Crippling fear - please help!

[ahxo]

I’m 23 and I’m genuinely petrified of the dentist - in fact I feel like that word doesn’t even come close to how I feel! I can count the amount of times I’ve been on one hand because the fear was so crippling I just refused to go. I hate anything medical (hospitals, doctors, etc) but the worst is the dentist. My biggest insecurity is my teeth, I’m so embarrassed of them, some are in a bad way and I know I need them sorted because they can be painful at times, but the anxiety is so intense. I really need some advice or just some reassurance that I’m not alone with the phobia and that I’m not going to feel judged. Also, some advice on finding a highly sympathetic dentist would be greatly appreciated ☹

 

[Enarete]

Hi ahxo,

you are definitley not alone with your phobia, as you can see on this forum it's said that 12% of people suffer from extreme dental anxiety - like you, and 39% are still very nervous. You can find details here.
A kind caring dentist won't judge you for your fear or for the state of your teeth, but I know the fear of it is real.

We have a lot of extensive articles here about where to start and how to find a good dentist. Here is one that may be the best one to start with:

An Easy Guide to Overcoming a Fear of the Dentist

Are you terrified of the dentist but need to go? Follow our step-by-step guide to tackling dental phobia and anxiety!

www.dentalfearcentral.org

 

[Samereynolds]

You’re definitely not alone in this. Lots of people here (including me) are pretty terrified of the dentist. I emailed a bunch of dentists in my local area asking about if they’re good with nervous patients before I called them up.

The dentist I found has been pretty understanding of the fact that I used to terrible at looking after myself. She hasn’t judged me, made me feel bad about myself or lectured me about dental health etc. She made sure I now know what to do in order to look after my teeth and she’s happy I’m turning things around. Even the receptionist sounded really nice and understanding over the phone.

I was really glad I made the decision to look for a dentist. I’ve only been twice when I was maybe 8 and now I’m 24. I feel a lot better knowing that I’m fixing my problems. I don’t know what your teeth are like but I’m sure dentists have seen it all. It would probably be pretty hard to shock the dentist with your dental health. I thought my teeth were really terrible and I thought I needed a million fillings, extractions, treatment for periodontal disease, root canals etc. I only needed a few fillings, scale+polish and extraction of a badly broken tooth.