Awful fear of dentist pain

[Lypreila]

I have to get my top front teeth pulled. I'm terrified of getting a novicain (or lignacain or whatever) needle in this location. I know that it's going to hurt even more than a normal dentists needle. Can anyone give me any tips for getting through this? And can anyone tell me how bad the pain is going to be during the extraction? Remember, it's one (or both) of my two front teeth. Actually all my teeth have to come out except for the front 5 or 6 on the bottom. It's just these in the front are the worst, and have to come out right away. Please help!​

 

[freakout]

Hi and . Does your dentist offer anything like nitrous oxide? I had to have all of my top teeth removed, due to an accident, and I was terrified of the injection for the front as well. He gave me nitrous and made sure I was gassed up good before doing that injection. I don't remember anything except hearing him tell me to breath the nitrous and saying I was doing great (it only works if you breath) Before I knew it he was done numbing me. As for the actual extractions all I felt was a little pressure no pain and the teeth were out rather fast. Best of Luck and keep us posted.

 

[WSOR]

Hello. Just signed up tonight as well. I'm a 36 year old male from Wisconsin. Haven't been to the dentist in almost 25 years. Had a very traumatic childhood experience where my front 4 baby teeth got pulled & the dentist used no anethesia. Since then I've been terrified of dentist. Made it through all 4 wisdom teeth coming in, & am now @ the point where my wisdom teeth & 12 year molars are either broke off to the gum line, or even past that where the gum has grown over what's left. I used to get pain really bad about twice a year that would last a week or two, & I'd literally live on Motrin. Well, now it's to the point where they don't really hurt anymore... it's more of like a constant dull ache. There are times the whole side of my face will hurt, the tip of my chin, & even my sinus pockets. I'll feel hot & flush, yet when I take my temp it's normal. I will get on & off sore throats throughout a day, & feel worn out @ times. Financially I won't be able to afford dental care until this Fall, so I'm hoping there's something out there that can kill the pain, & kill off any infection that might be in there already until I can save up enough for a good first payment. The questions I have are these...
-- I have no doubt oral surgery will be likely for the 8-10 bad teeth I have. Can I remain awake for this & just be numbed solid, or will they snow me under?
-- Is there anything out there that can alieviate the intermittent sore throats I get throughout a day?
-- how long is the recovery for surgery like that (how long will I be off work)?
-- was there any pain @ all after surgery if the pain meds were taken right away?
-- how would I chew decent once I'm healed up? I don't think dentures will be in my future anytime soon
-- how long do common surgeries take?
-- does the dentist talk with you & explain what's going on step by step through the procedure?
Thanks for any & all replies, & I look forward to making some new friends.

Jim
Ripon, WI

 

[freakout]

Hi Jim & a big . First of all if you have an active infection, at the very least maybe you can get some antibiotics. Before I had an accident (which left me no other option but to seek dental care) I hadn't been to the dentist in 11 years, due to a very bad experience and because I could not afford dental care. I had to pay full price, no insurance, when I had my top teeth removed and got a top denture. However, I have since for that in the US there are companies that offer discount dental plans (not an insurance, just discounted rates) it has really saved me alot over 50% off some procedures If I had found it earlier I could have saved at least $1200.00

As for the extractions, my dentist was prepared to do them (18 teeth) with local only, however he saw how nervous I was and asked if I wanted nitrous (gas) to help me relax. I really didn't have to much pain, as I took my medicine the first 48 hours at the prescribed intervals before I got too uncomfortable. I had the teeth removed on Saturday and returned to work on Tuesday. Icould have returned on Monday, but I took an extra day to catch up on my rest

I hope this helps. Keep us posted

 

[WSOR]

Hello, & thanks for the warm welcome. I'm glad I have the option of being awake during the procedure, because that's the route I want. Between the combination of novicaine & Nitrous I like the sound of that route best.

I'm going to make an appointment w/ my general physician soon to see if he can give me something for 6-7 months to keep infection out of there. I will be moving into a house soon w/ a couple long time friends, & once I can save up for a few months I can have the "worst of the worst" taken care of first. The funny thing is that my symptoms as far as headaches, TMJ pain, & facial pain don't seem to be nearly as bad these past couple of days. It's my intermittent sore throat that gets annoying the most. I suffer also from heart palpitations, mild mitral valve prolapse, & panic anxiety, so when I get stressed it's like triple the amount of "fight or flight" chemicals that my body releases. Like today.. I got up w/ a headache, but in 45 mins. time it was gone, & so far my throat has hurt twice, each time for about 3-5 mins. Teeth sure are funny though.. despite how bad they are I can still chew food with them, & there's not much pain @ all. The dentist I'll be working with goes to my church, is willing to very much work with me, & will even pray with me before we get started on that dreaded D Day. He did say however that the fact that there's no fever yet, or swelling is good because if that happens I'll need things done like ASAP. I'll keep you posted how things go over the Spring & Summer, & am glad there's support groups like this. Now, if only I had a nice lady to hold my hand through the whole thing. LOL

 

[freakout]

It is very good to hear that you have a dentist that you can talk to, and who will work with you. I hope your sore throat will go away soon. Sorry can't help with the hand holding thing, best I can do is send a cyber hug