i dont know what to do!

bare with me, long story

well up until last year I hadnt visited the dentist for 10 years because of fear of needles and dentists and blood (im phobic of many things).last year I cracked my back upper tooth+went through immense toothache for months, finally plucked up the courage to get a check up and she told me that I needed 6 fillings and the cracked tooth extracted (all she was doing was checking my teeth and I started to feel faint, grasping the chair with all my strength).she said that I could have it all done by sedation dentistry and I thought by this she meant iv sedation but got a phone call from the dentist recently and they said they wont be using IV, just nitrous oxide.ive got a week to make an appointment or I wont get another one with them, I want to make the appointment and go and have the work done as I want to get over my fear and I want to take care of my teeth but the fear is just crippling me, all i can think about is the needle coming at my gums and what that will feel like, the sensation of having the tooth pulled out and the amount of blood i may see!!!im worried that im going to faint before I even get in the chair and I just know that my partner doesnt understand or any of my friends, they look at me like im stupid, like its something I can switch on and off like a tap.please help, I dont know what im going to do!!!!i dont think i can cope being wide awake and knowing everything whilst she is tugging away on my tooth

Hi and


I have had nitrous a few times before. It relaxed me so much I did not care about the needle and needles normally make me really nervous. It will definitely make the visit that I am confident that you will make a lot easier.

Hello Kmarie:

Welcome to the forum.

You are not stupid, weird or anything else. Anxiety is real and what you are feeling is common with anxiety. This condition afflicts millions of people around the world. It can rob joy from your life and cause you to live in fear.

Do not beat yourself up or think less of your ability. Most people do not understand this condition and the power it can have over your life. I am a Psychologist that specializes in anxiety disorder and what you are feeling is common. I also used to have dental fear and have successfully dealt with it. I understand exactly where you are coming from.

In regard to getting the dental stuff dealt with. I can guarantee you that the anxiety is causing you more pain than you will ever have during dental treatment. Dentistry has improved so much. Our fears are based upon old information and mental images. The only similarity between dentistry today and dentistry in the past is that the dentist is still called a dentist and they work on teeth .

Dental treatment can be truly pain free. The use of topical gels to numb the gums has made administering the anesthetic discomfort free. Many dentist in the UK use a device called the wand with is a computerized anesthetic administration system.

The process of extraction is easy and quick usually only taking a minute or so. Nitrous works very well at reducing anxiety. You can also get an anti-anxiety medication to take before the appointment to further calm you down. You will be amazed at how comfortable and easy everything is.

If you would like i can give you links to some of the anti-anxiety techniques I use with my patients. If you are interested, PM me.

You are going to do great. Imagine how good you will feel when your dental challenges are behind you.

Blessings and peace to you.

and hug KMarie, you've come to a great place. With the right dentist who is both caring and skilled, named fear doesn't stand a chance in the long run.

As for needles, I'm laughing because I am a fellow needle phobe, do not care for the things at all. That said, I recently experienced that with numbing gel and compassionate dentist with good technique, dental shot pain is truly a thing of the past and nothing to as I honestly used to feel and about.

I wish you all good luck and look forward to reading your success story!

Mona

It's all true...doesn't have to hurt. With nitrous you will be very relaxed, so it won't be like being awake with just local anaesthetic at all but that can also be absolutely fine too with a nice competent dentist. You can do it....if it's NHS, I'd snap it up, not many of them routinely offer nitrous.

thankyou everyone for your replies, got to say that its calmed me down quite a bit reading your messages, been in a right state for the past 3weeks about this and just seems to be getting me down more and more each day.just knowing that there are people out there who panic just like me helps alot as It makes me feel less of an idiot.I made the mistake of asking friends what they thought of nitrous oxide as they said it did nothing for them and this just made me panic even more, just got it into my head that it only makes you feel a little drunk and i started to think "I need to be completely gaga, not just a little bit tipsy!!"

I would love to hear of anti anxiety techniques please as that would be such a great help, I really want to face my fear but I dont know where to start and atm a tooth extraction just seems too full on and makes me shake just thinking about it tbh.ive got an appointment at the doctors today to see if he can give me anything for the appointment to relax me, although im unsure what I can take and what i cant with me also having the nitrous oxide, dont want it having a funny affect on me or anything

Hi kmarie. I understand how you are feeling. Firstly, my friends and partner do not understand my fears and they just tell me to get over it and deal with it and just go to the dentist and not worry about it. If only it were that simple! I am also needle phobic and the prospect of having my first LA earlier in the year for fillings was terrifying, so my dentist suggested nitrous and it was brilliant. Even though you are still aware of what is going on, you will be so much more relaxed and you won't be worrying in anticipation of what is about to happen. I even felt the room start to spin at one point, which was when for me personally I felt like I'd too much nitrous, so I just breathed through my mouth for a minute and then I felt right again. I'm also pretty sure it made everything seem like it went quicker, and made me less able to remember details afterwards. I'd highly recommend it to anyone. I'd also suggest that your doctor wouldn't prescribe anything that would have a bad reaction with the nitrous, so as long as you tell him or her that's what you're planning to do, then there won't be anything to worry about there. All the best.

Hello kmarie:

I am sending you a PM with some techniques. You are not crazy, dental fear is very common. In addition to the nitrous you could ask for an anti-anxiety medication to allow you to sleep the night before and to take before the appointment. This combination should be very effective. I would recommend one of the following:

Ativan
Restoril
Midazolam
Valium

These are very common medications used in the dental setting. Ring up the dentist and ask or go to your GP.

Blessings

hi, just got back frm the doctors and he gave me diazapam (if thats spelt correctly), he says it will make me feel highly relaxed and said I really shouldnt care what they are doing to me but im still skeptical (as always).he says i can take it with the nitrous oxide if needed but only half of one but he says if I have the diazapam before the appointment the dentist may say i dont even need nitrous and yes jessica b, my friends are the same, they tell me to just get over it like its that easy, its caused many an argument these past few weeks!!.my family and partner try their best to be supportive but I get the impression that my partner just switches off after a while and just pretends to be listening.I find that I struggle to explain to people exactly how i feel when im faced with my fears, they look at you like your exaggerating the whole thing dont they.

hey
my mum is having a wisdom tooth removed next week shes taking 2 diazepam ( shes an old hand with them) she wont need anything else believe me !!!
Just wanted to say i had a tooth out with just la theres no tugging at all i thought there would be too i had images of him pulling and allsorts it just didnt happen!! i promise theres none!! All my dentist did was wriggle it and it took less than 30 secs i'd had a broken tooth for 9 yrs suffered all the pain you described and after all that having the tooth out was easy my dentist is really nice and if you have a nice dentist it will be fine but thats the most important thing a nice dentist if you trust him/her you will be fine and according to my mum diazepam are brill yr going to do great!!!
emma

Hi Kmarie:

Good job moving forward on this. The Valium the dentist gave you is a proven medication. Take it at least 45 minutes to 1 hour before you appointment. If you take it with a carbonated drink it works a bit faster.

Valium is a great muscle relaxant and is also a good tranquilizer. I am sure you will do great and this problem will be fixed before you know it.

Remember, you are not alone. Many people have been in the same position, some with greater fear, and they made it through without a hitch. Read the stories of Drummerswife, Brewer734 and many others. They are living proof of what can be done by believing in yourself and taking action.

I am sure I will be reading your success story shortly.

Blessings and peace to you.

hey, im so glad u told me that about diazapam, made me feel alot better about taking them, i want to be absolutely high as a kite so i dont know anything, hope it works!!and yeah, the general idea i have in my head of having my tooth pulled is tugging and then cracking and because its so badly damaged now i keep thinking theyll have to cut my gum to get it all out

oh and ive been reading the success stories, love to read that the fear can be overcome with lots of courage and hope , hopefully ill be writing my own soon!!

decisions, decisions

well yesterday I was feeling a little better about going and having my tooth removed so said id make the appointment today, todays here and atm im sat on my laptop unable to pick up that phone and make the appointment, even thinking about going is making me feel physically sick, i know its got to be done but i just cant push myself to do it!!

tooth extraction

I have a question.Im currently trying to pluck up the courage to make a dentist appointment to have an upper molar removed that is badly cracked, im absolutely petrified of needles, blood etc and pass out easily (and have not found a way to control this yet).Ive never had a tooth out before so what i really want to know is, what does the needle actually feel like (if u can describe it) and what kind of feeling do you get as they are removing the tooth, people say you feel pressure but im worried im gonna panic and not be able to keep my mouth open as the dentist is extracting!.help plz

Re: tooth extraction

The needle feeling is nothing more than a very small nip or pinch if even that. Two weeks ago when I needed to have an injection, I felt nothing as it went in. I even questioned the dentist if she did the injection yet..LOL
As for the tooth removal, you do feel a little pressure but when they told me I would feel pressure I pictured so much worse than what it was. It feels like someone is just tugging on you a little. It really is not as bad as it sounds...and I have had 6 teeth pulled and 4 wisdom teeth pulled. If I can do it I know for sure anyone can do it!

Re: tooth extraction

goodness, heres me stressing over one tooth and you had so many out!!.its the same with me, when ppl are saying youll feel pressure, i keep thinking its gonna be pressure as in my head being lifted frm the chair .think the needle is bothering me the most but its nice to know its just a pinch.think the biggest part of my phobia is whats in my head, all the thoughts and images i imagine make it out to be worse than it probably will be.thanks

Re: tooth extraction

I know what you mean! I allow all of this stuff sound so much worse in my head than it really is. Our minds have a way of making us crazy I swear. I couldn't even explain to you all of the images I have had running in my head the past few months. I'm surprised no one had me committed yet.LOL

You will do great with your extraction and there is really no need to worry. It will be over before you know it!

Re: tooth extraction

I agree totally with Olivacs. Our minds can really drive us crazy sometimes. My dentist uses a numbing gel for injections and does not allow you to see the needle. I rarely feel anything.
I just had 3 teeth extracted by an oral surgeon under IV sedation so I wasnt aware of anything except for one fleeting moment.
As Olivacs said, you will do great. Dont let your imagination take you for a ride.

Re: tooth extraction

hey kmarie
i had to reply to you cause you described exactly how i felt i was terrified of having teeth out but actually the one my nice dentist did really wasnt bad and its nothing like you imagine!!
when i have injections i feel nothing my dentist uses gel to numb the gum first and i feel nothing so hopefully yr dentist does too ( should do ) its weird because the needle clicks as the stuff is being injected so you know its going in but feel nothing.
my dentist gave me 3 injections in total so i was totally sure i was numb ( my peace of mind was convinced i would feel pain) and i didnt feel any of them.
ok now i'll tell you what he did you asked so im telling you its nothing horrific and was so quick it was unreal it took less than 30 secs to get out.
first he used something which looks like the end of a teaspoon and it felt like he was scratching round my tooth it was i think to loosen it a little. Then he does get some metal gripper things so if you like close yr eyes and all he did was wriggle it slowly like you did with yr baby teeth when yr small 30 secs later it was done so easy 9 yrs of pain over i felt no pain and no pressure i could feel him moving the metal thing backwards and forwards in my mouth but honestly didnt feel pressure at all then i heard a small click and my dentist said got it it was so easy and i was so terrified i really was after my iv disaster i was scared to death but it was simple and painless.
you can do this ask yr dentist about the gel but im sure he uses it my dentist says the secret to painless injections is doing them nice and slow and hes never hurt me i added up how many injections ive had with him recently 17 in total never felt one !!
im also squemish so my advice just dont look when they take the tooth away i didnt.
hope ive helped
emma