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Journey through dental phobia to a new smile

Hi there I just read your update. It’s definitely not unusual to need a couple of days to relax and recover from a dental procedure, especially when you have anxiety. I cancelled my appointment Wednesday and it has taken me the better part of two days to get over the major anxiety I put myself through for two days.

Physically you are healing, and you’re not really eating normally which also has an impact on how you feel. Be sure you’re drinking plenty of water and other fluids. Your body can adapt to a change in diet but if you don’t drink you can get light headed and nauseous. Just take it easy for as long as you need and I’m sure you’ll be feeling better soon. That affects of IV Sedation do take a couple of days to leave your system and fluid intake will help it leave faster.
 
Anxious76 said:
Hi there I just read your update. It’s definitely not unusual to need a couple of days to relax and recover from a dental procedure, especially when you have anxiety. I cancelled my appointment Wednesday and it has taken me the better part of two days to get over the major anxiety I put myself through for two days.

Physically you are healing, and you’re not really eating normally which also has an impact on how you feel. Be sure you’re drinking plenty of water and other fluids. Your body can adapt to a change in diet but if you don’t drink you can get light headed and nauseous. Just take it easy for as long as you need and I’m sure you’ll be feeling better soon. That affects of IV Sedation do take a couple of days to leave your system and fluid intake will help it leave faster.
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Thanks, what you say makes perfect sense. I definitely will learn from this. Thankfully my next procedure is in the Easter holidays so I can just take my time to get back to being A1 ?.
 
Aurora10 said:
Thanks, what you say makes perfect sense. I definitely will learn from this. Thankfully my next procedure is in the Easter holidays so I can just take my time to get back to being A1 ?.
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You’re most welcome, I’m glad to help in any way that I can. I think what happens immediately after the procedure is we are SO relieved to have made it through and that it’s over that we feel the 600 pound weight of anxiety leave and almost get a “high”. This can trick us into thinking we can just dive right back into life mentally, but the body needs a little time to catch up. :)
 
Anxious76 said:
You’re most welcome, I’m glad to help in any way that I can. I think what happens immediately after the procedure is we are SO relieved to have made it through and that it’s over that we feel the 600 pound weight of anxiety leave and almost get a “high”. This can trick us into thinking we can just dive right back into life mentally, but the body needs a little time to catch up. :)
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And you always do help so much my friend :) you’re right, it’s a huge relief but we still have been through an ordeal physically and emotionally. I’m so tired even now, as I woke early with my jaw-it’s been stiff and achy since Tuesday. Of course, I expected it and it will pass. Think I will take a quick nap as were going out tonight :)

Hope you’re having a great day and looking forward to the weekend?
 
Aurora10 said:
It was almost 48hrs after my IV sedation and I did go back to work today as planned. I got up and made breakfast, as usual I had porridge, but I didn't really find it that appetizing today, my appetite has been a bit off all week. Each time I've had dental work done this past 6 months, it's been the same for a few days, (and after my 4hr appointment last Sept, it took a few weeks), upset stomach, feeling nauseous, tired and a bit low etc and I put it down to all the stress and worry before and during the appointment so it was expected this time. Anyway, I went to work and was fine and got back into things. However, at about 11.30 in the morning I started to feel really tired and weak and nauseous, just not myself. I put the feelings out of my mind but still felt quite bad and also started to feel light-headed. This just carried on until I went to the staff room for lunch and I felt just the same. Went back to work at 12.45 and just felt faint and sick and so tired. I thought about ringing my husband to pick me up but then thought better of it. I finish work at 3pm so I thought I could just push through. But I just continued to feel bad and started feeling a bit shaky so that was when I actually did call and ask for my husband to pick me up. It was 1.30 so I only missed an hour and a half of work. I came home and just fell into bed on my husband's insistence. I felt a bit panicky by this point as I wondered if something was really wrong. But I just rested for a couple of hours and felt so much better. I'm not going in to work tomorrow either, I feel I should just give myself more time to recover. I think I probably went back to work too early, but I just didn't think it would be a problem to do so. Has anyone else felt this way?
I also had a callback from the IV co-ordinator at my dental office. When I booked my appointment for the 3rd, I asked if she could ask my dentist why I wasn't given numbing gel for my injections on Tuesday. The upper front gums and the palate are always the most tender places I find and I did feel 3 injections when I had my IV. It wasn't unbearable pain but I did think "owwww!" as they were given and wondered to myself why my dentist hadn't used the gel as per usual. She told me that they do that to stimulate you, that they don't want you to be completely unaware. But she said if I did want the gel then I could have It. I said well if they could do something else to stimulate me instead of me feeling the injection pain, such as gently shaking my shoulder or something, that I'd prefer that ?. And she said that was perfectly fine and that she herself had also felt one injection during her IV procedure a few weeks ago. It's important to say here that it was NOT super painful or scary at all to feel the injection, and if I felt it again, I would not be upset because you are very relaxed and not at all concerned and that is literally the only thing I felt throughout the whole thing. I didn't hear the drill or much of anything at all, just two sentances in an hour and a half procedure and that suits me fine!
So I'm hopefully going to get a good nights sleep nights sleep now and be feeling much better in the morning. I think maybe it's wise to just chill out and potter around the house rather than do anything too much, I want to enjoy a busy weekend with my family!
That's all for now, take care everyone and best of luck for anyone going through dental work tomorrow! ? Good for you to push through the fear and go forward with courage!
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Hey Aurora! I love this journal; it's so uplifting and at the same time so honest and down to earth. Sorry to hear you've been ill after IV! I guess sometimes it takes it out of you and sometimes it doesn't. Pleased to hear you're feeling better now - did you contact your dentist about the light headedness/nausea? You're right it was probably stress/anxiety, but it's good to rest up for a few days. Don't let it put you off further IV - sometimes it just happens that you have a bad reaction afterwards. Give yourself a big pat on the back for getting through it! It sounds like such a great and easy procedure for you... sending lots of bear hugs as always <3 :bear::bear::bear:
 
hatemyself said:
Hey Aurora! I love this journal; it's so uplifting and at the same time so honest and down to earth. Sorry to hear you've been ill after IV! I guess sometimes it takes it out of you and sometimes it doesn't. Pleased to hear you're feeling better now - did you contact your dentist about the light headedness/nausea? You're right it was probably stress/anxiety, but it's good to rest up for a few days. Don't let it put you off further IV - sometimes it just happens that you have a bad reaction afterwards. Give yourself a big pat on the back for getting through it! It sounds like such a great and easy procedure for you... sending lots of bear hugs as always <3 :bear::bear::bear:
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I just sent you a reply and the whole thing got wiped-darn it! I hate when that happens...Anyway, I will try again. Thanks SO much for your kind supportive words, It's so appreciated and helps me so much :)
I honestly think that my nausea and faintness were just the result of being so anxious about the appointment, because I've had the same thing happen after each appointment apart from my first one, in the last 6 months. I think we sometimes underestimate the toll anxiety and panic have on our bodies, it's not just in the mind is it? It's also a physical manifestation, this mix of chemicals washing inside us. But it hasn't put me off at all, I am having my next appointment next Tues, the 3rd, under sedation and I'm hoping I won't get as worked up before hand. It was the day before and the day of that I was really upset and crying and afraid, but I know it will be fine and doable this time around, so i'm really trying to focus on the positive aspect, that I will have my permanent bridge inserted at last, and then I can have a break from the dental office for a few months!
Yes, I actually spoke to my iv co-ordinator about my side effects when I rang to book my next appointment and she said she hadn't heard of that before but they have only been offering it at my office for 7 months so that's not surprising, and they don't do follow up calls to ask how we are after the procedure so I'm sure I'm not the only one with these symptoms.
Anyway, how are you doing now? I hope you are feeling happier and that things are going to go better with the dentist that you are with now or that you can find a better fit for you.
Please keep in touch and let us know how it all goes, I really care about what happens to the great people I have met on here, I actually think of you and others as friends :)
 
Hi all! I thought I would update my journal after taking a week off from all things dental! I just felt I needed to spend a little time doing other things in my life that needed my attention and that have been left out a liittle bit since my dental treatment plan started last September.
I am still coping well with the thought of having my next IV sedation next week, to get my permanent bridge inserted. I am actually excited and looking forward to getting it over with.
I went over to the dental lab to check that the bridge is how I want it in terms of colour and shape. He said it was between an A1 and a B4 in shade, 'very white' but I thought maybe it could be brighter. I don't want a chiclet smile, I want it to be dignified and natural but I also want it to be white enough, so I am taking my husband to look at it tomorrow hopefully, to make sure that it is what I will be happy with, I trust my hubby's judgement and I want to be 100pc happy. Just one thing; my dentist asked me months ago about having a tiny piece of pink porcelain fitted on to the permanent bridge to hide the fact that one of my eye teeth is slightly longer than the other one. He said it wouldn't be a big issue, but it was "worth a conversation". I don't have a gummy smile but he said it would look better with the porcelain. So I agreed. But when I went to the lab, there was no pink porcelain! And when I asked the technician said that he wouldn't put one on because it would be likely to break. He said it would be fine and look great. But the thing is, I have had my tooth lengthened in preparation for the porcelain! I rang my dentist last week after I had been to the lab, but he was off sick. The lady I spoke to in the office said that she would ring the dentist and get back to me. I haven't heard anything so I will ring her tomorrow because my appointment is next Tuesday, the 3rd.
I hope it won't make a difference and I want to make sure there won't be any complications.
I am still having the achy and stretchy feelings in my jaw and my dentist says that this will subside when my permanent goes on so I am just wanting to get this done now. It has been a long and painful 7 months and I want to take a break from teeth and everything to do with them for a few months!
I am actually excited to be having sedation and getting this work behind me finally, no nerves yet, and I hope that I will be calmer than I was in the hours before my sedation last time. I did pretty well until the last bit of time.
And that's it from me for now, sending you all calm and encouraging thoughts whatever you are going through right now. :) :) :) :)
 
So, it's the day before my final appointment for a while, after 7 months of treatment and lots of anxiety, and I'm actually feeling pretty calm. I do expect to get butterflys at least and maybe even have a few tears tomorrow before the appointment, but I do hope I won't get too bad. I am relieved it's going to be all over with very soon now and that my smile is going to be beautiful after all these years of being unhappy with it.
My dentist and I had a chat on the telephone last week, just to wrap up the details before tomorrow. He told me that in the appointment, the dental lab technician will be there to make sure everything looks and fits perfectly. He said that because I'm going to be sedated, that I was welcome to bring with me to the appointment anyone I trusted to give their opinion on how the bridge looks. I told him well, you are a cosmetic dentist, the lab technician has an excellent reputation for his work and my husband is quite particular so I'm trusting you all to make the right decision! Also, he said that if things need adjusting, the lab technician will run over to the lab, which is nearby, and adjust it and they will keep my sedated until he comes back. I have to say, I wondered if he was joking! I don't like the idea of being sedated for potentially a considerable amount of time, I just wanted to be in and out quickly with rhis appoinrment. However, I know my dentist is a perfectionist and appointments always take longer than he says they will, so I just have to trust him on this I suppose. Also, I've come this far and I do want it to be perfect and I am grateful that he is willing to going to these lengths for me.
Hopefully, things will go just as well as they did 3 weeks ago. I'm still worried a little bit that something could go wrong but I'm definately feeling happier and I did like the complete freedom from anxiety and panic that you experience with sedation so let's do this!
Sending calm, positive thoughts to you all, hoping your having a good day!
 
Good luck! (Will reply to your pm later not been on here much).
 
Awww thank you Tazey, how kind of you to think of me! I will let you know how it goes ?
 
Good luck, all the best wishes and let us know how it went :) already looking forward to your success story;)
 
Thank you so much! I am just about to set off for the dentists now. ?
 
Well, I went off to my dental office in time for my appointment at 11am and thankfully didn't have to wait too long before I was taken through to the IV sedation room. Things were better than last time in that I didn't have to wait for ages before we got started. As always, the staff were very friendly and chatty and I wasn't half as nervous as I was last time so it was an even more relaxed atmosphere. The numbing gel was used before the injections this time so I felt no pain at all, but I did think I was taking longer to go to 'sleep' this time because the anaesthetist gave me the IV meds gradually. But again, there was no anxiety or fear at all from me.
I actually thought I was awake for the drilling part, in fact for a good chunk of my appointment and that my eyes were open and looking around and alert but I'm sure I wasn't. I really can't remember much about it until they told me I was almost finished and that the hygienist was coming in to polish the bridge. I heard her but can't remember what she said now. I felt her working on my mouth for a little while and then I was off home. I do have to go back tomorrow to have the bite adjusted because when the dentist asked me to slide my teeth to the side, I couldn't do it. My husband said I just didn't respond! I don't recall a thing about that though!
I went home and remember the journey this time and was again a bit unsteady on my feet but I had a drink of O.J. and a quick nap and then watched tv for a while and suddenly 4 hours had passed! I ate a light dinner and quite a lot of Easter chocolate ?and then watched a movie with my family and now I'm going off to bed. I definately feel a lot more alert this time around; I feel I have recovered better and faster than 3 weeks ago and dont feel the nausea and flat feelings I usually do after a dental visit.
So, this is the end of my 7 month bridge journey; I made it and I have to say-it's an absolutely BEAUTIFUL bridge! The lab tech is an artist and everyone was admiring it in the treatment room today. It was all SO worth it for me to have a beautiful, natural smile again; I couldn't be any happier with it; the shape, the colour and the natural look.
When I need dental.treatment again I know I can have sedation and I will not be scared at all. I can face anything now that the dentist needs me to have done and it has actually helped my confidence in other areas of my life too. I am glad I stepped out and took a chance on my dentist and finally got the smile I wanted. I'm so grateful for the dental office I have and all the staff, they are an exceptional bunch! And it helped enormously to have a really supportive, loving husband through it all.
I just wish I could show you all the before and after pics, but I have no clue how to!
I'm going to close for now, I'm quite tired and its late here but please feel free to add any comments or questions below!
Thank you to the lovely people I have met on this forum who have been so kind, so thoughtful and have shown so much empathy towards me-ALL of you have helped me find a way through when I felt overwhelmed. I'm very grateful for every single message you've written to me. ?
 
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Well done :) did you feel you did anything different to recover quicker this time round? How does it feel to have teeth? guess that may take a while to get used to. Yes try+put pix up would love to see how they look,your story is an inspiration so glad its all worked out for you.
 
Hi Tazey! Thanks so much! I think the main difference between last time and now is that I wasn't nearly as nervous as I was the first time. I think that last time my body was just exhaunted and almost sick with anxiety and it wasn't really to do with the sedation. I felt fine today and then I had to stop what I was doing and go for a nap and after that I felt much better. So for me, I definately feel more tired and a bit zoned out, just slightly.?
I have just come back from the dentist's as he wanted to check my bite and how it looked when I was fully awake; he said theyve now made it a policy and I think that's really a good decision.
Oh, I was never without teeth, I had a temporary bridge all the time and it was very pretty too. It did cost $400 but for all those months of healing, it was worth it and it was important for me to look good at home and work.
I will try and find out how to upload the pics, if it will inspire someone then that would make me really happy. ?
 
Aurora10 said:
I will try and find out how to upload the pics, if it will inspire someone then that would make me really happy. ?
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When you click on "Reply to Thread", there is (right under the window where the text gets typed in) a "Additional Options"-Box with a "Manage Attachments"-Button. When you click on it, a separate small window gets opened. In the upper right corner of it there is an "Add Files"-Button which you can use to upload the files you would like to post.

There is also a forum section for before and after pictures, but you might have seen it already.
 
Enarete said:
When you click on "Reply to Thread", there is (right under the window where the text gets typed in) a "Additional Options"-Box with a "Manage Attachments"-Button. When you click on it, a separate small window gets opened. In the upper right corner of it there is an "Add Files"-Button which you can use to upload the files you would like to post.

There is also a forum section for before and after pictures, but you might have seen it already.
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Ok, hopefully it will upload. I cropped the photo as not sure you’re allowed to post your whole face?
 

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Looks beautiful:jump:

I would say you are allowed to post your face but it might be a good idea not to do it because the forum is publicly available and it's good to protect your privacy.

How do you feel? How is the recovery going? :)
 
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