fear to death

[Dentalphobia1968]

when I go to see the dental hygienist, I'm not scared of her, I'm just so scared of the instruments going in my mouth especially the dental polishing drill just sounds terrible

 

[letsconnect]

Hi @Dentalphobia1968, maybe you could ask your hygienist to use just hand instruments instead? Seemed to work in the UK in the early days of Covid. If your hygienist has a strong preference for the ultrasonic, maybe you could consider switching to a different hygienist. Polishing is sort of optional so you could skip that part if it really gets to you.

Alternatively, you could try using headphones to blend out the sounds:

Music and Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Find out all about the use of music and noise-cancelling headphones as a distraction method in the dental environment, including which headphones to use.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

 

[Dentalphobia1968]

I wish I could skip the polishing, but they won't let me, because I get alot of plaque and tarter built up stains on my teeth I'm diabetic type 1, I don't smoke, I do bleed sometimes I think it has something to do with my diabetes, I will try headphones I usually don't like things in my ears because I have an implant in my ears. The reason I will never switch to another hygienist is the one I have is very sweet, tries to be gentle, but with me when you have that plaque and tarter built up but with ultra sonic scaler and hand scaling I do get scared that the fact she might rip my gums open and even with the polishing, I doesn't hurt me, it is just frightening to me especially when you have a retractor in your mouth I have one picture of me from my last dental visit should I send it to you

 

[letsconnect]

I haven't really come across retractors in the context of dental cleanings before, maybe you could send the picture to one of our dentists like @Gordon or @drhirst who may be able to comment.

Good to hear that you like your hygienist . It seems very unlikely that she could rip your gums open (she wouldn't have many repeat customers if that was the case!). Maybe you could ask her for additional tips for preventing tartar build-up when you next see her? We've also got some tips on this page:

How to prevent and stop gum disease from getting worse

Is flossing is pointless? How do you best look after your gums? Find out how to prevent gum disease or stop it from getting worse!

www.dentalfearcentral.org

Not sure how headphones work with ear implants, do they create interference with the types of earphones that sit on the outside of your ears like this style:

 

[Dentalphobia1968]

the reason for my hygienist to put a retractor in my mouth it's I have a hard time keeping my mouth wide open or just open

 

[Gordon]

From the photo that looks like a cheek retractor? She'll need to use that to keep the lips/cheeks out of the way so she can see what she's doing.

 

[Dentalphobia1968]

I just found a new instrument for my teeth let’s see if this helps me keep the plaque and tartar buildup this might help me better to see were the enemy is hiding in my mouth and hopefully my check up will be 10 times better when I do go to have my teeth cleaned in April of 2023 I will get to you all when I receive my new flosser with camera I suppose to be delivered to my house today I’m going to cross my fingers hopefully it works