first dentist appointment in years!

Hey all, I'm new to this whole forum thing.. and relatively new to the dentist. I'm 25 now, but growing up as one of 6 kids, my parents couldn't afford dental insurance for all of us. And until very recently, I couldn't afford it for myself. And now that I have it, I wanted to get my teeth checked out since it'd been a good 15 years since my last dentist visit. I went about a month ago to discuss what needed to be done, and they let me know that I would need a deep cleaning, and that I have one cavity that needs to be filled. My appointment is Friday, and I'm freaking out!

I'm very concerned about the deep cleaning. I have the most awful gag reflex in the world. I have some tartar built up right on the inside of my front bottom teeth that they'll have to get to, and they said I'll be in some pain afterwards because it'll basically leave some nerves exposed. I don't really have a valid reason to be scared of the dentist, I've never had a bad experience. I'm just scared to death of gagging, not being able to breathe, being in pain & not being able to do anything about it, etc.

They said they would dope me up on laughing gas, and numb my gums. I'm pretty psyched about that part. I'm just wondering if anyone who has had a deep cleaning can give me a little insight as to what I can expect.. and can anyone give me an idea as to how laughing gas really works? I mean, I'm sure it's not as dramatic as I see on TV, haha, but is it really helpful? And if anyone has any thoughts on gagging, I'm all ears.

Most of your fears are from not knowing what will happen. And since I have the same fear of gagging, I can say that the reality is...your fears are much greater than the reality.

We don't have "deep cleaning" in the MI, US, but after having five extractions (three wisdom teeth), seven fillings, and three cleanings in the past year, I can say that never did I come close to gagging. And always I could breathe. None of the procedures were done with laughing gas or sedation.

Most dentists will be accommodating to patients if they know their concerns. If you have a dentist you can trust, then most of your fears will disappear.

I have an appointment for half of my teeth getting deep cleaned in a couple of hours. I might do it under nitrous, might not depending on how I feel when I get there. I am very scared of gagging, which is why I never went to the dentist and is part of why I need this procedure done. I'll let you know later tonight how it went.

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I feel a little more relaxed now about it.. I probably am just making too much of it, and psyching myself out.

(I definitely want to hear how that deep cleaning went, tho! )

I got the right half of my mouth deep cleaned today. Started at 1:30 and got out at 3:00. I was under nitrous and the dentist let me hold a water squirty thing just in case I needed some water. She also used as little suction as possible.

All in all, it went really well. I'm a tiny bit sore but I can kind of tell that that half of my mouth is much cleaner. I'm not worried to go back for the second half at all. In fact, I'm kind of looking forward to it.

Don't worry, you'll be fine. Especially with the nitrous you won't even really notice what's going on. I think I would be able to do it without nitrous even!

Edit: regarding the gagging and nitrous you were wondering about.. I didn't gag once and I never even felt like I was going to. And for the nitrous, it's great (I've had it on all my root canals in the past also). If you feel really dizzy or like you're not getting enough oxygen tell them and they'll fix it right away. Since you're breathing it in, it starts to take effect after only maybe ten seconds, and wears off very quickly after you take the mask off. Honestly, nitrous is amazing. I was even able to get 4+ root canals done no problem with it, and I'm a pretty finicky/worried/anxious/etc. patient.

I'm so glad it went well for you, that's great! And thank you so much for sharing! I feel a lot less anxious now, after reading about your experience. I'm like you, one of the more finicky & anxious patients.. so, your story is very encouraging to me, and you've really helped to calm some of my fears.

And I've heard nothing but wonderful things about nitrous, haha I'm looking forward to that part! Did you have a headache afterwards? Everyone keeps saying I'll have a terrible headache from inhaling the nitrous.. I'm not too worried about that part. I'm just anxious now to get it done & over with!

Thank you so much again!

Nitrous is fantastic. Yet to try it for cleaning but wished I had last week, so I'm going to get to get it when they finish me off next week. I did have it last week for a filling though and I felt a little 'out of it' for an hour or so afterwards, but no headache and no nausea either like a few others have reported.

If they give you a low enough dose you should be relaxed but still very coherent and able to communicate and hopefully won't get a headache afterwards. Even if you do, I'd say it would be worth it!

They say you can drive within about ten minutes of having it, but personally I was a bit spacey and wouldn't have liked to have driven for a few hours, but I'm sure everyone is different. I think trying to process my first ever dental treatment in back to back appointments (I had the cleaning straight after the filling) contributed to that too.

No headache or anything for me. It just takes like five minutes before you feel normal again. It's great stuff. Glad I helped you feel better!

I just wanted to thank everyone for all your help & insight.. I feel a lot more prepared to go in today! I'm still pretty anxious, but I do feel better about it. I'll post when I get home & let you all know how it went.

Okay, well.. I survived.

It wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting! That's what everyone kept telling me, and I knew it was true, but I was still anxious.. you know? When I got there, my dentist put me right at ease as I explained my concerns.. she was so nice, and she got me started on the nitrous right away. It was amazing! I really didn't get giddy.. she asked me if I was a cheap drunk, haha, but I've never been drunk before in my life, so I think we discovered that I'm a 'tired drunk'. I just felt like I was ready for sleep.. you know that real loopy stage of sleep, where you're not quite asleep yet, but you're still aware of your surroundings? Yeah, that was me, the entire time. I had my eyes closed for most if the procedure because I was more comfortable not seeing the tools before they went in my mouth, and I honestly almost fell asleep a few times.

I didn't gag, not even once! That was huge for me.. I gag if I'm just chewing on my pencil while I'm at work, so to have hands & tools & a bite block in my mouth, and not even come close to gagging, was the greatest thing ever. They completely deadened my mouth, and I didn't even feel it when they gave me shots to make sure I was good & numb.

All in all, it was actually a very pleasant experience. The nitrous smelled like mint, and the numbing stuff tasted like pina colada. And within, literally, minutes, I felt absolutely nothing. I was laying there, totally out of it, thinking "I was scared of this??" haha I felt a little silly, but I didn't care. I was praying half the time, thanking God for taking such good care of me & for my kind dentist.

Thank you all so, so much for all the encouragement & support. I truly appreciate it!

Excellent! I am happy the appointment went so well for you. It is a tremendous relief to able to sail through something that has worried you for a while.

Modern dental techniques coupled with a caring dentist is an awesome combination. Well done. May all your future visits be concluded in like manner.

All the best