• 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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Fillings ahead!

Q

Queeny

Junior member
Joined
May 18, 2008
Messages
3
Hi all,

Obviously I am new to the site! Hoping for a bit of reassurance as I have an appointment coming up on Tuesday. :scared:

Until recently I hadn't been to the dentist in almost 8 years. It took me a long time to finally get up the guts to make an appointment for a check-up and when the day came I went along, pretty shaken up, and managed to get there stay there and see the dentist. ;D

Well firstly, he seemed nice (although granted I was only with him about 2 minutes) and he told me that I need 4 fillings. I instantly let him know that I am very scared of needles, and he seemed to be nice about it, reassuring me I wouldn't feel anything and showing me the needle. (for me thats one of the worst things you can do, but he wasnt to know that, right?) So I've managed to stay calm between the check-up and my appointment for the treatment. He booked me in for all four at once. (Which I'm actually glad of - why drag it out any more than I have to?)

I have never had any dental treatment before except for orthodontic, and haven't ever had a local anaesthetic in my mouth. I am nervous about all of the procedure really, but 99% of my fear is about the anaesthetic... I am horrendous with needles of any description.

I am actually excited in a way to be getting this appointment over and done with, because I know in reality it can't be nearly as bad as what I am putting myself through waiting for it and I want to have it done and be able to forget about it.

But I know I'm going to be freaking out and this phobia is torture in itself when you've feeling ill and scaring yourself to death unnecesarily- I'm sure people here will know what I mean! :shame:

Words of wisdom anybody? :(
 
:welcome: Try to relax (easier said than done I know). Most dentists use a gel to numb the site of the injection. You may feel a very tiny prick, but for the most part it's painless. And close your eyes...the less you see, the less anxious you'll get.

Does your dentist have nitrous oxide? If so, ask for it. It will relax you and you won't care what they're doing to your mouth. Also, you might consider bringing your ipod with you.

I think you'll do just fine...as someone else said earlier this week, those of us who have gone to the dentist are still here to post about it. We all survived! ;D
 
Hey! Thanks for replying. ;D It's very reassuring to hear from other people!

No I'm pretty sure the dentist doesn't have any nitrous oxide, I'm in the UK and I've never heard of any NHS dentists here using anything like that.

It's good to hear somebody tell me the injections aren't painful! Even though my problem with needles is also about the idea of them, and I can't get away from the fact that a needle is going in, it's gotta be a lot better if I don't feel it too much.

I just know I'm gonna be horrendous getting into the room and into the chair... I don't wanna freak out and embarass myself in front of other patients. I also get really dizzy and run the risk of falling over when I go to an appointment like this, because the thought makes me go all funny and light headed etc.

The one good thing about all this is that as I say, the dentist seemed very understanding and nice, and the dental nurse who will be working with him at the app is a friend of mine, not a particularly close one but I have talked to her a lot about how terrifying I find it all and it also means one less cold stranger in the room...
 
You'll be fine.....why? because he's told you you won't feel it..this means he knows he is good at comfortable injections and can be bothered to take the time to make them this way - read more here: Fear of painful injections and needle phobia

Some dentists can do them comfortably even without the numbing gel....
....there is no need to see the syringe even if you keep your eyes open it is usually possible to stare at the ceiling and see nothing at all.....but desensitising yourself to it can be a good technique for phobics...again you'll find more on that link. Absolutely no need to look the first time you have one.
:grouphug:
 
Hi Queeny;

I can understand your fear of the needle as I do not like them either,but it is better to get the area numb so that you do not feel any pain. I just had two teeth fixed this past Wednesday and I have six more left that need fixing.

You may be lucky and not feel the shot when it is given to you,but even with the numbing gel I am not so lucky and always seem to feel it when the shot is given to me. If you do feel it like I do it will feel more like a pinch feeling. Soon as the shot is over with it should not hurt anymore if you feel it like I do. If want to compare how it will feels when you are numb think of how your foot feels when it is asleep except without the tinkling feeling in your foot. It is kind of like that.

You can do like I do. I never look at the needle. When he sticks it in my mouth I will look at the ceiling or all over the room until he is done. It makes it easier for me to let him give me the shot. I hope this helps.
 
:welcome: Queeny!

I'm an ex-dental-phobic and almot-ex-needle-phobic. On Thursday I had a wisdom tooth operation, and the first dental injections in my life. Pretty much the same situation as you, about 80% of my fear was caused by the needle. My oral surgeon didn't use numbing gel, I've never heard about anyone using it here in Finland. But still, the injections didn't hurt at all. I felt something, but I wouldn't call it pain. 5 LA injections, three of them practically painless and two almost.

Seeing the needle is bad for me too. I saw a little bit of it one time. If I hadn't been so full of Valium, I had probably run away at that point. But my oral surgeon didn't want me to see the needle, he told me to close my eyes. I know some needle phobics want to see the needle, but I would like to all dentists, doctors, nurses etc. to ask their needle phobic patient first how they prefer. I usually tell them very early to not show me any needles, I'll close my eyes and everything will be fine.

Good luck! :hug2:
 
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Hi Queeney I also have afear of the drill. My dentist always uses a local anaestheic gell before giving me a shot and gets me to concentrate on my breathing whilst she gives me the shot so i dont feel the shot at all. I always take a cd walkman or mp3 player with me with a relaxation cd this drowns out the sound of the drill and helps me relax. I would definately tacke a cd walkman/ mp3 player with you. Hope all goes well .
 
Like you, I've never had LA in my mouth. But suspect as other are saying here, sometimes de-sensitisation is (eventually) the way to go as I was a needle phobic BIG TIME for many years. Til I had kids. Then I realised pretty fast if I wanted my babies to be born healthy, I'd have to get over the phobia pretty fast and strangely, from that point on, it never bothered me again as by the end of the first time, I'd had needles and canulas galore stuck in me and realised it was really no big deal at all. Years ago, they insisted on sticking me with antibiotics even for a dental examination, so I had to have a needle in my leg even for a dentist to look in my mouth (heart problem), so this also got in the way of my going to the dentist. Until I unavoidably had to have the anitbiotics injection prior to an appointment I'd dodged for years - only to find out it was really nothing to write home about and I'd been worried for no reason for years. Although as I say y needle phobia was only finally conquered when I had my first baby as that involved stupid amounts of needles and it became pointless to worry. It's a technique I've used training dogs - I had one that was aggressuive to any dog she saw so I cured her by taking her to a place that was CRAWLING with dogs - but where I knew they all had to be on leads - so just exposure and more exposure to the 'scary' stimuli but in a safe, controlled, supportive way. Now she's fine with other dogs - but only because we tackled it head on. Even now I'm not bothered about needles, I still don't like to look at them! And the thought of one going near my mouth is somehow worse than one going anywhere else if you know what I mean! But again, the only way to deal with it is to do it, in the end. No shame in closing your eyes and if the dentist has a good technique, you won;t know what's happened anyways, from what others here say. Think longterm the only way to go is to face down your fears - but at a pace you can cope with, and just de-sensitising yourself by doing it, is the best way. Good luck!
 
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A late welcome to the site and a big lot of good wishes for your appointment. I know you are going to be fine because from what you have said it sounds like you've found a good dentist who understands your fears and will therefore be doubly gentle with you. Perhaps he even has the wand for giving injections, which doesn't really look like a needle, and will give you numbing gel first so you don't feel a thing.

I can empathise with you on the feeling dizzy front, and if this should happen, just don't jump up too quickly from the chair, that will only make it worse, but if this sort of thing happens to you, I'm sure you know exactly what to do. However, to get the best of treatment and handling, its always best to be completely open with your dentist and don't feel you have to try and be brave. There's no shame in fear, there's no shame in showing it, or crying or panicking in whatever way. They will understand and be proud of you for making the appointment despite it all. And so will, and are, we. Good luck, let us know how it goes.:grouphug:
 
Thanks for the replies everyone, I did read them all through once more before I sent off for my appointment this morning. And I went I saw and and I conquered. :)

(Well maybe not conquered exactly, but I survived!) My doting other half drove me in and came into the surgery with me. We went into the room and he stayed with me during the fillings.

The timing of me getting there etc was perfect, as I arrived about 2 mins before my appointment and they were running on time, so by the time I'd checked in and sat down I was called in.

The dentist looked at my teeth again and said it would probably be "a bit sensitive to begin with" and would I like to be numbed to make sure I dont feel any pain... this made life tricky as I find it hard to OPT for needles! But if I hadn't felt some pain that would put me off the dentist for life, so I said yes to the anaesthetic. At this point I got the gel stuff, and doting other half offered his hand. A few tears at this point but other half, dentist and dental nurse (my friend!) all did lots of reassuring and we proceeded. I did feel the needle; it was bearable but because I hate the whole idea so much I was tense as anything. I squeezed my partner's hand very hard! So much so that by the time one side was numb and dentist moved over to the other, he had moved away in fear, and I had to demand he bring his hand back. :ROFLMAO:

From there on it was plain sailing. I felt a bit nervous when he started to work, mainly coz I was a bit worried I'd feel pain, but after a couple of minutes I was fine. I can't say it wasn't unpleasant (I kept swallowing water full of tooth!) but I just sat patiently as he worked his way round.

He did the 4 fillings and also scaled a couple of teeth for me, which I was pleased about because they had visable stains on them which are now gone. :p

So yeh, only bit I really hated was the needle part but I don't expect I'll ever enjoy needles. It WASN'T as bad as I was expecting and I will feel a lot better when I have to have more treatment done. :jump:
 
Well done, having four fillings done in one visit and a scale and polish. I could never cope with that amount of treatment in one visit!. Hope it helped having your husband with you. Hope all goes well in future appointments, keep in touch.
 
Wow, Queenie! So great! Now you can live on without worrying about "what if I need to see a dentist"! You know you can do it! :jump::jump::jump:
 
Well done Queeny, Having four rillings done in one visit and a scale and polish . I can't imagine having that amount of treatment in one go.
 
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