Oh my..

This is my first post here. I'm glad I found this place.

I am phobic of dental work. I have no pain tolerance whatsoever for the procedures. I'm actually ok with needles! Go figure. When I was a kid, I had some traumatic experiences with dentists. Mt first one, she yelled at me because I was crying during a filling because the novocaine had worn off. Then the next time I had fillings, same situation. I let my teeth go for 10 years and had to have two extracted in 04-05. Now I notice a cavity and it bothers me a little sometimes. My last extraction was an emergency one because it was very infected and VERY painful. I don't want to do that again, so i'm trying to stop problems before they start because it'll be so much worse to wait until it really hurts.

But I'm scared to death! I have a panic attack everytime I think of sitting in that chair. I went to my initial appointment the other day and had to be sedated just to get looked at and have x-rays. I went through the "periodontal disease" test where they poke your gums and did mostly ok. I was anxious but not horribly so because I asked her what EXACTLY she was about to do with that metal stick! When she said she was going to touch my gums, I relaxed a little. I felt better after the appointment... it always feels nice to take control of your health! Even though I have to have 6 fillings and a crown and an erupted wisdom tooth extracted.... not to bad for someone who hasn't had real dental care in 13 years (Minus the emergency extractions). I'm almost 27 by the way.

Thursday is The Big Day. I get 3 of the cavities filled. I am SCARED TO DEATH!!

The thought of hearing that drill.... oh dear heavens. That drill just causes flashbacks to my previous experiences and I CLEARLY remember the pain of the drill! I have to take sedatives everyday to cope with the upcoming appointment or I'd never get anything done. I get difficult when I am anxious!

I am having local anesthetic + inhalation sedation + oral sedation (Valium and Halcion). I have had good luck with all three seperately, and regularly take a benzodiazepine for panic disorder so it's nothing new to me! Put me off in la la land so I forget I even HAD work done.

Beyond the pain during and the sound of the drill, I'm scared of post procedural pain... for starters, I won't get any painkillers for 24 hours because of the potential for interaction with Halcion. Then I worry about this one tooth because it already has a filling on top (it needs it in the side now) and I'm scared they will end up "waking up" deeper decay and I will have severe pain from that and have to have to have a root canal or extraction quickly.

I keep hearing stories about how people went in for a filling and came out with a big problem and it really has me anxious. I keep reminding myself my dentist took alot of x-rays and would have told me if she thought it could end up that way and she didn't. But, then, I guess other people's dentists didn't figure on that either.

It's tempting to ditch the appointment. But I know in a month or two, I will have toothache from hell and will need to get it done anyway except not under favorable, voluntary conditions! So, lesser of two evils...

I hope the sedation works very well and there's no complications or much pain afterwards!!!

good luck for tomarrow

Oh my...my poor thing...what horrible childhood dentists you had...and you're under 30 too....I can guarantee you have absolutely nothing to worry about with the anaesthetic/sedation cocktail you have lined up and more power to you for not allowing any possibility of having another bad experience....
BUT can I just say, the drill is not supposed to hurt at all...you are supposed to be numb and any dentist who thinks otherwise deserves to have no patients. I can say this with absolute confidence because I also had unanaesthetised experiences at age 10 and it bloody hurt.....I have always since managed to avoid any repeats in the UK (at least).

You are going to be absolutely fine ....once you're sorted....get to know your dentist a bit better...and then next time if there is one, you can just have the anaesthetic and maybe the nitrous too but skip the i/v .

The Internet is a fantastic place... The National Agency for Medicines in Finland doesn't mention any problems in mixing Halcion and painkillers. I think strong ones might still be a problem, but there's no reason you couldn't take ibuprofein, for example. And I don't think you'll have unbearable pain afterwards anyway. Good luck and please come back to tell us how it was.

I think you can be fairly confident that you'll be painfree after the 3 cavities are filled. Maybe a twinge where the numbing agent was injected, but really, that should be so very minor you shouldn't even notice it.

Of course, you know about extractions, and yes there will be some discomfort after that. I just had a wisdom tooth extracted and was surprised that it hurt for about a week...but nothing that advil couldn't handle.

As for the crown, there may be some minor discomfort afterwards, mostly in the gum tissue. Again, very minor and nothing that advil can't keep at bay. I have had extensive work done in my mouth and the worst pain I've ever had from all the crowns, root canals, bridges and tooth extractions would rank about a 1 when compared to the horrific pain of an absess (a screaming 10 on the 1-10 scale).

So, go with confidence that you'll have an easy time at the dentist and afterwards too. I wasted so much energy and time worrying about my wisdom tooth extraction. Such a waste! I let it ruin my 2 week vacation and that is really a shame, isn't it? You'll be feeling the same way once all this work gets done!

Good luck.

Ooops.. I edited this because I realize you already have had your appointment. Didn't look at the post date. I hope all went well!