• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

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Ahhhhhh

Hey All,

I've just emailed the Bath dentist in the link from Brit. I explained how scared I was and told them a bit about my dental history and asked if they could get in contact if they have any openings coming up. :thumbsup: Fingers crossed it will be ok!
 
Great stuff - let us know how it goes..sometimes emails fall by the wayside and you have to chase but hopefully not this time.
 
Im trying to gear myself up over the weekend in case I need to phone next week. Im also going to email the other Bristol dentist I think so that should give me some options as well.

Im wondring whether it's best to go for an initial consultation with both to see which one I prefer and also to see if they both advise having the same work done. Or is this just putting myself through more appointments than necessary!?
 
Hi Ava! Well done on what you have done so far, I'm sure it would have been very difficult for you to make that first step as it is for most of us on here, so you should feel very proud! If I was in your shoes, I would firstly make an appointment with the dentist I get the best feel for from the replies to your emails, then see how that goes and if you are happy with the feeling you get from the dentist and the practice in general (atmosphere, other staff etc) then just go with that one. If you're not happy, then maybe try another dentist. Personally, i I tried more than one new dentist at a time I think I would find it a little bit overwhelming and I'd definitely prefer go with the baby steps approach.

The treatment plan is not necessarily going to be exactly the same with every dentist, and that doesn't mean one is wrong and another is right. A friend of mine, who is a scientist, recently told me that she sees dentistry as being more of an art than a science in some ways, so there are probably always going to be different options than what you have been given, but rather than dwelling too much on that, you need to make sure that you trust your dentist's advice and professional opinion, and you feel comfortable with the treatment plan that you are given. If you are not comfortable, that's when I guess you have a couple of options - the first being to ask questions and ask if there are alternatives (I know that's not always easy to do when you are nervous), and the other being to seek a second opinion.

I was recently lucky enough to find a fantastic dentist on my first go, so I hope that you are just as lucky and you find someone you feel comfortable with too. Let us know how you go with everything!
 
Hey Jessica and thanks!

I think you are right about not putting myself through more appointments than necessary and for some reason I get a slightly better feel from the Bath dentist's website so maybe I will just try that one to begin with. I think for now I will still email the Bristol dentist as well, maybe as kind of backup.

Thanks again for the comments and I will defo keep you all updated xx
 
One thing I would highly recommend (if you feel up to it!) would be to visit the dental practices that make it onto your shortlist. You can often get a feeling for the "vibes" just from the waiting room, or better still, ask if you can have a tour of the practice :)! It's entirely acceptable and normal to want to have a look at the practice and the price list when choosing a dental practice. I'd highly recommend this as I feel a happy environment is really important and it's often not possible to form a real-life picture from looking at websites :).
 
Hey Lets,

That's very true, thanks for the advice!

I've been thinking abit about this for the last hour or so and I think my plan of action is going to be:

Email Bath Dentist & explain fears & ask for app - (done this one already)
Email Bristol Dentist as above
Wait a few days for replys and see how each sounds
Respond to whoever I feel comftable with after digesting their replies and ask for a visit

Hopefully if I take it step by step then it should be managable and I will find the best one for me.
 
Hi Everyone,

I made an appointment today!

The Bath dentist emailed me back this morning saying they had some appointments next Tue 31st March so I gave them a call and booked one! The receptionist was so lovely, I asked her to make sure the dentist knew I was scared and that I hadn't been in years because I didn't want to be a shock to him and she really ressurred me that she would make sure he knew and that it was no problem at all.

My appointment is at 6.30 in the evening which does mean I will have to wait all day but I thought it was really good they offered evening apps.
 
That's great! :jump: Definitely seems like a good place, hope you've now found YOUR dentist. ;D
 
Thanks Deb! I really hope so to. My heart was beating so fast when I called but when the receptionist started talking to me I started to feel better because she was so nice.

I just hope I don't freak out as the appointment gets nearer!
 
Hi Ava, im not sure i'll be much help as everybody is different, but after being petrifyed for years of the dentist and refusing to go, i eventually found myself in a position where i had no choice but to go! wow that was so hard to do but i got there eventually with a little bit of TLC from my friends and a kick up the bum from my non phobic husband, and you know what? ....best thing ive ever done , i wont say im not at all scared anymore but with every visit i feel more and more comfortable i did need quite a bit of work done but today was my 4th visit and i had an extraction , it was fine ,im ok and im back next week. 2 months ago i would have been shaking just telling u that i had to go but now things are great.
i hope things go ok for you and that you are indeed like your sister and myself and find that once you have been again it wont seem so scary!.
good luck.:)
 
Thanks Panic, it feels better just knowing im not the only one to feel like this, that's what's so great about this forum.

Congrats on your visits! That was so brave as I know how it feels to be petrified of even thinking about the dentist.
 
Congratulations Ava. Have a look at the Gallery section on the website..it's not photos of teeth for a change , it's pics of their brand new premises being built..looks nice....orange chair anyone?
 
Hey Brit, I did have a look at their pictures (I scoured every inch of the site before I emailed lol) and it was good to see their new practice being built, even though I did have a little twinge of fear seeing THE CHAIR :scared:

It sounds like the new practice is up and running as the receptionist said to me 'we would be delighted to see you at our new offices' so that's good, hopefully everything is brand spanking new. Although im a bit gutted to read nothing about the wand as I really liked the sound of that. Maybe they do have it but it's just not advertised?
 
Hey Brit, I did have a look at their pictures (I scoured every inch of the site before I emailed lol) and it was good to see their new practice being built, even though I did have a little twinge of fear seeing THE CHAIR :scared:

It sounds like the new practice is up and running as the receptionist said to me 'we would be delighted to see you at our new offices' so that's good, hopefully everything is brand spanking new. Although im a bit gutted to read nothing about the wand as I really liked the sound of that. Maybe they do have it but it's just not advertised?

Many dentists can do comfy injections without The Wand...ask them what they do it make it comfy, they do say they specialise in phobics after all...the answer will probably be lots of topical and good technique.
 
I just realised I was talking about having injections! I wonder if this means im contemplating having L/A!? How did that happen, I was sure I needed I/V sedation for anything but a check up the other day.

Im guessing it's going to totally depend on what the dentist says I need done though, you can bet if it's alot i'll be gibbering in a corner somewhere asking which way to the I/V!
 
I received the new patient pack from the dentist today! It was a little pack of information on the dentists and a medical history form for me to fill in and take to my first app. BUT they didn't include the form in the pack, not good for my nerves. I emailed them and asked if they could send me out one as I really want to get it filled in before I arrive in case im in no fit state to hold a pencil let alone answer medical Q's when I get there. :o
 
Good news, the dentists emailed me back within 2 hours to apologise for not including the medical history form in my new patient pack and said they would put one in the post to me today. Im so glad they replied so quickly, it gives me more faith when they do that!
 
Hi Everyone,

OK so so far im feeling pretty alright about my appointment on Tue BUT I have one major fear and it's that im going to have to have my teeth out and have dentures :cry: because I haven't been in such a long time.

I've been practicing visualising having injections, single back teeth out, fillings etc and (at the moment) I can think about these things without turning to jelly but I DO NOT think I can cope with any really bad news.

Does anyone know if there are any way around dentures if people have to have all their teeth out? i.e implants??
 
Hi Ava, is there *anything* to indicate that having all your teeth removed actually applies to you? It is rare that people are completely taken by surprise at needing dentures - in your case, the odds would appear to be almost non-existent. Mind you, I've got nothing against the positive power of negative thinking :) (after all, life is full of pleasant surprises when you keep expecting the worst :p) - but it seems to me that you've done plenty of that already and there's no real need to take it any further...

To answer your question, it's not as simple as "dentures vs implants". What is usually done nowadays is that dentures can be secured with implants. There's a thread here which explains it:


But as I said, it doesn't really sound as if this applies to you :)
 
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