Cancelled Appointment

[Camero]

Hello all.

First off, I haven't been to the dentist in over 20 years. This was due to trauma I had when I was younger with dentist visits. Also, I had an accident that broke my front teeth, lodging one of them into my bottom lip. That required surgery to remove which really traumatized me.

Fast forward to now and I have lost most of my teeth. The ones I have now aren't in the best shape either. A couple weeks ago I made the decision to finally swallow my fear and go to the dentist. I made the appointment and it was scheduled for today. On my drive there, the office called and cancelled my appointment due to being short on staff. I was devastated and upset. I went home and burst into tears. I finally made the leap to schedule the appointment and in the end I didn't get seen today.

I could have given up, but, I found a different office that already seems better and I have my first appointment next Thursday. I am terrified to go through all of this again. I'm scared of how they will see me, treat me, and handle me. Any supportive words will be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[AlexEssex]

I had something similar in which I was preparing to have my very first extraction and I really had to prepare mentally for this as it was a huge hurdle to overcome for me. On the day the dentist cancelled and I was devestated that I had to rebook and prepare myself all over again. So I know how you feel. Unfortunately these things happen, it could of been anything that cancelled such as a class, doctor appointment, meeting etc. It sounds like there really wasnt much they could do if it was genuinely a staffing issue. Be thankful that they operated safely and withdrew the service, because if they were short staffed then this would of massively affected your experience as a nervous patient. Its better that they did cancel although you have a new dentist now. Nothing is lost and you still have the will to experience modern day dentistry which is great. Just look as your cancellation as a positive action and that you are continuing your journey and experiencing a cancellation situation along the way which seems like you have handled very well. So congratulations. I wish you all the best!

 

[geos]

Congrats on taking the first steps. I do understand your disappointment in not being seen when you probably were preparing for that appointment since you booked it. It happens to me sometimes that the dentist office will call me and let me know that the appointment I had booked falls during an office meeting and they need to reschedule me. Think of the positive things, you are taking the steps you need to be seen by a dentist and even if the first try wasn’t a success, you got up and are trying again.

 

[Enarete]

Hi Camero,

what an awful experience. I know that as a scared dental patient, your self-confidence is not great and stuff like this can feel so personal and make you feel like you've been rejected or like being a bother. It's not a surprise that you are scared of how the next dentist will see you and treat you.
It's been a while since your tread so I suppose you had your appointment already and I really hope it went better. Hopefully your dental team treated you nicely and put you at ease. If you get to it, let us know how it went!

All the best wishes

 

[Jackieallen]

I would imagine your first appointmemt will be a check up . Then they will discuss whats required and how they will perform it . Then you can determine if you have whatever is required done in one hit or gradually to build up your confidence .