Extensive Appointment Tomorrow...EEK!

[Shelbyc47]

Hi everyone.

My name is Shelby, and I have my first dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon in almost 4 years. I've had a horrible phobia of all things dentistry related since a very early age. I was lucky throughout childhood to never have any dental issues. Fast forward to high school...where my awful family genetics came to bite me and I underwent 3 or 4 separate planing and scaling procedures because of my crazy tartar buildup (every female in my family has this issue...hello 4 cleanings per year). I was happy with the dentist and hygienist that I was going to, and for the first time I felt comfortable in the chair. However, my sophomore year of college, the dentist retired and the hygienist moved out of state. I saw the dentist that replaced him one time and that was enough to turn me off until now. I needed a deep cleaning once again, and he and the hygienist insisted that I didn't need lidocaine or gas. It was absolutely terrifying and painful, and I haven't stepped foot in a dentists office since.

I'm now about to start my second year of graduate school and just made the dreaded phone call to set up an appointment for tomorrow. I have quite a bit of tartar/calculus buildup behind my bottom front teeth. It has never bothered me at all...until yesterday. I got hit in the mouth (not very hard), but hard enough to make the "tartar bridge" behind my teeth crack. Normally when this happens, a little chunk falls out and I get on with life. However, this shifted the tartar spots slightly...and now one of my bottom teeth is wiggling slightly (I'm hoping from being separated from the tartar and that it will tighten up soon).

The bad thing is, I'm in grad school for music and our auditions for ensembles are literally next week. I found a dentist that has worked with people who have high anxiety and he put me down for a deep cleaning/emergency visit tomorrow afternoon. I'm terrified that something done at the appointment will affect how I play my instrument.

If you all have any words of support, encouragement, or might have any ideas of what might happen to tighten up the tooth (I know it's hard with just a text description of the issue), I would be most grateful. I'm hoping that my plan of getting numbed up and gasses up will make the appointment go much smoother for me!

Sorry for the long post!

 

[Anxious76]

Hi there, I'm sorry for the anxiety and fear you are experiencing right now. Be proud of yourself for taking control of your situation and making an appointment. The best you can do is talk a little bit to the dentist or hygienist about your fears before the exam begins. If you have a slightly wobbly tooth that needs help to tighten, the dentist can do a splint type procedure to to hold it while it heals. I used to get that calculus build up as well. It isn't good and can lead to further issues and loose teeth, so it's a very good thing that you're having it taken care of now. I hope all goes well for you and I wish you luck with your appointment. Deep breaths, you can do this!

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Shelby,

I hope they are REALLY good!! I know I was VERY nervous about my root/scaling.. and afraid it would loosen my teeth I worried for a week and especially so the night before I even emailed my dentist office saying I really wanted to chicken out but wasn't going to. They emailed back a very empathetic reply and the hygenist was really a saint about it all and super non judgemental .. first time I've Loved a hygnist.. .. anyways, it all turned out ok and my teeth feel better after. and they weren't loose. to notice.. I hope it goes this well for you and you can breath a sigh of relief.. and say.. oh it wasn't that bad.. .. They did give me Plenty.... of novacaine.. just make sure to let them know you want enough.. I hope they will give it to you enough to not feel it... hopefully dentists that specialize in anxious patients will do so.. to help us out!!

 

[Baru]

Shelby:

First of all, congrats so much on taking this first step! I know you didn't have much of a choice what with the loose tooth and all, but hey, that hit to the face forced you into confronting your fears and you're going to feel so much better for it. I promise.
Like most people here, I also hadn't been to the dentist in years and years. I suffered through grad school and only went afterwards, when a throbbing toothache that was worse than any I had before, also forced me into going. Turns out, that pain meant I needed a root canal but because I hadn't been in ages, I also needed deep cleanings too.

I'm sure you've done your own research on what a deep cleaning is but I just wanted to share my experience to help you through things. I know it's most common for them to clean one side of the mouth at a time - in my case, it was the whole right side first. They will numb you up with injections because the deep cleaning is right at the gum line. My dentist used the topical numbing agent first (which worked magic - I could already feel my mouth going numb after he swabbed) then shot me up with the actual needle in several places. I closed my eyes per his suggestion (HIGHLY recommended) and all I felt was a pinch. Easy!
From that point on, the deep cleanings were a piece of cake. They do use a bunch of different tools to clean so if you're nervous (or like me), I asked to see what they would be using beforehand. That way I could be like "oh, ok, here comes the water thingy, no big deal." Alternatively, you could close your eyes, listen to some music, and relax. The beauty of deep cleanings too is that you can feel them moving from tooth to tooth in your mouth - it's not like a root canal or a filling where they're working in the same spot for a while and you're wondering what on earth is taking them so long. Here you can FEEL the progress. You get a big rush of triumph when they finish a row and start on the last one.

And, if all other advice fails, just remember: you will be in and out of there in an hour most likely. An hour. That's an eyeblink of time. We watch shows that are an hour long. It takes me over an hour to cook sometimes. My gym routine is longer than an hour. An hour is nothing. And after that tiny hour, that nothing of time, no matter how nervous or scared you are, you will be done and you will feel so much better.

Good luck, Shelby!
You can do it!

 

[Anxious76]

Thinking of you and wondering how your appointment went. I hope all is well!?

 

[Shelbyc47]

Thank you all so much!

The appointment went so much better than I could have imagined! Turns out, the tooth that was a bit wobbly just needed a nice little tap to get it back in place! The dr also went ahead and did half of the deep cleaning today (going back in 2 weeks to finish up). He was absolutely fantastic. I've never felt more comfortable in a dentists office...the massage chairs, personal tvs, and laughing gas didn't hurt haha.