Appointment coming up

[Former member 35908]

Hi all. It’s been about a year and a half maybe 2 years since I last went to the dentist. Need to book in again. But I am nervous, the explorer used to check for cavities. I don’t like tha the sound is awful.! I get nervous when I lay down they put their examination gloves on and pick up their tools and begin. I shudder when I hear the explorer being used. I just need a check up and clean. I did almost faint once during a filling and that’s stuck with me! However, I did faint due to heat and stress in a shopping centre, and as a result I now have a brain injury. And causes sensory overload, dizziness, anxiety. Noise and light sensitivity. I’ve never enjoyed going and it’s always made me nervous. I think it’s all the poking around and scraping. I’ve had a few cavities and it hurts when they’re poked yet they tend to do this and not be so gentle.

Anyways. Just nervous and my brain injury and anxiety complicates it. As the dental room is the worst for noise and light sensitivity. Should I tell them about all this?

 

[letsconnect]

Hi there, yes, you should definitely tell them about all this . They won't be able to help unless they know that you're nervous, and what you're nervous about. A lot of the time, dentists don't need to use the explorer (poker), so you can request to only use it when absolutely necessary.

Do you think wearing sunglasses and earpods/listening to music might help with the noise and light sensitivity?

We have a nervous patient form which you could fill out and take along to your appointment, and also send via email in advance (it can be useful to do both in case the email doesn't get passed on to your dentist for some reason). You can find it here:

https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/media/patient-form.pdf

There's also a step-by-step walkthrough in the Help section which you may find useful:

Dental Fears - The Basics

If you suffer with dental phobia, it can be impossible to see a way forward. This page explains how to identify your fears and provides useful downloads.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

I hope this helps, please let us know how you're getting on!

 

[Former member 35908]

@letsconnect Hi there. Thanks so much for your advice this is helpful. Ah, they don’t always need to use the explorer? I assumed they did to Check for cavities?
How would I ask them to not use it or only gently when necessary?

Yes I have special fluroescent light glasses I wear and noise cancelling headphones. I intend to take this with me and explain briefly that I’ll be wearing those.

 

[letsconnect]

Hi, sorry I missed that one. They may sometimes need to use the explorer if a tooth surface looks as if it might be "sticky" (which can indicate the presence of decay) when things are not entirely clear from x-rays or by just looking. But generally speaking, dentists nowadays use the explorer much less than in the old days.

How would I ask them to not use it or only gently when necessary?

Well, you could just say that you're terrified of the explorer, and ask "could you not use it or only gently when absolutely necessary?". Or if you find that you get tongue-tied because you're too nervous to speak up, you could put it in writing (I'd recommend both sending an email about it as well as a physical note you can give them, in case they haven't read the email for some reason). It would be best though if you could have a chat with them beforehand, outside of the chair, and explain what you're afraid of. Any dentist who is interested in supporting nervous patients with overcoming their fears will be only too happy to oblige! (if they're not amenable to a chat outside the chair, or they don't listen, they're not the right person for you)

Great to hear that you've already sorted the glasses and headphones