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I used to have my mum with me all time, as a child and teenager and absolutely hated it as I didn’t want her in the room with me at all. when I turned 14 I told her I was fine to go by myself and so she just sat in the waiting room i didn’t like her staring at me and I felt like I could never tell the dentist anything as she would speak for me instead and it was never the full story. So now I go alone and I have full control over what I tell my dentist without fear of being judged or interrupted by my mum. I love my mum though and was glad she was a active role but I’m a private person I don’t even tell her if I have a appointment or if I need any work done as far as she is concerned she doesn’t need to know those details as it’s private.
I relate to this so much! The only difference is all of the dentist offices that I went to expected you to go back on your own as young as maybe 4-5 yrs old and onward so I’ve been conditioned to being on my own for as long as I can remember. It’s kinda crazy to think about ...I don’t have kids but if I did, I think I would insist on staying with them until they were at least 10 (or At least until they asked me not to anymore). I kinda remember getting a pep talk about going back by myself when I was like 5 or 6 when I didn’t want to. I don’t think that I would have wanted her staring at me though (especially as I got older) and when she did offer to go with me as a scared teenager, I told her no way. I like being able to wait in my car and waiting room by myself before the appointment and being able to decompress by myself on the drive home afterwards.
@kitkat interesting you mention going back alone as a kid.. It was like this for me too.. never remember my parents going back with me.. that is when the childhood hell dental visits started. I also had a bad experience with the pediatric dentist I took my daughter to at age 3-4 advised me to not go back with her and then I heard her screaming and found them on top of her forcefully. it wasn't good.. well.. we eventually found a very kind woman who also took her back to do work and she was very kind gentle and trustworthy. My son also had a bad experience going back alone, thankfully it was just a cleaning and exam.. no work.. but they weren't kind.. after a few visits at our current dentist and hitting age 11. I have no issues with him going with them. I have seen how he is with kids and knowing he has 3 boys similar ages of his own puts me a little to ease too. sorry had to comment when I saw the childhood comments and going back.
I like going on my own as well, for the same reasons and I like to basically have a early appointment to be able to recover without any interruptions because she likes to talk too much and I need to sleep off the treatment (if it’s a filling or extraction) as the adrenaline rush wears off and I get exhausted afterwards.