• 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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5 Wisdom Teeth

Not bad at all. Easily managed with advil and tylenol
I know I sound like a huge baby. I just need more reassurance right now. What other advice can you offer me? I know about all the don’ts after removal. I’m just afraid of getting to the actual appointment. I’m hoping the woman, whose name is Dr. Cara Overbeck, will be gentle and not do too much collateral damage. Again, her reviews are amazing, but I just feel like I’m waiting too long to do this. I wish she was one of those dentists who I could go in and say, “I’m in pain.” And she’d just be like, “Let’s take that tooth out right now.” However, after researching her, it seems like she likes to spend a lot of time talking and I’m more of a just-sit-me-down-and-hook-me-up-and-don’t-let-me-even-have-a-second-thought kind of approach. If it isn’t too much to ask, would you mind looking her up and giving me your honest thoughts about how you predict the procedure should go down. Again, I’m not putting her on blast because she sounds incredible, but a second opinion sometimes calms me down.
 
Don't apologize...we are all here because we have fears and want to ask questions! ?
For my wisdom teeth surgery, I was put under, but I don't remember what it was. I actually did wake up during the surgery, but felt nothing, and all I remember is seeing the lights, and the surgeon's face and him telling me to go back to sleep. So I did. Lol. I was so out of it that it felt like a dream at the time, and I honestly didn't even feel a thing.

When I had my molars extracted more recently (and the extra wisdom tooth), it was with nitrous oxide and I was awake. Again, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought. The anticipation leading up to the surgery is much worse than the reality.
You seem to calm a lot of people down on this forum, which helps me immensely. Would you do me a favor if it’s not too much to ask and look up the woman I’m seeing and read some of the reviews and give me a second opinion? I’m sure she’s a sufficient woman and she seems kind, but my anxiety is through the roof. If you wouldn’t mind giving me your honest thoughts, it would ease me a bit. Her name’s Cara Overbeck and she seems fantastic. However, I wish she’d just take this tooth out and I’m afraid my mom is gonna be like, “just do them all.” Like I said before, I don’t know if my body can handle that. If you decide to check her out, respond with some honest feedback. Much appreciated. :)
 
Hi Evanpelt17

I did not get put under for the dental, but I've been put under with versed and midzolem before and also propofal for several medical procedures the last 5 years. All of these worked amazingly for me.. no issues during or after. just like I went to sleep and woke up . Sedation does always scare me being kind of "out of control" and not knowing what is going on.. but nothing but smooth experiences.
Hey! Can you also look up this dentist for legit-ness? I trust your instincts as well! :)
 
She looks good to me. Again, I can reassure you that the procedure is a bigger deal in your mind than it actually is real life. I completely understand that you have anxiety and you are stressed about the procedure but you can do this. If you have not already I would recommend looking over the wizzie removal success sticky note on the main forum page. Good luck
 
Evanpelt17

I looked her up and I like her website.. really like this part.

"Nothing is more important to me than the good treatment of our patients. We know that going to an oral surgery office is a new experience, and possibly a bit scary to some. We try very hard to dispel that apprehension. "

"I feel that, in many respects, dentistry is about more than teeth and involves other areas of peoples lives. When you think about it, it involves helping, coaching, teaching and motivating. We get to know many of our patients quite well and they sometimes tell us about the impact that we have had on their lives. For instance, one gentleman told us that the dental implants we placed helped give him the confidence to propose to his girlfriend. They have been married for eight years now and have two children. We feel we have a great rapport with our patients and we find that hugely rewarding. "

Sounds like she really takes patient care serious and is empathetic and compassionate there.

I also like she primarily focuses on wisdom teeth and this is a speciality for her.. so she sounds very competant . Her reviews really are impeccable .she sounds quite caring.

Last year I had to do a retreat with an endo.. usually I would do a consult but because of the guys reviews about how he worked with patients and my dentist talking to him. we skipped the consult and went straight for it and it turned out to be a great root canal experience I nearly fell asleep . I get a good feeling about her.. :)..I'll be curious to see how it goes..
 
I’m so sorry because I feel like I keep asking, but were you put under via IV for anything in life? If it was with Versed, how was that? I heard scary shit about midazolam.

Hi! I've been where you are now in regards to the fear, the panic, the 'what ifs' and it's awful, I know. But I have had IV sedation successfully three times and it is great. I was super anxious and terrified and it was honestly a very gentle and calm experience for me. All the anxiety and worry are worse; much worse, than the actual event because of our thoughts. But remember, thoughts are just thoughts. They are like dreams, they come and go and mostly.don't bear any real relation to reality. Like I said, I have been there and probably will go there again, but I do try now not to Google so much and frighten myself and to try and stay focused on the present and not live in the future so much. It is hard to go through these things in life for those of us with dental anxiety, of course it is. But it's definitely something that you can go through and be absolutely fine, even if there is some discomfort along the way. You are stronger than you think?. Once this is behind you, you will feel a huge weight off your shoulders, believe me!
 
Evanpelt17

I looked her up and I like her website.. really like this part.

"Nothing is more important to me than the good treatment of our patients. We know that going to an oral surgery office is a new experience, and possibly a bit scary to some. We try very hard to dispel that apprehension. "

"I feel that, in many respects, dentistry is about more than teeth and involves other areas of peoples lives. When you think about it, it involves helping, coaching, teaching and motivating. We get to know many of our patients quite well and they sometimes tell us about the impact that we have had on their lives. For instance, one gentleman told us that the dental implants we placed helped give him the confidence to propose to his girlfriend. They have been married for eight years now and have two children. We feel we have a great rapport with our patients and we find that hugely rewarding. "

Sounds like she really takes patient care serious and is empathetic and compassionate there.

I also like she primarily focuses on wisdom teeth and this is a speciality for her.. so she sounds very competant . Her reviews really are impeccable .she sounds quite caring.

Last year I had to do a retreat with an endo.. usually I would do a consult but because of the guys reviews about how he worked with patients and my dentist talking to him. we skipped the consult and went straight for it and it turned out to be a great root canal experience I nearly fell asleep . I get a good feeling about her.. :)..I'll be curious to see how it goes..
Thank you so much for taking the time today to do this for me! It means the world! Honestly! Yeah, she seems very knowledgeable in her fields of expertise. I think she seems like a super nice lady. None of my fear is because of her personally, as I’m sure is the same case for most dental patients. It’s all about the treatments that scare us. I think Dr. Overbeck will be a good choice. I’m still quite upset with my mom if I’m being honest, though. I understand that she wants what’s best for me, but making me wait over two months seems cruel in a sense. It gave me too much time to really, REALLY look into the ins and outs of what goes down, which, while helpful for some people, can be a total downward spiral. This whole thing has been the bane of my existence for over two months now, and as mentioned above, has had a hugely negative impact on my relationships and schoolwork alike. I could’ve had this all done and sorted by now, but my was insistent, as she likes to control most situations. I love her a lot and kind of wish she’d have let me dealt with all of this on my own. It’s a lot to process for someone and making me wait this long has been absolute hell for my mental health and anxiety and depression in general. Also, the prospect of flying home makes me feel uncomfortable because it feels like my mom is really over-hyping this experience. If you all have dealt with this without much pain, my mom is making me think it’s going to be ruthless with her reactions to every single thing I’ve said about it to her. My mom is a redhead, and I read on the forum that redheads are more susceptible to dental pain than the rest of us. Also, my mom has that ginger gene that makes her not be able to be anesthetized and I’m pretty sure she’s also allergic to Novocain. I don’t know if she knew any of this at the time when she got her own teeth taken out, but maybe that’s why it was worse for her? I don’t know. I feel really guilty for having slight resentment towards a woman I love and admire so much, but honestly, like I said before, this has been my worst uphill battle psychologically. I’m regretting even telling her at this point and I feel like I should have just gone and taken care of it alone, as I feel her reactions are causing me to get even more scared than I already was (which was a lot,) prior to informing her that the dentist told me I needed mine out. Is this normal for me to feel somewhat this way?
 
Hi! I've been where you are now in regards to the fear, the panic, the 'what ifs' and it's awful, I know. But I have had IV sedation successfully three times and it is great. I was super anxious and terrified and it was honestly a very gentle and calm experience for me. All the anxiety and worry are worse; much worse, than the actual event because of our thoughts. But remember, thoughts are just thoughts. They are like dreams, they come and go and mostly.don't bear any real relation to reality. Like I said, I have been there and probably will go there again, but I do try now not to Google so much and frighten myself and to try and stay focused on the present and not live in the future so much. It is hard to go through these things in life for those of us with dental anxiety, of course it is. But it's definitely something that you can go through and be absolutely fine, even if there is some discomfort along the way. You are stronger than you think?. Once this is behind you, you will feel a huge weight off your shoulders, believe me!
Hey! Thanks for your response! Can you detail your own personal experience for me? I want every detail you’re willing to write and send. I need to get rid of this anxiety as much as humanly possible. ?
 
Hi evanpelt17,

sorry to read how scared you are currently and how much is going on in your mind right now. Reading your thread it also seems to me that getting reassurance in form of "you will be ok" or "the surgeon looks good" haven't quite taken you to a place much calmer than before. I can see your need for information and reassurance and I believe having accurate information and realistic expectation is always good so here are my thoughts to this:

1. A quick google search relieved that Versed is a trade name for Midazolam. Midazolam is a very safe drug widely used for sedation. It is a drug that calms you down and makes you feel comfortable while you are conscious, however you won't remember anything from the procedure as it causes memory loss. No putting under as it won't make you sleep. No waking up in the middle of the procedure as you will be awake all the time. You will even be able to let your dental team know if you need anything or dislike anything. You can read a really detailed article about midazolam (called conscious sedation) here.

2. It is very unusual to jump straight into extraction with IV sedation with a surgeon you haven't seen before. The usual way would be to have a consultation first. This will give you the possibility to learn your dental team and to get proper infromation about anything you need to know. Before any sedation, there must be a pre-assesment to find out whether you can be sedated and whether there is anything to be aware of. If there is any reason why all 5 teeth need to get out instead of just the one, this is the time your surgeon would explain the reasons why. I do not know what your mom arranged for you and whether there is a part of the story missing, but I get the point of you not trusting a woman you haven't seen before in your life and also being scared as you obviously do not know what to expect.

3. I was wondering what it is that makes you expect excruciating pain after the procedure. How things actually work is this: once the procedure is done, you take an over the counter pain killer and you are fine. Once things start to feel weird after few hours you take another one. You do this for about two or three days and you are fine. There are people who get all teeth extracted at once. I mean all. And they too are fine with pain killers. It is very unlikely that you will suffer in a way you are imagining. If you like, take a look at how small a tooth is in relation to your whole body. If you had a small wound on your finger, you wouldn't expect this to cause you excruciating pain, would you? If you had five small wounds on your hand, it might not be the most comfortable thing to have but you would still cope just fine. Teeth work in the same way. Having all 4 wisdoms out as once is a routine procedure and the most people get through it. While it sounds scary, it is not such a big deal as your anxiety is telling you.

4. Loss of control is the very best friend of anxiety and it seems to me that you currently have no control whatsoever. You weren't able to chose the time to get the teeth out, you obviously are not able to chose a dentist, you seem not to be able to chose the terms in which you want to have it. It's not a surprise your anxiety is sky rocketing and I absolutely get your anger towards your mom. You are an adult (not sure whether also legally in your state, but in your head you are), you can and should take the responsibility for what happens to your body and health and under what conditions. I can only encourage you to have a good chat with your mom about what YOU would prefer in this situation (and I appreciate this might not be easy).
It is not unusual for people who had very negative experiences with dentistry to pass anxiety to their kids. It sounds like your mom had a horrendous experience so I understand she might have scared you with her stories. However, dentistry back then was different and even if that wasn't the case, the dental past of your mom has nothing to do with your future treatment. It would be good to keep that in mind.

5. Anxiety sucks. However you can still chose whether you will keep on feeding it or not. If you feel the need of information, get in touch with the dentist. Collect information about how to deal with your anxiety. You mentioned depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder and I am sure this is not the first situation in you life that really scares you. Think of things that would help you, things that keep you distracted and things you enjoy doing and are good for you. Stay away of things that make your anxiety worse. Sometimes acknowledging anxiety and allowing it to be there is better but sometimes this will lead to a spiral and it's better to stay distracted. If you feel like this is too much, do not hesitate to get in touch with a therapist or counsellor. You do not have to go through this on your own.

6. If you want to think of something, think about what do you need to feel more ok with the procedure. What would help you to feel better now? What would you like to ask the dentist? What would you like to let her know? Clarifying this is a part of taking responsibility and will not only help you with your anxiety but also help your dental team give you the best care and reassurance.

Really hope you can sleep and eat soon again and look forward to read your updates

Take care:grouphug:
 
I had 4 wisdom teeth removed as a teenager. They were causing me a lot of pain that I felt over my entire face. I opted for topical, gas, and IV sedation all together as I did not want to remember or feel/hear anything :). I'm not really sure the name of the medicine they gave me but I remember counting backwards from 10 and only making it to about 5. I blinked and woke up to the whole thing done.

The relief from them no longer putting pressure on my other teeth and face was amazing and instantly felt better.

I remember being very scared because it was my first time with sedation. I also did not meet this doctor until my appointment. Luckily, I was strapped to the gas immediately and relaxing in no time.

The worst part for me was trying to remember not to eat ketchup, as it would burn, and not drinking anything from a straw.

If your pain is anything like mine was I'm sure you will be so happy when you get it done!

I remember taking the prescription pain medicine for the first day and then regular Tylenol for maybe one or two more days.

Good luck and I hope you are out of pain soon!
 
Hi evanpelt17,

sorry to read how scared you are currently and how much is going on in your mind right now. Reading your thread it also seems to me that getting reassurance in form of "you will be ok" or "the surgeon looks good" haven't quite taken you to a place much calmer than before. I can see your need for information and reassurance and I believe having accurate information and realistic expectation is always good so here are my thoughts to this:

1. A quick google search relieved that Versed is a trade name for Midazolam. Midazolam is a very safe drug widely used for sedation. It is a drug that calms you down and makes you feel comfortable while you are conscious, however you won't remember anything from the procedure as it causes memory loss. No putting under as it won't make you sleep. No waking up in the middle of the procedure as you will be awake all the time. You will even be able to let your dental team know if you need anything or dislike anything. You can read a really detailed article about midazolam (called conscious sedation) here.

2. It is very unusual to jump straight into extraction with IV sedation with a surgeon you haven't seen before. The usual way would be to have a consultation first. This will give you the possibility to learn your dental team and to get proper infromation about anything you need to know. Before any sedation, there must be a pre-assesment to find out whether you can be sedated and whether there is anything to be aware of. If there is any reason why all 5 teeth need to get out instead of just the one, this is the time your surgeon would explain the reasons why. I do not know what your mom arranged for you and whether there is a part of the story missing, but I get the point of you not trusting a woman you haven't seen before in your life and also being scared as you obviously do not know what to expect.

3. I was wondering what it is that makes you expect excruciating pain after the procedure. How things actually work is this: once the procedure is done, you take an over the counter pain killer and you are fine. Once things start to feel weird after few hours you take another one. You do this for about two or three days and you are fine. There are people who get all teeth extracted at once. I mean all. And they too are fine with pain killers. It is very unlikely that you will suffer in a way you are imagining. If you like, take a look at how small a tooth is in relation to your whole body. If you had a small wound on your finger, you wouldn't expect this to cause you excruciating pain, would you? If you had five small wounds on your hand, it might not be the most comfortable thing to have but you would still cope just fine. Teeth work in the same way. Having all 4 wisdoms out as once is a routine procedure and the most people get through it. While it sounds scary, it is not such a big deal as your anxiety is telling you.

4. Loss of control is the very best friend of anxiety and it seems to me that you currently have no control whatsoever. You weren't able to chose the time to get the teeth out, you obviously are not able to chose a dentist, you seem not to be able to chose the terms in which you want to have it. It's not a surprise your anxiety is sky rocketing and I absolutely get your anger towards your mom. You are an adult (not sure whether also legally in your state, but in your head you are), you can and should take the responsibility for what happens to your body and health and under what conditions. I can only encourage you to have a good chat with your mom about what YOU would prefer in this situation (and I appreciate this might not be easy).
It is not unusual for people who had very negative experiences with dentistry to pass anxiety to their kids. It sounds like your mom had a horrendous experience so I understand she might have scared you with her stories. However, dentistry back then was different and even if that wasn't the case, the dental past of your mom has nothing to do with your future treatment. It would be good to keep that in mind.

5. Anxiety sucks. However you can still chose whether you will keep on feeding it or not. If you feel the need of information, get in touch with the dentist. Collect information about how to deal with your anxiety. You mentioned depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder and I am sure this is not the first situation in you life that really scares you. Think of things that would help you, things that keep you distracted and things you enjoy doing and are good for you. Stay away of things that make your anxiety worse. Sometimes acknowledging anxiety and allowing it to be there is better but sometimes this will lead to a spiral and it's better to stay distracted. If you feel like this is too much, do not hesitate to get in touch with a therapist or counsellor. You do not have to go through this on your own.

6. If you want to think of something, think about what do you need to feel more ok with the procedure. What would help you to feel better now? What would you like to ask the dentist? What would you like to let her know? Clarifying this is a part of taking responsibility and will not only help you with your anxiety but also help your dental team give you the best care and reassurance.

Really hope you can sleep and eat soon again and look forward to read your updates

Take care:grouphug:
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I think the surgeon looks super nice, my anxiety is horrible and I will be having a conversation with my mom. I don’t see the point in getting all five out at once. It’s a scary concept that I’d rather not endure. Doing one is still scary, but because it’s already causing me pain, should be something I’m able to manage. I would still like to be sedated. I heard that Versed is used as a date-rape drug as well as for the death penalty and those concepts both freak me out for obvious reasons. What bothers me still is I know how stubborn my mom can be about controlling situations and I know she’ll probably say something along the lines of, “No, let’s just do it all now.” She might even try to pull the whole, “Well, I’m paying for it” line with me. I don’t know, though. Maybe an honest conversation would suffice if I came to her not crying and as an adult. We’ll see. Anyway, I honestly think I’m just gonna complain about the pain to her sometime this coming week and tell her I need to come home so that I have SOME control of the situation and I don’t need to wait two more weeks.
 
I had 4 wisdom teeth removed as a teenager. They were causing me a lot of pain that I felt over my entire face. I opted for topical, gas, and IV sedation all together as I did not want to remember or feel/hear anything :). I'm not really sure the name of the medicine they gave me but I remember counting backwards from 10 and only making it to about 5. I blinked and woke up to the whole thing done.

The relief from them no longer putting pressure on my other teeth and face was amazing and instantly felt better.

I remember being very scared because it was my first time with sedation. I also did not meet this doctor until my appointment. Luckily, I was strapped to the gas immediately and relaxing in no time.

The worst part for me was trying to remember not to eat ketchup, as it would burn, and not drinking anything from a straw.

If your pain is anything like mine was I'm sure you will be so happy when you get it done!

I remember taking the prescription pain medicine for the first day and then regular Tylenol for maybe one or two more days.

Good luck and I hope you are out of pain soon!
Hey! Thanks for your input! Was your pain unbearable and THAT’S why you were on prescription meds, or was it just to play it safe and make sure you weren’t in unnecessary pain?
 
Hey! Thanks for your input! Was your pain unbearable and THAT’S why you were on prescription meds, or was it just to play it safe and make sure you weren’t in unnecessary pain?
If I remember correctly, they gave me one pain pill and told me to take it later that day before bed. I don't remember being in any pain but took it anyway just so I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night.
 
If I remember correctly, they gave me one pain pill and told me to take it later that day before bed. I don't remember being in any pain but took it anyway just so I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night.
Were you put under?
 
Hey! Thanks for your response! Can you detail your own personal experience for me? I want every detail you’re willing to write and send. I need to get rid of this anxiety as much as humanly possible. ?

You're welcome! My journal is available for you to read here and I explain how everything went for me. You need to start believing that things will turn out just fine and taking to your team will really help you with that?. Once it's over, you will more than likely wonder why you were so worried.
As for versed being abused, you could say the same about other things, such as alcohol and food even. You are overthinking everything because you are so anxious about it ant you're trying to protect yourself. I get it, I really do. But this sedation drug is so safe and so widely used that the chances are so good that you will be absolutely fine! You won't get rid of your anxiety by overthinking and having catastrophic thoughts. Accept that you will feel anxiety before the procedure, that's normal!
The only way out is through.
 
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