• Dental Phobia Support

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After 34 years of dental terror....

J

jwhite139

Junior member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
1
First I would like to thank everyone here and all who take the time to post in order to help others who are in the very same situation regarding dental fear. When it comes to dental fear I am at the HIGHEST end.

Secondly I would like to apologize in advance for the long rambling post to come..... :) I would really just like to share just in case ANYONE can benefit from from my experiences, and journey to reclaim good oral health by finding a way around the fear and terror that prevents it.

I have always been afraid of the dentist, really afraid-so much so that it has been a little over 34 and half years since I had my last appointment. I am now 49. about 3 years ago I had a molar on my right side that basically rotted and crumbled to point the tooth was "hallow", and I never felt any pain whatsoever as it was doing so. I just shifted all my chewing to the left side of my mouth and continued on. It wasn't until late February of this year that I started to have slight pain and discomfort on my left top molar. I suspected that I had a bad cavity, but there was just NO way I was going to the dentist, I couldn't even imagine doing so. As the weeks went on so did the pain now accompanied by a nasty taste. I knew I would eventually have to go but put it off as long as I could.

For the next few months I couldn't chew or eat properly. I knew enough was enough. But what could I do? Just the THOUGHT of the dentist office, and even more importantly the numbing shots (I am a HUGE needle phobe) was too much to even think about. I did a ton of googling and read about CBT. Since our health insurance covered it, I found a therapist that I liked and started going. She very soon recommended I meet with my primary doctor and see about anti anxiety drugs as I was starting to have huge amounts of anxiety about trying to start seeing a dentist. I was given xanax, and let me tell you-that stuff works for me!

Now I have to state that I am NOT advocating for anyone to take any kind of drugs-I am simply telling my story and what worked.

Anyway, skipping ahead a a couple of months- I realized that even though I had gained some valuable tools from CBT like relaxation techniques and following a fear hiarchy, I wasn't getting anywhere nearer to the dentist and I was not a happy person at all. My whole life revolved around focusing on my bad teeth and my inability to do anything about it.

So in mid June after a really long extensive search for a "good" dentist, I finally made an appointment for just an exam. So I popped a couple of xanax and went. It wasn't bad, all they did was take a bunch of x-rays and pictures.......then the verdict came. I needed 2 root canals (1 on each side), I had additional 2 cavities on the left, one being under an old silver filling I had as a kid, and finally a scaling and root planing in my whole mouth-and had moderate gum disease with some bone loss. Before I knew what I was doing I had agreed to a plan of action. They told me that it all could be handled in just 2 visits. 11 days later, again under the influence of my new favorite benzo I dragged myself in for visit #1 and sat in the chair. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention I opted for the nitrous. Thankfully the dentist allowed this in addition to my xanax. All went well-I didn't even feel the shots and I had about 6 of them!

Now feeling braver fast forward 2 weeks to visit #2, supposed to be almost the same except adding 2 fillings.....nope! Once he opened the tooth to do the root canal, he found the decay was too extensive to work. I was still in a blissful xanax/nitrous haze when he told me about it......New plan: have the tooth extracted and wisdom tooth behind it, a bone graft, and sinus lift and have an implant. WHAT???? All I could think about was the complexity of that. He told me that it could all be done in an hour and half. What could I do, he had already temporarily sealed the offending tooth. That would only last a couple weeks. So I opted to press forward.

I had that part done yesterday morning and it only took 35 minutes of actual work not including numbing and prep. As I am typing this I am a LITTLE sore NO real pain, and can't eat anything but soft foods but feel so much better. I just felt compelled to to share. I really can't overstate how much better I feel now that the bulk of it is over (I have to have the actual tooth and post added in a few months after the bone graft has healed around the implant).

I guess the main factor in trying to overcome our fear is to find a dentist you can trust and talking to him/her about your fears AND that they listen. for many of us sedation in its various forms actually works! It did for me, and I can't overstate how much I was (and still kind of) am of going to the dentist and all it entails. I thank God how blessed I was to find this dentist. He has made all the difference.

If the biggest dental chicken :o in the world can do this I think anyone can (I know that is over used, sorry).

I wish everyone the very best, and thank all who have posted their stories here and have helped countless others by doing so.

God bless everyone in their quest to defeat the fear and terror we all face in trying to achieve better oral health!
 
You are SO right.. A great dentist makes all the difference, and the fact that you talked to them about your fears made just as much impact.. I did the same at my current dentist and he also is awesome.. these two factors make all the difference, .A great listening dentist plus us sharing our fears and being very open about them. is winning combination! Great testimony!!
 
Congratulations to you: it is not easy to overcome the fear of going to a dentist-- as you say, finding a competent and compassionate dentist is very important.
 
Bravo!

Anxiety exposure hierarchies are very powerful and effective. I use mine almost daily.
 
Congratulations ???
 
First I would like to thank everyone here and all who take the time to post in order to help others who are in the very same situation regarding dental fear. When it comes to dental fear I am at the HIGHEST end.

Secondly I would like to apologize in advance for the long rambling post to come..... :) I would really just like to share just in case ANYONE can benefit from from my experiences, and journey to reclaim good oral health by finding a way around the fear and terror that prevents it.

I have always been afraid of the dentist, really afraid-so much so that it has been a little over 34 and half years since I had my last appointment. I am now 49. about 3 years ago I had a molar on my right side that basically rotted and crumbled to point the tooth was "hallow", and I never felt any pain whatsoever as it was doing so. I just shifted all my chewing to the left side of my mouth and continued on. It wasn't until late February of this year that I started to have slight pain and discomfort on my left top molar. I suspected that I had a bad cavity, but there was just NO way I was going to the dentist, I couldn't even imagine doing so. As the weeks went on so did the pain now accompanied by a nasty taste. I knew I would eventually have to go but put it off as long as I could.

For the next few months I couldn't chew or eat properly. I knew enough was enough. But what could I do? Just the THOUGHT of the dentist office, and even more importantly the numbing shots (I am a HUGE needle phobe) was too much to even think about. I did a ton of googling and read about CBT. Since our health insurance covered it, I found a therapist that I liked and started going. She very soon recommended I meet with my primary doctor and see about anti anxiety drugs as I was starting to have huge amounts of anxiety about trying to start seeing a dentist. I was given xanax, and let me tell you-that stuff works for me!

Now I have to state that I am NOT advocating for anyone to take any kind of drugs-I am simply telling my story and what worked.

Anyway, skipping ahead a a couple of months- I realized that even though I had gained some valuable tools from CBT like relaxation techniques and following a fear hiarchy, I wasn't getting anywhere nearer to the dentist and I was not a happy person at all. My whole life revolved around focusing on my bad teeth and my inability to do anything about it.

So in mid June after a really long extensive search for a "good" dentist, I finally made an appointment for just an exam. So I popped a couple of xanax and went. It wasn't bad, all they did was take a bunch of x-rays and pictures.......then the verdict came. I needed 2 root canals (1 on each side), I had additional 2 cavities on the left, one being under an old silver filling I had as a kid, and finally a scaling and root planing in my whole mouth-and had moderate gum disease with some bone loss. Before I knew what I was doing I had agreed to a plan of action. They told me that it all could be handled in just 2 visits. 11 days later, again under the influence of my new favorite benzo I dragged myself in for visit #1 and sat in the chair. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention I opted for the nitrous. Thankfully the dentist allowed this in addition to my xanax. All went well-I didn't even feel the shots and I had about 6 of them!

Now feeling braver fast forward 2 weeks to visit #2, supposed to be almost the same except adding 2 fillings.....nope! Once he opened the tooth to do the root canal, he found the decay was too extensive to work. I was still in a blissful xanax/nitrous haze when he told me about it......New plan: have the tooth extracted and wisdom tooth behind it, a bone graft, and sinus lift and have an implant. WHAT???? All I could think about was the complexity of that. He told me that it could all be done in an hour and half. What could I do, he had already temporarily sealed the offending tooth. That would only last a couple weeks. So I opted to press forward.

I had that part done yesterday morning and it only took 35 minutes of actual work not including numbing and prep. As I am typing this I am a LITTLE sore NO real pain, and can't eat anything but soft foods but feel so much better. I just felt compelled to to share. I really can't overstate how much better I feel now that the bulk of it is over (I have to have the actual tooth and post added in a few months after the bone graft has healed around the implant).

I guess the main factor in trying to overcome our fear is to find a dentist you can trust and talking to him/her about your fears AND that they listen. for many of us sedation in its various forms actually works! It did for me, and I can't overstate how much I was (and still kind of) am of going to the dentist and all it entails. I thank God how blessed I was to find this dentist. He has made all the difference.

If the biggest dental chicken :o in the world can do this I think anyone can (I know that is over used, sorry).

I wish everyone the very best, and thank all who have posted their stories here and have helped countless others by doing so.

God bless everyone in their quest to defeat the fear and terror we all face in trying to achieve better oral health!
How was the sinus lift? How are things now?
 
Wow, thanks for sharing your story. I'd love to know how things are going too, what you've had done, how it all went and recovery, etc. Sometime soon, once I plow through a few other appointments, my wisdom teeth have to come out, and one requires a bone graft too.

Hope all has been well! Keep updating, it helps so many! I am also on the higher end of the fear spectrum and loved that you bolded, italicized, and underlined that in your post! :)
 
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