• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

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close to booking my first dental check up in 10 years

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pixie dust

Junior member
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Messages
7
Im new to the forum so im just looking for advice/support from people in the same situation. Ive avoided the dentist for years after a bad experience and ive finally managed to pluck up the courage and enquire about making an appointment....i cant believe how sick it made me feel just doing that! I now have loads of horrible thoughts running through my head about all the different types of surgery im going to need to make my teeth and mouth normal again. Im embarrased and ashamed that ive let my teeth get so bad, whats the dentist going to think:shame: im worried about losing teeth and the dentist not been able to fix it! Aaarrgh :shame: so many things going through my head.
 
When are you going pixie dust?

You know, the dentists are there to fix your teeth - without people with problem teeth they would be out of a job! :)
They are quite used to people like us turning up, full of embarrassment and shame, apologising for the state of our teeth. And once the dentist has seen your teeth all he or she will want to do is fix them for you - if in fact you need anything. Some people find they don't need much even after 10 years of neglect.
Make sure they know about your fear and that you previously had a bad experience. The first trip will be for a look (if you want - you are in charge) and a chat. And if for any reason you don't get a good feeling about the dentist or the other staff - vote with your feet and make an appointment somewhere else.

Let us know how you get on :)

Coolin
 
Appointment booked for beginning of march. Im trying to be positive about it, i keep telling myself there are more positive reasons to go and finally get my teeth sorted than just leaving it. Im sure i wont feel the same on the day! Ive already spoken to the staff at the surgery and they seemed really nice, they said the first appointment is just for a chat and examination and then see how i feel. Getting to the first appointment is going to be the hardest part and finding out what state my teeth are in after that it should be easier i hope! :)
 
All those things going through your head went through everyone else's here, too.

I remember being more embarrassed than anything. I hadn't let anyone see inside my mouth for years and it had been 20 years since I went to the dentist. But after my dentist took that first look, I said something like "I bet that's the worst you've seen in ages." She said words to the effect "I've seen worse than that in the past hour!" She specialised in phobic patients, so admittedly her patients probably were all in a bad way. I actually think now many dentists enjoy the challenge of giving dental health back to people who haven't been in a logn time! Anyway by my second appointment, embarrassment was totally gone - and by my third, all the problem teeth were dealt with.

Looking back, the hardest part really was the bit you've done already - making the first appointment!

The way you'll feel when you walk back out will be so intense - proud of yourself, and also like you could climb a mountain - that all this will be worth it.

And all the time you now spend thinking about it, you will realise was time wasted when it is all behind you. You have taken the first and hardest step. :XXLhug:
 
the first visit is always the hardest…You are in control and have full say of what they do and don't do. My first appt i only let them look. Then she wrote me a prescription for valium and said if i needed additional help they could hook me up to the gas and that helps A LOT…So talk about that stuff too, they should want you comfortable.
 
I have also recently been to my first appointment in a long time. I was getting really worried before it but when I was there it was actually okay. Everyone says that the wait is the worst part, and that was definitely true for me and will probably be for you too. The dentist was really nice and understanding and all they did at that first appointment was take X-rays. I was worried there would be loads of problems but there weren't, so maybe your teeth won't be as bad as you are expecting either.
Good luck- I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think!:)
 
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