Deathly Afraid of Wisdom Teeth Extraction, please help!

[terrified.robin]

About 6 months ago my former dentist (who I detested) bluntly stated that my 2 top wisdom teeth were impacted and needed to be removed. I blew it off for awhile because any trip to the dentist like many on this site incites a deep ingrained fear and anxiety in me; I get shaky, nauseous, and 9 times out of 10 start sobbing at the sight of the dentist walking in. I had numerous terrible experiences with dentistry as a child and despite my efforts to "get over it" as many people tell me to do, I can't quite seem to shake it.
Last week my mother finally forced me to attend an appointment with a dental surgeon, who I actually liked. Upon the sight of him I started sobbing of course but instead of trying to make jokes or ignore me, he sat down, took my hand and actually calmed me down. However, once he kindly re-affirmed that my top wisdom teeth indeed had to come out I again panicked and have been in a state of depressed panic for the past week. My extraction appointment is this Friday, July 22 and I am completely and absolutely terrified. I'm afraid of pain and discomfort, of not being able to go through with it and so much more. I'm afraid the sedation wont work, that i'll wake up, or even that they'll make some awful mistake and take out the wrong teeth. I'm scared of what the extraction entails as well as the aftercare. I'm basically just completely terrifed to the point of tears and loss of sleep and I guess im just looking for some reassurance that this extraction will go fine and that I'll be okay. I'm so glad I found this site to vent on because right now I feel like i'm losing my mind with fear and sleeplessness.

 

[twothirty]

Hi there,

It will be ok. I had severely impacted wisdom teeth and had them all out under GA. I was terrified and everyone was telling me all these awful tales of what to expect. In fact it was a very positive experience (inasmuch as any dental treatment can be). I had very little pain, swelling, bruising, blood, etc, it healed up quickly and I was on solids within a few days. Your surgeon will be able to advise on aftercare. I'm not going to lie, it is scary, but know that you are in safe hands. It will be over before you know it and everyone will be very reassuring, they understand your trepidation and are there to help you get through it. I know how you feel as I have a GA to get an RC treated tooth out tomorrow too .. my dentist already tried to get out the fragmented bit but it was too deep. Yeah, that was fun. Fears about waking up, or the sedation not working, or them making a mistake are natural, but the chances are really very low. Logically, I know this, but I’ll still be a mess tomorrow. My dentist is lovely and very good at her job, but it doesn’t stop me crying my eyes out every time I step into the waiting room. I had a lot of nasty dental experiences as a kid and it definitely stays with you, but dentistry really has come a long way. You will be ok, truly.

 

[biffo1963]

Robin - at least you haven't got to wait for weeks, it'll all be over soon


John

 

[terrified.robin]

Thank you so much for replying and sharing your experiences with me as well as your reassurances. It really means alot to me and with my extraction looming in a few hours I really needed some encouragement. I feel better now that I know there's someone out there with the same fears, I hope I can be brave like you and go to my exraction without chickening out. Thank you for the kind words and I hope your own extraction went well and im sure it did. I'll probably be crying in the waiting room tomorrow but now that I know im not the only one with previously damaging experiences I wont feel so bad about it.

Hi there,

It will be ok. I had severely impacted wisdom teeth and had them all out under GA. I was terrified and everyone was telling me all these awful tales of what to expect. In fact it was a very positive experience (inasmuch as any dental treatment can be). I had very little pain, swelling, bruising, blood, etc, it healed up quickly and I was on solids within a few days. Your surgeon will be able to advise on aftercare. I'm not going to lie, it is scary, but know that you are in safe hands. It will be over before you know it and everyone will be very reassuring, they understand your trepidation and are there to help you get through it. I know how you feel as I have a GA to get an RC treated tooth out tomorrow too .. my dentist already tried to get out the fragmented bit but it was too deep. Yeah, that was fun. Fears about waking up, or the sedation not working, or them making a mistake are natural, but the chances are really very low. Logically, I know this, but I’ll still be a mess tomorrow. My dentist is lovely and very good at her job, but it doesn’t stop me crying my eyes out every time I step into the waiting room. I had a lot of nasty dental experiences as a kid and it definitely stays with you, but dentistry really has come a long way. You will be ok, truly.

 

[terrified.robin]

That's very true, I can't imagine having to deal with this anxiety for months, I'm very lucky they had an opening for me so soon

Robin - at least you haven't got to wait for weeks, it'll all be over
soon


John