Scared to death !

I am so scared to visit the Dentist. I haven't been to one since I was 12.
I am now 40. All due to fear. Here's the really bad part, I am a severe diabetic, so my teeth are terrible. I've got about 16 teeth left that haven't broken off to the gum, or just rotted to the gum. This is excruciating pain a lot of the time because of all the a abscesses that I know I have. What am I going to do? I am really thinking freaking out about this. Sometimes when the pain gets really bad, I think that I would rather go through natural childbirth again instead of this. Does anyone have any helpful advice?

I know what you mean.
I always said that I would rather childbirth to dental work!!!

I am 41 and my teeth were in a bad state.
I have recently discovered what a difference a good dentist, in whom you trust, can make.
I have had many bad experiences with dentists as a child and so in my mind I had decided that there was no such thing as a dental visit that wasn't severely painful.
As an adult I went to a dentist when the pain of the tooth became more than I could bare... the experience wasn't good.

Recently, due to pain, I went to a different dentist... oh what a difference... she was gentle, reassuring and best of all painless!... I didn't even know there was such a thing!!!! I went back to her again... and again it was painless.

I couldn't believe that dentists could be so different... if only I had found a "good" dentist sooner.

It was thanks to finding this dentist that I continued with my treatment. My bottom teeth are now cavity free... and this morning I had my top teeth extracted and upper dentures put in. I never would've found the courage if not for this dentist.

So my advice is to find a dentist that makes you feel comfortable, with whom you feel you can trust, and who is gentle and aware of your fears.
I promise it makes all the difference in the world.

Most people on this site have developed their dental phobia due to bad experiences from bad dentists.

Find a good dentist and then follow through with your appointments. You can't go through your life suffering the way you are... you need to decide to get your life back!

Good luck... keep posting and we'll support you through this!

lclover, I can honestly say I understand where you're coming from. I'm 42 and had not been to a dentist since I was 15. About 45 minutes ago, I had my first dental procedure done in 27 years. How I got this far is by researching sedation dentistry. In doing so, I found a couple of dentists in the area who do practice sedation dentistry. I set up an initial appointment back in August, agreed upon a treatment schedule. and then took it from there.

This morning, I had a total of 13 extractions done which also included two wisdom teeth. I opted to pay out of pocket for the IV sedation. Believe me, I wished I had discovered this 20 years ago. I felt nothing at all.

Good luck to you in your journey to better dental health. The forums here are a tremendous help.

Welcome to this forum firstly, quite the best place to be for people like us. Your feelings are just like so many of us, but that may not be of comfort to you. All I can say is, I too went without going to the dentist for many many years and then when finally the time came when I could ignore the state of my teeth no longer, it wasn't only the fear I had to contend with but the embarrassment too for having neglected my teeth for so long. However, I can honestly say, the thought of going far outweighs the actual experience. Finding the right dentist for you is paramount and there is one there just waiting with the right personality and experience to match you. Like countless others of us here, or who have been here, I have now finished all my treatment and it is so hard for me to believe now how I left it so long.If I'd realised how technology had moved on, how equipment was so much better, that those horrid old smells and sounds of dentistry had long disappeared together with patronising attitudes I would have gone long ago. You too will be feeling quite different once you have managed to get to your first appointment - you will even feel a mixture of excitement and impatience as you want to whizz through whatever treatment you need to get your teeth healthy again. You might at this stage think that is an impossible dream, but it's not. Without this wonderful site lots of us would never have been able to go through their individual dental journeys but joining us here makes it all possible because although admittedly yes, it has to be YOU alone in that dentist chair but you have so much support and understanding from like minded people willing you on all the time.