Hello

Well, I just found this page, this forum and and very interested to see if it helps me, however, just reading over most of these pages is already making me sick at my stomach, just the thought of trying to get help, and trying to go to the dentist, my fear started as a child, and I cant seem to get over it, I panic the miute i walk through the door, I cry, my heart races...I feel like I cant breath.....my teeth are in horrible condition. broke to the gum line, I do alot of teaching, and am generally a happy, goofy person, but can not longer be myself, can no longer smile, because now my front tooth is breaking off...I hate this, i hate the way i feel, i hate that i cant get a "grip" and suck it up...its controlling my life now. when i was a child, I had to have 4 permanate teeth pulled....FELT EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF IT. tried to tell the dr and he wouldnt listen....havent been back since, then i continually hear horror storys of people who have had there wisdom teeth pulled only to come out with severe nerve damage, or some other catastrophic incident occur...needless to say, I just want to throw up now, and cry....just looking at, or talking about anything "dental" literally makes me sick......literally.......I am.......lost, distraught, sick. Well, if nothing else, this is the very first time every i have publically proclamed my fear........maybe, this is the first step..who knows, if any one reads this, has any advise, any thing, I think, i might can start talking about this now.
Any how, thanks for, well, thanks

It took me forever to tell anyone about my fear. I hadn't been to the dentist for ten years and only went because I started getting terrible pain in one of my teeth. Telling my mom about my fear was the worst feeling at the time. I had a panic attack but when my mom said she knew how I felt and told me not to worry, that we could go at my pace and I didn't have to get anything done that I didn't want to I felt SO much better.

I came on this site as soon as I had told her and so like you, this was the place I first publicly told people. It made me feel relieved just reading everyone's success stories.

As far as extractions and nerve damage goes. From what I've gathered the younger you are, the less likely this will occur. There's a nerve that runs along the lower jaw but with a careful and patient surgeon hitting the nerve is less likely to happen.

I hope I've helped you feel a little better! You can also look up caring and understanding dentists in your area on here, hopefully there is one near where you live.

Hello mudduck911:

See, you are not alone (see my thread "soon toothless"). I am a success story in the making. Ok I'm still learning to live with my new teeth, but I got to say things are sure looking up for me. I'm feeling so much better about my new teeth, I've even put on some lipstick today - something I would never have done a few weeks ago.
Maybe your teeth aren't nearly as bad as you think, dentists can do some great things these days. You just need to start and make an appointment go from there. Change is hard on everyone, but you'll end up with great results!
Good luck - keep writing here - it's really therapeutic - you're not alone.
Denise

Hi mudduck911 and ,
I do hope you will find lots of support here and you won't be scared off by some of the posts you may read here. It's really funny - I've been involved with this forum for nearly 4 years now and hadn't really heard anything about nerve damage except in the last couple of months! So it must be quite rare. Because of the way the internet works, if one person writes a post about nerve damage, other people who search google for nerve damage will come across these threads as well and comment, and then it will look as if it's really common, even though it isn't. Even if you personally know people who have had nerve damage, it usually is reversible and just takes some time to recover.

I do hope that other posts won't put you off. A forum such as this one will naturally have posts about bad experiences. This doesn't mean they're commonplace.

A lot of people here have said that the most important factor in tackling your fears is finding a dentist you like and trust. I hope that you will have the same experience . You've already shown that you're a very courageous person by posting here .

Finding the right dentist for you...believe it or not as Letsconnect says...someone with the correct technical skills who you like and trust after meeting them.....is the key factor in success..there are some tips on this link:


The whole of the the "common fears" and "help" sections will probably make you feel better and not contain any overtly frightening stuff

is there anyone near you you like the look/sound of?
Best wishes on your journey to a smile

HI EVERYONE!
Thank you sooooo much for your support. its wonderfull to know that i am not alone, I havent picked a Dentist yet, put have a couple of "prospects" I thought I might try and give a call. Any ya, all the horror stories I have heard about nerve damage, are probley not that many, but me...well, I panic so bad i eventually make it into a big deal Any how, thank you again.....and if this counts as progress, i didnt get sick at my stomach typing this reply...hope to have more of any update soon. and if any of you out there know of a good dentist in the Ft Worth area...would love to hear about it...
Thank you all again, and keep the post's going, I need all the help i can get

Hi, mudduck911,
I give these wonderful people on this forum 95% of the credit for me going and getting my dental work done (5% was the toothache pain DRIVING me to go to the dentist). I think the biggest issue is to find a dentist and tell him/her about your fears and take it from there. My dentist knows I'm a dental phobic treats me very gently and is VERY aware when I start to get nervous and need a break (that was just during the initial exam!!)
I had 9 teeth extracted (2 were upper wisdom teeth) under IV sedation 3 weeks ago. I had really no pain to speak of, just some mild discomfort. In fact, my recovery went so smooth, I have been wondering WHY I had been SO afraid. I suffered for 22 years with HORRIBLE toothaches and now I'm ON my way to dental health.
Take some time to read some of the success stories, that's what reaaly helped me!!

I knew these people were just like me, petrified of the dentist.
Hope that helps quell some of your fears!!
Wishing you all the best and hope that soon you'll be on YOUR way to dental health,
Jen

I am 45 and just had four teeth pulled...three just four days ago, and I can say that it was quite painless.

The anxiety of the procedure was much worse than the actual procedure. Right now as I type, there is no after pain. Occasionally, I feel a twinge, but really nothing horrible has happened...and that is with four extractions.

The relief of being on this side of the procedures is real, and that was one of my "driving forces" to get my teeth pulled.

BTW, I used to gag thinking of seeing a dentist. The idea of anyone's hands in my mouth terrified me. Sometimes brushing my teeth was difficult for this reason. But after not seeing a dentist for almost ten years, I knew I had to get past this fear that limited my ability to enjoy life. And now, a year after making that decision, I feel relieved and much less anxious.

Nobody likes going to the dentist, but a good dentist makes the experience tolerable, while a bad dentist makes the experience terrible.

And interestingly enough, I looked forward to seeing my dentist...and it had only been three months since I last saw her. I did not look forward to having my teeth pulled, but that is the difference...the dentist is not the part I dislike.

Find the best dentist for you. If you choose one and you do not like him or her immediately, then choose another before going through with any procedures. Many dentists have websites that give an idea of their philosophies regarding patients. This helped me. Personally, I would not go based solely on a friend's experience unless you know that person is as terrified of dentists as you are and for the same reason. (For instance, my wife fears the pain, I fear choking. Our criteria are different when we choose. Her favorite dentist scares me.)

When you find a dentist that you trust, I think everything will go much better than you have expected.