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'Britain's Worst Teeth' on TV (BBC3)

vicki

vicki

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Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
978
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UK
Just wondering if anyone else saw the BBC 3 programme 'Britain's Worst Teeth' last night...

It featured four people who hadn't visited the dentist in quite a while for various reasons. Most of them needed fairly extensive treatment which I think the TV programme paid for. Two of the people who took part (brother and sister) had avoided dental appointments due to dental phobia and so they were sent to see a hypnotherapist a few days before their first appointment.

To cut a long story short, the guy managed to complete his treatment with IV sedation but the girl was really distressed and didn't feel able to start the treatment she needed. She was told that she wasn't suitable for treatment under sedation and that her only option really was to have a GA in hospital.

It may have been due to rather over zealous editing on the part of the TV company (or I may have fallen asleep for a few seconds :rolleyes:), but they didn't really seem to be making much effort to deal with the cause of the girl's fear to enable her to have treatment either with or without sedation and yet she was sent to see someone who dealt with nervous/phobic patients :confused:. I couldn't help but feel really sorry for her. The programme makers might have been better recommending this site for help and support.

If anyone is considering going to see a hypnotherapist... It can be a really effective way to help overcome fears and there are a whole bunch of different techniques that can be used. It's usually best to think about going a few weeks before your appointment as you may need a few sessions depending on you and your fear(s). Different things work for different people and some people need more time than others. Also, it's a very good idea to make sure that they are fully qualified, a member of a proper professional society and have enough experience to help deal with your fear(s). [----- speaking from personal experience here ;)].
 
Hi Vicki
No, I didn't see it but was the name of the so called phobia dentist given? Were the consultations partly shown?
Also why wouldn't she be suitable for i/v sedation...thought most anyone was?

I'm convinced TLC works best for everyone myself with or without sedation!
 
Hey there :)


Yeah i saw it too. From my pers even tjh[pective, the brother and the sister seeme to be coming at it from very different standpoints psychologically, even though they were both phobic. The brother seemed to be sort of " right i hate the dentist i'm scared as all hell but i'm going to try this" whereas the sister, god love her i really felt for her, was absolutely paralyzed with fear. In a weird way though, this may have helped her brother get through as a lot of his energy was focused on helping her. He was amazing actually.

They both tried hypnotherapy. Now to her credit their hypno therapist was involved with them all the way even accompanying them to their first appointment. However, the hypnotherapy did not sem to work for the sister at all. She was throwing up aoutside the office even with the therapist by her side and couldn't seem to focus to work on the exercises that the therapist had given her to do. Not knocking hypnotherapy at all by any means, just different strokes for different folks. Personally i think that this would have been a good opportunity for the producers to highlight and explore other options available such as oral sedation. My suspicion as to why they didn't may have been not to embarass the hypnotherapist given her close involvment with the programme but that could be me just being cynical ;D .

From what i saw the dentist decided not to give her IV because she was so paniced that he thought that by jabbing her in the arm with a needle and taking what cntrol she had away from her he would be making her phobia even worse. In other words it might have gotten her through that session but made things worse in the long run. He did seem gutted that he couldn't help her though.

The problem that i had was the female dentist who refused to treat her patient unless she made "lifestyle changes" to her diet etc. I'm sorry but who do these little tin hitlers think they are holding treatment to ransom in such a fashion?I can understand say asking her to quit/cut down on smoking as it may affect GA, ut otherwise do the job you are being paid to do.


Anyways thats my rant ;D
 
has anyone got a copy ive lost mine :cry:
 
There's another episode on tonight at 9pm

If it's about overcoming the phobia, maybe i should watch it. :( :o

But i'm scared my teeth will look as bad as theirs (and theirs are the worst in england )!!

Maybe seeing a dentist on tv,will be a good thing for me to do. Coz i can switch over if it gets too much

So what i wanted to know is, I won't actually see them having procedures done,will i ? :o Coz i can't cope with thar :shame: :shame:
 
I'm not sure that its another episode i think it might be a repeat. Yeah they showed them getting stuff done so proceed with caution. I thought that the title was a bit misleading actually. They weren't totally awful by any means.
 
glitter_wench said:
I'm not sure that its another episode i think it might be a repeat. Yeah they showed them getting stuff done so proceed with caution. I thought that the title was a bit misleading actually. They weren't totally awful by any means.

I didn't see it last week, so may watch it.

How much of the procedures are shown ? I mean, are they really detailed & everything :scared:

I'm scared to watch it,incase my teeth look like theirs or are worse !
 
I'm gonna watch it. Just hope i don't regret the decision :o
 
Well, i watched the first 15mins. Saw that Guy bring injected with this needle :scared: Suddenly felt really faint & blacked out. Luckily mum was with me :shame:

My stomach now feels really queezy & i ain't going into a Dentist ever

That programme reminded me why i hate & have this phobia of it :o :cry:

I feel really sick & my heart is still pounding :cry:
 
I have just finished watching it too and burst into tears and started shaking when the guy got his teeth pulled out and I saw his face and that was with sedation. He got the jag up at the front also and I hid under my bed. I am very unhappy and if I needed the jag at the front or teeth out I would need general anesthisa (put to sleep). I have the shakes now and can't stop crying.

:( :confused: :censored: :( :cry: :shame: :o :sick: :hidesbehindsofa:
 
Aww :grouphug: I feel like you do.

You made it further than i did !! I didn't make it past the Injection :o

I'm feeling really weird & NEVER GOING INTO A DENTIST

I know it's my fault & i shouldn't have watched it :cry: :cry: :cry: feeling very sick
 
I wish I had never saw the documentry now. I can't stop thinking about it.
I hope I never have to get any teeth pulled or my front teeth worked on. I just feel terrible. I don't want to go back to the dentist on Monday.That guy is very very brave isn't he to even get sedation getting his teeth pulled and the jag at the front. I am in shock about this and will have nightmares tonight. The documentry was just horrific.

:( :confused: :censored: :( :cry: :shame: :o :sick: :hidesbehindsofa:
 
The only positive thing about it, was that i missed it coz i blacked out !

I don't feel very well :cry: :cry: :cry:
 
I don't feel very well either.

:( :confused: :censored: :( :cry: :shame: :scared: :sick: :hidesbehindsofa:
 
I'm glad I didn't watch, by the sounds of things.
Try to remember, though, that for a TV show they want to make things look as dramatic as possible. All the dental experiences in the Success Stories section of this board just wouldn't "make good television", even if they are much more realistic :rolleyes:
 
scaredsnail said:
I'm glad I didn't watch, by the sounds of things.
Try to remember, though, that for a TV show they want to make things look as dramatic as possible. All the dental experiences in the Success Stories section of this board just wouldn't "make good television", even if they are much more realistic :rolleyes:

I stupidly thought it would help me to see a dentist on tv. Coz atleast then i'd be looking at one ! But it didn't quite turn out how i wanted it to !!
The only thing that happened, was as soon as i saw the first needle - Bam, i was out of it :shame: :shame: :shame:
 
Issy said:
I stupidly thought it would help me to see a dentist on tv. Coz atleast then i'd be looking at one ! But it didn't quite turn out how i wanted it to !!
The only thing that happened, was as soon as i saw the first needle - Bam, i was out of it :shame: :shame: :shame:

If you think looking at pictures etc would help you, perhaps try the "virtual appointment" section of Mike's site https://www.whatfear.com/? It includes a picture of a needle, if you want to get used to that. (Remember, just cos it's big doesn't make it more likely to hurt: just makes it more likely to reach the right place and deliver enough anaesthetic!)

On the other hand, maybe small steps: for you perhaps focussing on contacting a dentist and on allowing him/her to look at your teeth. Save worrying about later stages for later?
 
Good points Scaredsnail. Have taped but not watched the programme yet. The other point is that when you are on the receiving end of a dental injection, it is possible to avoid seeing the syringe at all (one of my old dentists always hid them extremely efficiently)....a tv camera viewpoint is 'voyeuristic' and therefore does not accurately portray what it feels like to be the patient. It looks worse to a bystander than it feels!

It's an ill-conceived programme if it doesn't help those with similar fears/patterns of avoidance feel more confident about giving modern painless dentistry a go.

The makeover programmes in contrast show very little of actual dental treatment....but use lots of unnecessarily scary preparatory scenesetting comments....thereby promulgating the myth (honestly...it is a myth) that absolutely everyone would rather be anywhere else at all...rather than go to see a dentist for a routine check up.

Don't let a tv programme put you off seeking the help you need for the sake of your longterm health and happiness.
 
Well, I watched the programme and was not at all impressed with the specialist phobic dentist that treated the brother and sister. He knew how bad they were, so why not offer an oral sedative before the appointment? (Or advise them to ask their GP for it.) I didnt get the impression that these two had "control issues"? ( maybe I missed that bit?) So why not make it easier for them to get through their first appt for treatment?
I too, had to hide my eyes and put fingers in my ears while the brother had his treatment. :o I was soooooo annoyed when the dentist told him......."you will feel a bit of tugging and pulling, but if it gets too much...put your hand up and we'll stop" How on earth can he stop midway through extracting a tooth??? Why wasnt the poor guy given a deeper level of sedation??
I cringed when the girl had some of the tartar scraped off her bottom front teeth.... again, why not do this under sedation?
For those of you who are contemplating the Iv sedation route................ please dont let this put you off. IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT (pars or Gordon will agree with that I'm sure, and I look forward to their input on this)
I have had 3 Iv sedation appointments so far which included extractions, fillings, scaling, immediates fitted. I dont remember ANYTHING about my treatment.........not the local injections at the top front, no tugging/pulling, no drilling. NOTHING..........ZILCH. I asked my dentist for a deep level of sedation, and I got it. So please dont let that so called specialist ( my opinion only) put you off.
Hdf (happy)
 
Sounds like a complete disaster of a TV programme (haven't watched it myself so can't comment...) :(.

Issy - have you heard of the Wand? It's a computer-controlled system without a syringe, it looks more like a pen...
 
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