L
licnep
Junior member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2025
- Messages
- 1
- Location
- Canada
First off I'd like to thank everyone on this forum for sharing their stories. Particularly Gordon for their input on infections not being as life threatening as the rest of the internet would have you believe and that not all dentists are evil.
My phobia started around 20 years ago when I was a kid. Needles and dental anesthesia have crippled me in fear and made me avoid the dentist since then. I had a really crappy dentist as a kid that was incredibly callous and made each experience as terrible as they could be. Recently I've been in therapy and part of that exercise was to research that dentist online where I found countless stories of how they caused similar trauma to other patients.
Since my last visit as a kid I've had a couple teeth that have cracked, decayed, and started rotting below the gum line. One of those teeth have been infected for a really long time - 10 years ago is when it cracked and I've had a foul taste, pain, and bad breath for that entire time.
My fear of the dentist was so intense that I contemplated suicide many times and came close to ending it all just to escape the thought of having to visit the dentist again. Every few minutes for those 10 years I'd feel the tooth with my tongue which would spike my anxiety and it essentially ruined my 20's. My self confidence plummeted and I essentially isolated myself from my friends and family as I did not feel worthy of life due to the state of my mouth. For me suicide was the way out.
After years of therapy I was prescribed lorazepam which helped me find a top rated dentist in the area and I was able to get my teeth cleaned. The dentist was incredibly compassionate and while they mentioned that I should address my rotten teeth as soon as I was ready, they were not pushy and said I still had time. The anxiety was still too much and I didn't return for 2 years.
During that time my tooth continued to get worse and the infection intensified. I was in severe pain for years from that tooth. Starting in early 2024 my overall health took a nosedive. I had no energy and was confined to my bed for the majority of the year. Getting out of bed was a struggle and I was extremely short of breath. I was nauseous and felt like I had to throw up. I had really bad headaches and it started to effect my connection with reality. It felt like every ounce of energy I had went to staying conscious. Essentially it felt like COVID and a really bad hangover combined and those symptoms lasted for ~8 months.
During that time I ended up at the hospital, and had multiple tests done by my doctor. My blood work was "normal" and they couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. I mentioned my tooth, but they didn't think that was contributing to my symptoms. So I continued to be confined to bed for months.
As the pain grew this is when I found this forum. I thought for sure the infection was spreading and the internet led me to believe that that this was life threatening and was going to lead to sepsis and kill me. This is when suicide really became a reality for me as an escape option. Gordon's comments about how dental infections are not as serious as the internet makes them out to be, coupled with my reading that someone got antibiotics from their dentist made me make an appointment with my dentist for a tooth exam.
I was prescribed antibiotics and it resolved everything. I felt normal again. After a couple months the pain and symptoms returned and I got more antibiotics.
While I was there the dentist mentioned triazolam for the tooth extraction procedure. I wasn't interested, but he mentioned that I should try it for a cleaning to see how it feels and go from there. A month later I took the medication and had a cleaning done. I started with .25 mg and then a second dose for a total of .5 mg. What an incredible feeling! It melted away all anxiety and I felt amazing. While I was getting my cleaning done the dentist said they were free for the rest of the day and asked if I'd be up for trying a needle.
I had zero anxiety. In fact I was excited for it. I got the shot and it felt... good. I signed the forms and he pulled my tooth. I remember virtually everything. It honestly wasn't bad at all. With the medication I actually enjoyed the procedure. It sounds crazy given how deathly scared I was of the procedure and how much anxiety I had over the years for the procedure. In an instant my life was changed.
For anyone struggling with their phobia, there is a way out, and it's not nearly as bad as your fear is making it out to be. You can take it slow - you can see a dentist and they can prescribe you antibiotics to make the pain go away and buy you time.
Triazolam at least for me was a miracle drug. You know when you have a few drinks of alcohol and it gives you that burst of energy and some of your anxiety is reduced? It's like that but 5x as much without many of the side effects and impairment you get from alcohol. I thought given how strong my fears were that it wouldn't work for me but I couldn't have been more wrong.
I feel like I have a new lease on life now, and I'm not sure I'd even need triazolam for my next procedure. It's truly life changing.
Thanks again to everyone sharing their experiences and thanks again to Gordon. Y'all saved my life!
My phobia started around 20 years ago when I was a kid. Needles and dental anesthesia have crippled me in fear and made me avoid the dentist since then. I had a really crappy dentist as a kid that was incredibly callous and made each experience as terrible as they could be. Recently I've been in therapy and part of that exercise was to research that dentist online where I found countless stories of how they caused similar trauma to other patients.
Since my last visit as a kid I've had a couple teeth that have cracked, decayed, and started rotting below the gum line. One of those teeth have been infected for a really long time - 10 years ago is when it cracked and I've had a foul taste, pain, and bad breath for that entire time.
My fear of the dentist was so intense that I contemplated suicide many times and came close to ending it all just to escape the thought of having to visit the dentist again. Every few minutes for those 10 years I'd feel the tooth with my tongue which would spike my anxiety and it essentially ruined my 20's. My self confidence plummeted and I essentially isolated myself from my friends and family as I did not feel worthy of life due to the state of my mouth. For me suicide was the way out.
After years of therapy I was prescribed lorazepam which helped me find a top rated dentist in the area and I was able to get my teeth cleaned. The dentist was incredibly compassionate and while they mentioned that I should address my rotten teeth as soon as I was ready, they were not pushy and said I still had time. The anxiety was still too much and I didn't return for 2 years.
During that time my tooth continued to get worse and the infection intensified. I was in severe pain for years from that tooth. Starting in early 2024 my overall health took a nosedive. I had no energy and was confined to my bed for the majority of the year. Getting out of bed was a struggle and I was extremely short of breath. I was nauseous and felt like I had to throw up. I had really bad headaches and it started to effect my connection with reality. It felt like every ounce of energy I had went to staying conscious. Essentially it felt like COVID and a really bad hangover combined and those symptoms lasted for ~8 months.
During that time I ended up at the hospital, and had multiple tests done by my doctor. My blood work was "normal" and they couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. I mentioned my tooth, but they didn't think that was contributing to my symptoms. So I continued to be confined to bed for months.
As the pain grew this is when I found this forum. I thought for sure the infection was spreading and the internet led me to believe that that this was life threatening and was going to lead to sepsis and kill me. This is when suicide really became a reality for me as an escape option. Gordon's comments about how dental infections are not as serious as the internet makes them out to be, coupled with my reading that someone got antibiotics from their dentist made me make an appointment with my dentist for a tooth exam.
I was prescribed antibiotics and it resolved everything. I felt normal again. After a couple months the pain and symptoms returned and I got more antibiotics.
While I was there the dentist mentioned triazolam for the tooth extraction procedure. I wasn't interested, but he mentioned that I should try it for a cleaning to see how it feels and go from there. A month later I took the medication and had a cleaning done. I started with .25 mg and then a second dose for a total of .5 mg. What an incredible feeling! It melted away all anxiety and I felt amazing. While I was getting my cleaning done the dentist said they were free for the rest of the day and asked if I'd be up for trying a needle.
I had zero anxiety. In fact I was excited for it. I got the shot and it felt... good. I signed the forms and he pulled my tooth. I remember virtually everything. It honestly wasn't bad at all. With the medication I actually enjoyed the procedure. It sounds crazy given how deathly scared I was of the procedure and how much anxiety I had over the years for the procedure. In an instant my life was changed.
For anyone struggling with their phobia, there is a way out, and it's not nearly as bad as your fear is making it out to be. You can take it slow - you can see a dentist and they can prescribe you antibiotics to make the pain go away and buy you time.
Triazolam at least for me was a miracle drug. You know when you have a few drinks of alcohol and it gives you that burst of energy and some of your anxiety is reduced? It's like that but 5x as much without many of the side effects and impairment you get from alcohol. I thought given how strong my fears were that it wouldn't work for me but I couldn't have been more wrong.
I feel like I have a new lease on life now, and I'm not sure I'd even need triazolam for my next procedure. It's truly life changing.
Thanks again to everyone sharing their experiences and thanks again to Gordon. Y'all saved my life!
