• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

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Terrified

I am not to sure that the dentist offers gas as when I asked about the sedation he only mentioned IV, I will ask him hopefully at my appointment and see what he can come up with!

I also know the look your talking about, I get it all the time! My mum is the only person I know who doesnt look at me like that as she has a phobia too!
 
It is good that you have someone who understands phobia. My sister works for a dentist, and laughs at me if I say I am nervous. She also lectured me once "see what happens when you don't go to the dentist" Needless to say I try not to tell her too much of what is going on with my mouth. She usually scares me, but sometimes I have to ask questions re: problems I am having
 
I know the feeling too, My husband is pretty much the same, although he never tells me any horror stories and trys to tell me about the experiences he has had with dentists in a positive way but he doesnt understand how truly scared I am, he says no one likes going to the dentist but its not that I dont like going, although that is true! I am truly petrified and as he doesnt seem to be afraid of anything, doesnt really know what I am going through right now. Everyone I speak to tells me that they to dont like going to the dentist but they dont seem to be as scared as me!!
 
Hiya Nat :)

So, the sleepless nights have arrived now... I know (and I bet most others on here do as well) exactly what you're talking about because for me it usually kicks in about 2 or 3 weeks before the appointment and doesn't stop until after the event. The more you get stressed about not sleeping, the more likely it is that you won't sleep! (that's irony for you :rolleyes:). Try not to worry too much about the sleeping thing though - you're making some pretty major changes at the moment - like going to see a dentist. So, it's not surprising that things are a bit (or a lot?!) all over the place :(. It will get better though (it just might take a bit of time that's all ;)) :).

Nat said:
I am in a situation not though where I dont know if I should have the work done being sedated or not?

Tricky question which only you can answer really :(. It depends on how you feel about things, what you are or aren't comfortable with/ready for and also what you actually want. But as always, it's your choice - it's totally up to you whether you go for sedation or not.

Nat said:
The choice is very appealing to me but I dont know if I should do it as I wonder, if I did, would the fear of mine go away?

I've never had sedation at the dentists but I have had both oral and IV sedation in hospital a few times so I do know what it's like.

Some people know they need to go to the dentist and maybe have treatment but they don't want to know anything about it - in which case sedation is a good solution. In the case of IV sedation, I can tell you that you don't remember a thing! It's a bit like going to sleep at night - one minute you're blinking and your eyelids are a bit heavy because you're tired and the next you're opening your eyes because you've woken up. No memory of procedure or anything (apart from the needle being inserted beforehand - but other types of sedation beforehand can take the worry out of that as well :)).

Some people can be just as scared of the sedation as they are of the dentist and/or treatment and they prefer to know what's happening - in which case, an understanding and patient dentist (which from the sounds of it is what you've now got :)) and a little TLC is maybe a better option and can go a long long way to making things better.

I don't know whether your fear would actually go away or not if you tried sedation, but I'm not sure that it would definitely work if what you're actually trying to do is deal with the fear rather than just get through the appointment (although I could be completely wrong - it's just me guessing because I've not tried it in this context before).

If you're sedated then your capacity to learn new experiences is altered (because you're so spaced out and relaxed ;D) which means that you don't always learn that it's not as bad as you think. Like for instance, a local anaesthetic injection - if in the past, you'd had one and it really hurt (like in my case once :sick:) you're obviously going to be scared of the same thing in the future. The next time you have an injection, if you're sedated, you may not remember anything about it (which is fantastic if you don't want to know). If you're not sedated, then you experience it and learn that it isn't as painful/scary as before and so that memory is stored along side the old painful one. You now know that it doesn't have to hurt and the next time you need an injection, you might not worry as much - in other words, your fear of a procedure has decreased a little. <--- hope that makes sense - I've waffled as usual  :rolleyes:!

You might find that you've got a better idea of how you feel about things and what you want to do once you've had this appointment and seen/felt what the dentist is like with you.

Hope this helps :).
 
Hi Nat, in my humble opinion, it's way too early to think about whether or not you'll want or need some form of sedation, I reckon the best thing to do might be to go in there with an open mind, see how you and your dentist get on during the check-up, and take it from there.
It sounds like he's willing to take it slow with you and ease you into things, and it's quite likely that he has good judgment when it comes to making suggestions about what way to go regarding sedation or no sedation. I'd say, go in there without any preconceptions, and go with the flow :).

There are some people who do know from the start that they definitely want sedation, because their worst fear is knowing what's going on, but for most people, things are not clear-cut and your dentist will have developed a feel for this with other patients. It also depends on things like if a procedure is likely to be stressful or not etc. Of course, you don't have to follow his suggestions if you don't want to, but it's good to have the input of someone who's actually seen you and talked to you in person :).
 
He has seen what other dentists are like and totally understands why some people become phobic. He explained that he will talk through everyhting he does to me, will make sure I am 100 percent numb :jump: and even offer me sedation if I think I will need it, He said to me that I need to build up a relationship with a dentist and learn to trust him then one by one each of my fears will go away and he said he hoped it would be him.  :grouphug:


Hi Nat,
I have been following your thread for a few weeks now. I am no longer truly phobic and will even admit to 'not minding dental visits' for most of my life BUT I did have one terrible experience 34 years ago and this has always caused me to seek out dentists with excellent chairside manner who also have the ability to give virtually painless treatment (the two often go together I expect, as it's easier to be nice to patients, if you are confident in your ability not to hurt them).
I am still not happy with just any old dentist and having relocated from the UK to a different country, I have found the information on this website useful in trying to find someone suitable. I digress.

I really think you have found your ideal dentist. Don't worry about sedation issues etc - you are going for a check-up - you have already met him - he reacted well to your previous distress.

If you need extractions, then I/V sedation may be best for you - perhaps just for the extractions (even those of us who don't mind the dentist that much, don't particularly like having teeth out. I had my wisdom teeth out under General in hospital which was okay)

If you continue to like and trust your dentist, you are bound to feel gradually more confident about the  'run of the mill' stuff. Please just give him a chance to be different from that nasty one you so bravely saw before Christmas.
You are taking a much lower level of risk with this one.
Best wishes
Brit
 
I suppose I am just thinking about everything before I go so that when I do see him I can let out all my fears and worrys about sedation and everything else that is bothering me, its only 2 days to go and I feel so sick, all I can think about is this visit! Also why is it that wehn you have a dentist appointment everything you see and hear is dental related! I have lost count of all the recent news stories, radio adverts and TV adverts that are relating to dentists or toothpaste in the past week!! :scared:
 
Hi Nat :)

It's completely normal to be worrying about absolutely everything - even more so if it's your first appointment with a new dentist. If you think it'll help, why not write down absolutely everything that's worrying you and then take the list with you as a starting point? It's important that you tell him what you're worried about because then you're giving him chance to put your mind at rest :).

From everything you've posted so far, I'm sure it'll be OK - it sounds really promising :thumbsup:.

As for seeing and hearing everything dental related, well partly that's because you notice it more when you're on edge (I know I certainly do!) and partly because there have been a few more stories than usual in the news recently because the way NHS dental services work has changed a bit. Try not to let it worry you though (easier said than done, I know!) just concentrate on dealing with one thing at a time.

:grouphug:
 
Hi Nat :) I wanted to wish you luck with your appointment :thumbsup: I know what you mean about the dental related items on TV, on the radio, and in the news. I will tell myself I am going to put the dentist out of my mind for a while , then bamm something is right there to remind me. In my case I also have to deal with family gatherings, in which my sister discusses her job, she works for a dentist :confused:

I have improved somewhat, however, used to be if something came on TV, or my sister was talking about her job, I would leave the room and pretend I was doing something important. Really I was avoiding hearing about the dentist at all cost :scared:
 
freakout said:
I have improved somewhat, however, used to be if something came on TV, or my sister was talking about her job, I would leave the room and pretend I was doing something important.  Really I was avoiding hearing about the dentist at all cost :scared:

Oh yes I know that! I always ignore it and either change the subject to something else ot would leave the room as well!

I feel even more determined to actually do this as I had some family photos taken not that long ago and I hated every single one of them as I couldnt smile properly, my husband wanted to keep them though so we spent over a hundred pound on a bunch of photos that I cant even look at without getting upset. We have 2 more sittings though and I really want to be able to smile properly, which is the main reason I am doing this, apart from the pain being a major issue, I had a wedding on the easter weekend and I had to go up to my room for the whole of the reception as I ate something that really aggravated a tooth and I was in so much agony I couldnt bear it.
 
Nat said:
I suppose I am just thinking about everything before I go so that when I do see him I can let out all my fears and worrys about sedation and everything else that is bothering me

I reckon that's a really good thing to do, thinking about what you might want to say :) - even if it means that the run-up is going to be pretty stressful. It might be a good idea to remind yourself how well your last visit went and how relieved you felt immediately afterwards.

You're doing great :thumbsup:!!
 
Nat - all the best for today :grouphug:!!
 
Lots of luck for today Nat :thumbsup:

I hope it goes really well for you. Just try your best - that's all you can do :). From the sounds of it, you've picked a good one this time.

I've got all my fingers and toes crossed for you!

Let us know how it goes.

:grouphug:
 
:jump: This man is amazing!! :-*

Well I obviously went to my appointment today, took my diazepma, which didnt work for me at all! Cried buckets in the car park and was a complete wreck when I went in. Time comes for the assistant to take me upstairs to the treatment room and even though I had nothing done today I feel great about the whole experience and feel I have come one step closer to conquering this!! The dentist greeted me and sat me down in "the chair" he said I wasnt to worry because he was only going to look in my mouth using his fingers and a mirror and thats exactly what he did, it turns out I need a whole lot more work done that the previous dentist never told me about but even though I am worrying loads about it I think I will be OK. Turns out I need 4 extractions, not 3 which is what the last dentist said I needed, a root filling, a porcelain crown, a deep cleaning and from what I can gather looking at this piece of paper I have been given, I will also have to have 7 fillings :scared:


I am going to be sedated through IV as he said it is the best way to go about the extractions with a patient as nervous as I am as I may have a panic attack or something if I only have it done with a local and he has put my mind at ease about that whole experience and its not going to feel how I fear it will!!

The best thing about today was that he remembered everything about me from the last visit and that made me feel great, I cant imagine I was unforgettable mind with the last visit!! However, it was a great feeling to know he hadnt forgotton about me.

I have found my good guy and am so happy about it! Can you tell :p
 
Awww, Nat, that's fantastic - well done!!! ;D

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Thanks Vicki, I am due to have 3, 2 hour sessions in June and July which scares me to death being there for that long but he said its not 2 hours in my mouth, its the care and support before and after thats included in those 2 hours. The cost of it all is going to phenomenal and I cant really afford it on my wage but I have my trusty plastic and although I dont really want to use it I am going to have to, I was worried about what my husband was going to say about the cost but he was very supportive and said if it sorts out my teeth and I am able to go to the dentist on a regular basis after the treatment without being truly phobic then its going to be well worth the money. I am on such a high right now without having any work done on me so I cant even imagine what I am going to be like in 4 months when it is all over and done with!!
 
Fantastic news :jump: :jump: :jump: - well done :cheers:!!!

I'm thrilled that your "good guy" was able to ease your mind about things, and that your husband is being so supportive. That is great!

2 hours may sound like a long time, but it may not feel like very long - and as he said, quite a bit of it is going to be the care and support before and after. I remember going to my first "proper" appointment, and thought maybe 20 minutes had passed - when I looked at my watch afterwards, it was an hour and twenty minutes later :o... With IV sedation, that effect would obviously be much more pronounced, so I'd say it'll be a doddle :)!

Congratulations :party:!!
 
letsconnect said:
Fantastic news  :jump: :jump: :jump: - well done  :cheers:!!!

With IV sedation, that effect would obviously be much more pronounced, so I'd say it'll be a doddle  :)!

Congratulations  :party:!!

I sincerely hope so! Thanks guys, I dont think I would have got this far without you lot!! :grouphug:
 
Hi Nat,

I've read all your posts and was wondering how you got on? I hope you managed to finish all your treatment as I see these posts are from 2006.

I'm curious!

x
 
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