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Even more anxious after last visit…

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hnb1214
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Hnb1214

Junior member
Joined
Jan 1, 2025
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Location
Indiana
Hey everyone. I’ve had severe dental anxiety since I was a child. I had multiple traumatizing dentist visits when I was young and now that I’m 31 I’m feeling the effects of that. December 20th I got my bottom right molar pulled (furthest back tooth) it was also traumatizing to say the least. It had a cavity and I opted for getting it pulled vs having a root canal which I’ve heard horror stories about. The extraction was a bit more complicated than they expected and I’m still in pain from it. It seems to be healing well but the ache is so annoying. I was going to get another tooth pulled at the same time but couldn’t afford to (top left molar furthest back) it had a hole in it but no pain or sensitivity at all and the dentist said that one could wait if I couldn’t do it financially. Well that tooth has now as of today completely broken the whole corner is gone. I had no pain at the time and I must’ve swallowed the piece 🙃 I still have absolutely no pain or sensitivity the tooth is just a little sharp but isn’t touching my cheek or easily touching my tongue. I’m so scared to go to the dentist again especially so soon. My last extraction isn’t even healed yet. Will I be okay until at least this last one heals? I will have to be put under for anything else I do in the future as the anxiety is eating at me just thinking about it. Any advice is appreciated
 
Hi Hnb1214:welcome:,

so sorry to read about the broken tooth - I can imagine how scary that is, particularly if you are still in the process of recovering after the complicated last extraction.
I feel like there are two parts to your question - one is about how long that broken tooth can go without being taken care of and the other one is about the future of your dental anxiety and how to go about it. When it comes to the tooth - if the dentist said you can wait and if you are not in pain, then waiting is surely fine. Also, if you do not feel being able to cope with treatment right now, than waiting is necessary. Or you could let the dentist take a look (without doing anything) and let him confirm that it can still wait, if that is something you'd be comfortable with.
One thing that concerns me a bit is that you seem to have been able to cope with tretment but now after the last experience, you only feel able to cope with being put under. That looks like your anxiety got worse. :( That is surely bad for the tooth that broke but also it may affect your ability to take care of your teeth in the future. From that perspective, it may be good to take a look into what exactly was it that made the last treatment so difficult and see how could you make sure not to have such an experience again. Do you feel like you trust your dentist? Are they kind to you? Fears are straight forward - every good experience makes them a bit less and every bad one a bit worse. So it's always the question, how to get a good experience. And another one. And another one. Until the anxiety gets to a level that you are okay with:)
 
@Enarete I appreciate your response! My anxiety from the last visit stem solely from how intense it was. I was numbed fully and didn’t feel anything but the pressure but the dentist had a hard time getting the tooth out there was a lot of him switching positions and changing tools and hands in my mouth and the overall experience wasn’t bad. I was anxious but fine until the actual tooth pulling part came. I cried immediately after he was done and everyone at the office was so incredibly nice and understanding and made me feel very safe and comfortable I just know I’ll have a hard time putting myself through that again even knowing that I need to. I’ve also been dealing with the pain from that extraction for almost 2 weeks now and while it is significantly less painful than it was after the first few days it’s really affected my already terrible mental health because I feel like I’ll never feel better 😓 I ended up with a cold about 5 days after my extraction and I’m dealing with that on top of the pain as well and now this broken tooth. I’m very thankful that the broken one did break how it did and it isn’t causing me pain. I think I will be okay to go again once this last extraction heals I’m just hoping I can make it that long. But then I feel like the process starts over and I’m going to be in pain again for who knows how long. I’m just nervous and sad and feel terrible about myself because of this 😞
 
Glad to read how supportive everyone was for you. I hope you are feeling better.
 
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