home and go out with my hubby to get pain meds and ice cream and it was nothing comfy pjs, sitting in a comfy chair, and with my beloved couldn't make better), my mouth is healthier, and I can continue with everything else that I need to do in my mouth.

If it gets to be a bit too much, let the dentist know and take breaks. Mine offered to give me a break, but I told him no - get it done as fast as possible and he worked really well around my "squirmy" moments (my jaw was pretty tired of staying open and I had some gunk build up that choked me a bit - just trying to be honest with you. I'm really okay about the whole thing though.). Doc said I did a very good job :giggle:
 
Well Done to you!! I've had my front teeth out today -- As I was needle phobic --- it was nothing compared to what I've thought. My dentist is very kind and made sure that I'm comfortable.

Well done again.:jump:
 
Well today was the big day for the first surgery. Two extractions and 3 crowns as well as a partial bridge. They also did a cleaning prior to doing my surgery. This was supposed to be sedation dentistry. I am surprised how unsedated I was. They gave me to Halcyon pills prior to the cleaning. I was supposedly going to fall to sleep. That just did not happen. They eventually gave me one half pill more as well some nitrous oxide. I never fell asleep. Dang it. I want to sedation! I survived but it was extremely uncomfortable. Just got to heal now and wait for the next step. I was in the chair getting work done for nearly five hours. Glad to get this first step done. But again I was very disappointed in the lack of sedation.
 
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