• Dental Phobia Support

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Slipping back into phobia...again.

A

atrocity3010

Junior member
Joined
May 30, 2008
Messages
1
Hello, I took the time to read a few of the topics on this forum, and I was quite surprised at the level of moral support offered here, so I went ahead and registered to tell you guys about my problem.

As a kid I had some not-so-pleasant experiences with the dentist. This, combined with my parents' divorce and the subsequent rough life that followed (me and my mom moved all over the place, never staying in the same place for too long), resulted in the complete neglect of my teeth for nearly a decade. But 3 years ago that changed and I finally had the nerve to visit the dentist. Despite taking such poor care of my teeth, all I needed were a bunch of fillings (and I mean a bunch...over 10). So the first appointment went extremely well and took away a lot of my dental phobia. It was almost completely painless, and it really restored my confidence. That second appointment, though, was a completely different story.

On the second appointment, they had trouble getting my lower right jaw numb. In fact, after multiple injections, they simply couldn't get it numb at all. I made the mistake of not stopping the procedure right there, and they proceeded with the filling with practically no anasthesia. While I was able to sit through all the pain, it scared me away from the dentist again, despite needing more fillings. It brought back all those childhood memories of why I avoided the dentist like the plague.

Fast-forward to today, I finally had the nerve to go back to the dentist again. Probably the worst part is finding out what needs done, but as long as they're just fillings I can handle it. Just like last time, first appointment went great. Second appointment, disaster. After fixing a broken filling, I experienced deja vu as they couldn't numb my lower right jaw. I stopped the procedure right then and there after feeling pain from the drill. At the next appointment, they tried their best again to numb me, but no success. The dentist was completely dumbfounded and commented that he had never had a patient before that he couldn't numb.

Now all I can do is wait until summer's over (I have summer school) and make another appointment, knowing that one day I'll be forced to "grin and bear it". I feel so helpless with this situation. The problem is that I can only afford getting my teeth fixed because my insurance (Medicaid) covers it. I don't think they'll cover IV sedation or GA, so it's like I'm completely out of luck.

I know there's not much point in posting a problem that can't be solved, but sometimes it feels better to let it all out (and that I did...what a long rant).
 
Finnishgirl has given you the link which will help you pinpoint the problem....as it has only happened twice with the bottom right and all other stuff (except childhood) has worked fine, I would say your nerves are probably in a different place to the norm (anatomical variation) but it could still just be down to LA technique not being spot on.

It is interesting that he said he has never encountered this before...he should have learnt about it at Dental School, even if he has never come across it before personally or is it just that other patients have just been stoic like you the first time (so many people do this).
Were you dealing with the same dentist here or two different ones?

NB I'm not a dentist and it maybe poor technique rather than AV but the localised nature makes it sound like AV.

It should be possible to do an xray, work out where the relevant nerves are in fact located in your case and then inject appropriately...you don't really have dental phobia..it is not irrational to have a healthy desire to avoid pain during drilling.

If you are limited to medicaid, it could be a challenge finding someone with the right experience to assist....a dental school might even be a better bet....they could maybe use you as a case study of anatomical variation. Look for someone specialising in dental anesthesiology.

You have my sympathy...I would say you have to find the means to get yourself to someone who can deal with this one way or another as pain during drilling is a surefire way to trigger dental avoidance...understandably so. For a small filling I suppose nitrous could help...do medicaid dentists not even offer that?

Why don't you ask Gordon on the Dentistry Questions section whether i/v sedation would work - even in a case of AV...I think it would, (GA definitely would), so saving up for this route even with a dentist who doesn't have the LA injection techniques to numb you conventionally, may be a solution.
:grouphug:
 
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