Extreme fear of dental treatment

[orange blossom]

Hi, I hope someone takes the time to read this post as I am desperate to speak to someone about my dental fear. It is so severe that at my last appointment a few weeks ago for two fillings I literally bolted up rite in the chair to prevent the dentist from injecting the anesthetic, my partner who was with me said how ever the needle didnt slash me through the cheek he,ll never know as the dentist was that close to my face. I left the surgery in tears without making another appointment which I so desperately need as i have toothache because of the two fillings I need and also a badly decayed lower wisdom tooth that to my horror has no alternative but to be extracted, I have a distinct bad taste in my mouth and I'm beginning to worry there is some kind of infection going on. Firstly I am terrified of the anesthetic. I'm scared that the dentist may inject into a vessel and also the anesthetic itself may cause me to have a heart attack, second I'm terrified that the dentist may do something wrong during treatment causing further damage or start something only to find the problem a lot worse than he thought it was.

 

[marco]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

Kind of fear you have is very common so don't feel bad about it. What you need to do is understand your
fears and realize how safe these procedures are. Yeah anaesthesia is uncomfortable and painful at times
but there is no danger. You should try harder to help dentist help you.

 

[orange blossom]

Thanks so much for your reply but it doesn't help when each time I've had treatment they always ask "have you any heart problems" and I'm thinking how the hell do I know! I mite have got an underlying problem I know nothing about, this freaks me out right from the start before he even sticks me with the needle. The last time I went when I had to have the two fillings he diagnosed this from X-rays I had months ago how does he know that these teeth haven't decayed even further and doesn't realise this until he starts drilling and i end up having to have even more treatment than before, It was a completely different dentist who did the X-ray and now Ive got another complete stranger giving me their diagnosis and wanting me to let them loose in my mouth when I don't even know how good of a dentist he is! There was,nt a mention of "you'll be fine" from either dentist or dental nurse even tho they both knew how petrified I was just complete silence then a speech about how they arnt trained how to deal with frightened patients like myself, is it any wonder I left without treatment! I just wish I could speak to someone who I can ask everything I want to know without them thinking Im some kind of mad nutcase Do dentists use this forum?

 

[marco]

So what if they ask, if you didn't experience any heart problems and don't take any medication you are safe.
If you are really that paranoid then go and check your heart but honestly in most cases we are the ones
that create those fears so its important to arm your self with knowledge and combat it.

First you have to start with accepting that what they do is perfectly safe otherwise it wouldn't be done
in way it is done. If they tell you that you are going to be fine trust it who is the expert here.

Month old X-ray is fine it can't decay that fast I used one x-ray for more then few months. Again
don't jump to conclusion.

Dentist is just being honest by saying that they can't work with extremely fearful patients. They will
do lots of stuff to make you comfortable but if you won't let them work there is nothing they can do
about it.

They understand how afraid you are but dealing with fear is something that no one can truly help you with
its up to you to sit and contemplate on why your fear isn't rational. Once you do this I can assure
you that fear is never going to be gone but you can overcome it.

Fear is something that is there to help us but if you don't control it will work against you.

It took me a year to build proper mind set before I went and I realized I worked a bit too much
on it and wasted precious time. Having attitude that what you experience in chair is positive
done a lot for me because even if its uncomfortable once you get up you feel that positivity so
its easy to sit again.