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dental hygienist and growing fear

S

sitroenn

Junior member
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Messages
14
Several years ago I was very scared of going to the dentist but with support from this site and, after finding a gentle, supportive and very understanding dentist I can manage to go for appointments and have had fillings with success and not the terror of before.

My dentist encourages me to also see the dental hygienist every 6 months and I find that I am dreading the appointments. In fact I hate seeing the hygienist more than seeing the dentist. Not only do I hate the whole sensation of having my teeth cleaned and have to keep calming myself but I suffer real pain and worse health afterwards. I have M.E and fibromyalgia and after a hygienist appointment I feel sick and have a terrible migraine headache. My teeth ache and are super-sensitive for about 2 weeks after the appointment.

When teeth are cleaned by the hygienist, how much bacteria is released (given that my immune system is compromised) and how much can the poking and scraping etc possibly lead to a fibro flare ?Can the hygiene treatment and worse health after be related ?

I am seriously considering not going for hygienist appointments any more because the weeks after them are hell and the fear of what comes after an appointment is leading to increasing fear of the appointment itself (I cancelled my latest appointment 3 times before I could get enough courage to attend)
 
Several years ago I was very scared of going to the dentist but with support from this site and, after finding a gentle, supportive and very understanding dentist I can manage to go for appointments and have had fillings with success and not the terror of before.

My dentist encourages me to also see the dental hygienist every 6 months and I find that I am dreading the appointments. In fact I hate seeing the hygienist more than seeing the dentist. Not only do I hate the whole sensation of having my teeth cleaned and have to keep calming myself but I suffer real pain and worse health afterwards. I have M.E and fibromyalgia and after a hygienist appointment I feel sick and have a terrible migraine headache. My teeth ache and are super-sensitive for about 2 weeks after the appointment.

When teeth are cleaned by the hygienist, how much bacteria is released (given that my immune system is compromised) and how much can the poking and scraping etc possibly lead to a fibro flare ?Can the hygiene treatment and worse health after be related ?

I am seriously considering not going for hygienist appointments any more because the weeks after them are hell and the fear of what comes after an appointment is leading to increasing fear of the appointment itself (I cancelled my latest appointment 3 times before I could get enough courage to attend)


Hello! I'm with you. I'm not afraid of having any procedure done, except for the usual butterflies in the waiting room.....except for cleanings. What I do is tell the hygentist that if it really starts to bother me, then I want 2 injections of novocaine in back on either side (you know, the one shot that will numb your entire sides?) She usually says, "okay," and I feel a lot better knowing that if it gets to uncomfortable, I can stop everything until i get a shot. Sometimes just knowing you're in control makes the fear go away.
 
Hello! I'm with you. I'm not afraid of having any procedure done, except for the usual butterflies in the waiting room.....except for cleanings. What I do is tell the hygentist that if it really starts to bother me, then I want 2 injections of novocaine in back on either side (you know, the one shot that will numb your entire sides?) She usually says, "okay," and I feel a lot better knowing that if it gets to uncomfortable, I can stop everything until i get a shot. Sometimes just knowing you're in control makes the fear go away.

I've never had one of those types of injections that numbs the entire side of your jaw. How badly does that hurt when the needle goes in (since they have to advance it deep into the tissues), and how long does the pinching sensation last? Do they use topical gel; if so, does it make the injection painless or less painful? If it's not painful, I wouldn't be worried, but I just thought I'd ask. Thank you.
 
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