Bit different but just as scared

[Jessica1]

Hi and thank you for accepting me. My problem is slightly different I can go to the dentist if I have to, for normal things and I am very anxious but just make myself because I want my teeth to look fairly decent. I have a denture and some of my own teeth. My fear starts mainly during holidays when the dentist is closed and the dental technician, I am terrified my denture will break or teeth break off or even worse my own teeth at the front will snap off and I get the most horrendous panic attacks, especially at weekends or even worse times like now during covid and when everything is closing for a couple of weeks. I am at my wits end now what to do to stop this, it isn't only me that suffers but everyone around me, because it can cause me to go into a deep depression. I just wish I new what the cause of this is. I cannot look at my teeth or feel them with my tongue because if I feel anything at all slightly different I will go into a complete panic attack instantly, which can last for hours or days and i cannot sleep at night and if i do i have nightmares about teeth.

 

[Skibatash]

Hi @Jessica1! I just wanted to let you know I sympathise completely! I’m currently going insane with this awful dental anxiety. Last year I had somewhat of a breakdown over it around Christmas last year I was taking extremely strong painkillers Christmas Day even though I didn’t really have any pain in my teeth. I just didn’t want to feel any! This year with Covid and the uncertainty surrounding everything every ounce of anxiety has funnelled into my teeth again. I’m convinced I’ll get an abscess or a filling will fall out and my sons Christmas will be ruined because I’ll be in pain. It’s so exhausting. I’ve started taking CBD to try and calm myself (it’s helping with the anxiety at bedtime!) but I’m finding I’m wishing away Christmas because I want the dentist to be open. Even though I have problems that need work I only saw my dentist a month ago because I chipped a tooth he didn’t see any immediate concerns. But I just can’t switch off my brain. It’s ruining my life. So no advice as such! Except the CBD if your open to it! But definitely a note to say your not alone atall!

 

[Jessica1]

Hi Skibatash, thank you for responding so quickly, it does help so much not to be alone with this and I am so similar to you in the way I react and totally understand. These are a couple of things that have helped me. On YouTube is a man called Niraj Naik who teaches Soma Breathing techniques this is one of the best things I find when I am in bed because I can do it anytime and it really helps. Also, some good advice from a therapist is that panic attacks are mainly because we are breathing too fast and over oxygenating and it is the fight or flight from the past and overproduces adrenaline. So to get rid of the excess adrenaline we need to burn it off, so do something very physical if you are fit enough lol, run up and down the stairs ten times, or vacuum the whole house, anything that you can do to use up the adrenaline. You might not feel like it but it really does help at the time.

 

[Skibatash]

Thanks you! @Jessica1 ill definitely try those tips. Anything that helps! I’m going to put my phone in a drawer for a while too and focus on my son! Constant googling is an awful habit of mine! I hope we both find some sense of peace soon!

 

[Jessica1]

Well i always check my emails so message me if it starts and i will try and help you recover lol. I find helping others helps me as well. Nice to have somebody who understands.

 

[BoxerMom]

I can sympathize - I worry about breaking my dentures as well. But I try to think of ‘What’s the Worst that Can Happen?” 1. I break a tooth off of my denture or it breaks in two. Well, I have a backup set so I’ll survive. Even without that, pretty much everyone in my family knows about my dentures so they wouldn’t blink an eye if I didn’t have them in. And masks are great for hiding dental problems. 2. Both sets break - uh oh. Guess I’m eating mashed potatoes for a couple days - again, I’ll survive. I’ve spoken to my dentist about what would happen if I should break them. They told me the turn around time is only a day or two to get them fixed. Wouldn’t be fun but - you guessed it, I’d survive, even with the offices being closed for the holidays.

I’m not being flippant to make it seem like your panic attacks are not justified. They are real and a very terrible thing to suffer through. Sometimes thinking about something a different way can help.

 

[Jessica1]

Hi BoxerMom I have two dentures and a dental technician who is making me a chromium plate at the moment. He said I can contact him if I have any problems over Christmas and I am still having panic attacks. I need to find out the trigger.