Three Root Canals, I'm Terrified

I'm not sure what scares me more, the root canals or the awful assistant who saw to me today. I went in for my first appt in ages. The last one was an emergency, but my grandmother offered to pay to fix my front teeth so I'm not going to turn that down! I'm scared to death, but there are options to manage it, such as being sedated. I can handle that. I've done it before. Sitting down long enough to have the IV put in was an adventure, to say the least!

I saw the actual dentist for maybe a total of five minutes, and was left with this awful assistant who needs to look into a different occupation. Something not dealing with people. I told her I was scared, and she acted like she didn't care either way, even gave me the 'shut up, already' look. Ok, I can deal with that. Maybe I won't have to deal with her the next time; there are like ten different assistants working in that office. She finally took my warnings of nervousness into account and gave me a prescription for valium. Great, but it doesn't work. At this point I wanted to get out of there.

Just like the last dentist I went to, I was perfectly honest with my feelings with this woman. I told her that my teeth looking the way they did made me feel ugly. Instead of being kind about it, she just looked at me and said 'Yeah, they really do'.

I bit my tongue while she explained what needed to be done. My grandmother was waiting for me, it was almost over. Until she decided to embarrass the life out of me by explaining everything to my grandmother in the waiting room full of people. As if I didn't feel bad enough as it was.

I've been home for almost an hour and a half, still crying my eyes out over this. If I wasn't scared and nervous before, that really sealed it. No one in my family is being really sympathetic to my fears (or my feelings) and I didn't know where to go.

I really need to have this done, but after that I'm not sure I want to go back.

(For a first post, that is a bit of a doozy, haha!)

Hi nervouswreck and welcome to the forum.

First of all I want to reassure you about the three root canals. I had three done on front teeth on December 10th and can honestly say that I did not feel any pain at all.

Somewhere on here is a thread that I started when I was feeling just as you are now, and it also inculdes what I posted when I had just got back home from having the root canals done.

I can understand how awful you feel right now, and that the whole thing seems overwhelming. Like you I found that my family and friends just don't understand the whole dental phobia thing, I think it is something that you need to suffer from yourself to fully understand how someone else faced with it feels.

As for the horrible assistant, if you don't want to go back to that surgery is it possible for you to go to a different surgery to get the treatment?

The dentist that I am currently receiving treatment from is not the first one that I saw.

I think that it is important that you feel comfortable about where you are being treated when you are anxious, and if you could go elsewhere it may make you feel better able to deal with the anxiety.

Good luck.

Holly

Oh my goodness!!! I am so sorry you had such a bad experience. My first thought would be to get another opinion, although as your grandmother is paying for this, it may not be an option. If it is not, then I would definately let the dentist office know just how nasty the assistant was, and request that she does not assist on any of your treatment.

Dentists and doctors, should know that they are only as good as the staff they have working for them. Everyone from the receptionists, to the assistants, to the hygentists, reflect on them and thier practice. Perhaps the dentist is not aware of how abrasive this assistant can be to patients. The only way he will know is if someone lets them know.

Nowadays, dentists know not to reprimand us about the shape of our teeth, that is no help at all, perhaps his assistant isn't aware she could be costing him patients...or more likely, she doesn't care. She should have never spoken to your grandmother in front of other patients. If she wanted to explain the treatment plan, she could have pulled her asside and discussed it away from others.

Well that is my rant for now My advice would be to get another opinion, or call the office and complain about the treatment you received by the assistant. Were you comfortable with the dentist? If so, it may be worth simply discussing the assistants abrasive behavior with them. You are the patient, and have every right to request they not assist with any of your treatment.

Hope this helps. Congratulations on taking the first step towards a healthy mouth, and don't let anyone, exspecially an uncompassionte assistant stop you from achieving a beautiful smile

I wish I could tell you about the dentist himself, but I only saw him for a total of five minutes the entire visit. The last dentist I went to at least sat down with me and spoke to me like a person. One of his nurses even sat there with me and held my hand. I want to go back to him, but as my grandmother is paying for treatment she won't do it if I return to him. It's a two hour drive to get there, and she said it's not worth it. She even tried to tell the dentist that I didn't need to have any sort of meds for my nervous issues. I didn't mean to get snotty with her, but I told her if she wants to peel me off of the ceiling after I've had a panic in the chair it's all on her.

They wanted to do the first root canal next Tuesday, but I wormed my way out of it and they've postponed it until the 26th. I'm going to spend the next week or so calling other offices here in town to check prices. For a total of three root canals and four fillings it is going to be around $3000 USD. The fillings are only temp. Each crown is $775 USD a piece. All together the rude assistant gave me an estimate of around $6000 USD. Then she had to add a smart comment about how 'if I would have come sooner I could have avoided all of this mess'.

I explained to my father how uncomfortable she made me, and he said I should be honest with my grandmother about it, but there is no honesty with this woman. She just says that I'm being stupid or I'm worrying over nothing.

Three hours after appt, still crying. Nearly half a pack of cigarettes smoked. I bought it right after I left the office. Maybe if I can find a better estimate somewhere else she will allow me to go to a different place. If not, it looks like I'm going to have to, according to the rude assistant, just have ugly teeth. I really don't want to go back there again.

It sounds like you have thought things through. My guess is that your grandma either never had a bad experience, or she was told to "just deal with it" by her parents and figures if she had to, so should you. What she probably doesn't realize is dentistry has changed, and there is no reason you need to suffer through any procedures, or nasty dental professionals.

If I were to guess, I am thinking that maybe your grandmother wants your teeth fixed badly enough, that she will accept whomever you choose. Perhaps she figures she is paying for things, so you can go wherever she picks, but perhaps if she sees that you will not allow treatment done by someone you are uncomfortable with, she will let you choose the dentist.

Try to talk to her. Let her know where you stand and exactly how you feel. If she thinks that the fear you have is uncommon, invite her to visit our site. I am sure it will be an eye opening experience for her.

Granny has nerves of steel. Nothing throws this woman out of sorts. The rest of the family is the same way. I'm the only one with nervous conditions and anxiety issues. My dad has some, but he told me the same thing: tough it out. I wish it were as easy as everyone keeps making it out to be.

Tomorrow I'm going to call around and talk to different offices, see how the receptionist is. That, oddly enough, is how I chose my last dentist. Out of twelve offices, that receptionist was the only one kind enough to talk to me and answer my questions. The people at this office are too 'get in and get out'.

I'm going to find a way around it, or just refuse and make her mad. I'm not putting myself through this. I just hope this stronger resolve lasts me; I've finally stopped crying and having panic attacks.

jeeeez-louise!!!! I am SO sorry to hear about that dental assistant!!! what a NIGHTMARE! when you are able to, please try to let the dentist know about his abrasive assistant...if not for yourself than for all the other nervous wreck patients who might encounter her. I would have been in TEARS!! that's horrible. Or do what I did, post your experience online under a review website like yelp.com. That's what I did. It's not much, but at least it's something. I know when I was looking for dentists, I tried to find reviews online (since I didn't know many people to ask for personal recommendations). The mere mention of 'bad bedside manner' scared me away from at least one dentist. I don't think anyone should ever be publicly humiliated like that. I wouldn't want to support that office either.

Your grandmother sounds like how I imagine mine would be. That's tricky. I'd say go with your gut. You know what's best for you. I wish you could find a way to go back to your original dentist, even if it is 2 hours away. Anything though sounds better than that one gal you just dealt with. The nerve! It makes my blood boil just reading about it!

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience with the assistant. At my recent visit I was lucky enough to have an assistant who was extremely caring and understanding and as soon as she kindly acknowledged that I was nervous (I had advised of this previously via email), I felt at ease and felt like it was possible everything could turn out okay. So a good assistant can make the world of difference, and I encourage you to seek out another dental practice where you feel looked after and comfortable because that's what you deserve!

Good luck with it all

I had valuim when I got my wisdom teeth out 13 or 14 yrs ago and it really didnt work good on me, so now when I get work done I get Halcion. I would go with that instead of valuim and I would make sure that I got a different assistant when I went back. There is no excuse for her to make you feel that way, and I would let that be known. As far as the Rootcanals go, I took Halcion and was in heaven didnt have any problems at all. I have had a total of 3 rootcanals 8 crowns(getting 2more on 2-5) and 1 extraction done while taking halcion and didnt feel anything!! Good luck and remember you are paying these people to work on you and you can take your money somewhere else.

Hi there Ms. Wreak. You're going to change dentists immediately, right?

You need to. I saw three before I found one I'd let near me with any sharp objects. In your position I would be off to another without a moment's hesitation and if you want anything like proper treatment I suggest you do. Sorry to be so blunt and I'm not wanting to upset you but it's obvious that these guys do not have a clue about treating nervous patients.

While it may be best for you to switch dentists, if grandma is paying for it and the cost is $6000, then I am guessing that she may have a say in where you go if you use her money.

If the assistant is the only problem, then ask for a different assistant. In my experience, the office is reflected by the employees, and the attitude of one is usually the attitude of all (even if not so overt).

While you may think your Grandmother, and parents have nerves of steel, that may not be the case. My father used to harass me about going back to the dentist. He would tease me about losing all of my teeth, trying to push me into going. He used to say he didn't go to the dentist for years, because they needed to afford dental care for us kids (6 in all), but I have since learned that he had very bad experiences as a child, and in fact suffered from dental fears for years.

I think you are on the right track, check with other offices and see what they have to say. Talk to your grandmother and explain that if this is going to happen, you need to feel comfortable with not only the dentist, but his staff. My guess is that she wants to get your teeth taken care of, so she will probably agree, and who knows, maybe someone else will save her money as well

Thanks for all of the kind words and pieces of advice, everyone. I feel much better today, other than the insatiable urge to clean everything in sight or feel disgusting if I don't. My house needed a good clean anyway

I'm going to speak to my grandmother tonight and see what she says. I've asked around my small circle of friends to see if they had any recommendations of good dentists here that have treated them well, and their reaction is the same when I tell them where I went: "You went to HIM? He's the best in town!" He may do good work, but the way I was treated by that woman yesterday was inexcusable.

I've decided I'm going to go through with the appointment, but I'm going to ask for a different assistant (if I get stuck with the same lady again) and either my mother or boyfriend is going to go with me. They want to speak up for me if I'm to the point that I won't be able to say anything.

I've already been given valium, but do you think that they would also be willing to hit me with some nitrous if I can't calm down enough?

Do both, medication and nitrous thats what I do. Keep us posted on how your appt goes.

I go in tomorrow for the first appointment. I'm only doing one of the root canals tomorrow, as my grandmother finally told me I can choose a different dentist if I'm not impressed with the work.

I spoke to the office earlier this week and asked that the assistant with the bedside manner of a pit bull never be allowed near me while I am undergoing treatment with the practice.

After tomorrow, I highly doubt I will be returning anyway. There is a doctor across the parking lot that deals with children (some of the most fearful patients you can get) and I want to speak with her about how she handles adult patients with fear problems.

I'm going to take my valium in about an hour so I can sleep, then take another one before I go into my appointment. I've decided that I will be demanding nitrous in addition.

I've gotten some rather helpful (and not so helpful) peptalks from friends and I am feeling rather good. One of my friends even admitted to falling asleep during one of her root canals. I can only hope to be so lucky!

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to report something good!

I'm so proud of myself! Today was amazing!

I took my valium last night and then this morning. After I got to the office I was paired with an amazing assistant and she hooked me up to some nitrous. She even joked around with me!

Dr. Jim came in and explained what he was going to do. I was a bit out of it, and he understood. The assistant slathered my gums with a topical to numb everything and waited about ten minutes. After that I closed my eyes and felt Dr. Jim fiddling around with my lip. My boyfriend squeezed my foot a bit but I felt no pain. Then, Dr. Jim left the room for a few and I asked the assistant if he had done the shots and she told me yes. I didn't feel anything!

Then he got to work, telling me to raise my hand if anything hurt. I felt him removing the nerve tissue, pressure instead of pain. I did raise my hand once, only because the assistant accidentally squished my hand with her chair, haha. He removed the root, put in a rod, then filled it up (got some cement on my lower lip, which I almost laughed at). The drill didn't even bother me like some people thought it would.

There was still a slight bit of infection so he didn't fill the tooth today, just gave me some antibiotics and asked that I return in two weeks for a check. After the check, if all systems are go, I'm going to get it filled and make an appointment for my next root canal.

Right now I'm eating and waiting on my meds to be filled. Antibiotic and vicodin. I still feel very little pain, though it's more in my nose area than the tooth. My top lip is still numb

I can say today that I am no longer afraid! I'm actually excited to go back in to finish my work so I can have a beautiful smile!

Well done Nervouswreck, on getting through your appointment I hope your next appointments go as well. Keep in touch.